Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Who is this Zeusmeatball?

Who is this guy that calls himself Zeusmeatball? I thought I would recap since a year has gone by and I see more and more people leaving comments so here goes. I am just your not so average mid thirties guy that is married to the most wonderful woman a fella could ask for, I have two great kiddos a boy and a girl and they both keep me on my toes, That sounds pretty average so far yes? what makes me fall into the "not so average" category you might ask? I weighed 534 pounds in the beginning of last year, thats right more than a quarter ton. I injured my back about 7 years ago and that played a big part in my gains but I don't blame the injury for my ginormis size because it was me that ate the food that plumped me like a ball park frank. I was genuinely scared about my health, I mean honest to goodness fear was looking at me and the grin on its face did not sing of butterflies and rainbows and for the first time in my adult life I felt fear. I started researching a weight loss surgery, lap band, gastric bypass and the likes and then I saw that one of the side affects could be death, death? hmmm I don't like that word and isn't that why I am looking into this surgery? so that I may prolong my life and avoid this thing called death for a little longer than if I did nothing? something clicked and I thought about how the surgery basically forces you to eat less and then there was the special eating and supplements etc so I thought, "do I really need someone to alter my body like that to drop this weight? do I not have any will power?" and that was it I decided enough was enough and I started eating correctly and researching weight loss. I decided to make a blog about it after reading on a multitude of forums and blogs about other peoples struggles and I thought that if I can write what I was doing down to type written word that there would be some accountability in that and I started writing down my daily regimen here on this blog.



I remember talking to my father on the phone a couple of weeks earlier than I started this blog and we were talking about email addresses and screen names for a chat program or something and we discovered that we both make them by putting two random words together. I was thinking about a pen name to use on the blog and remembered that he had said "you know random like Zeus + Meatball" and that was perfect for a fat guys blog I thought, God of meatballs if you will. I have taken a year of my life and changed myself entirely where eating and exercise is concerned, I eat healthier now and I actually care about what I consume and it shows.

It is my opinion that anyone with some determination can be successful at weight loss and I say this because I am proof of it. I did not use any "miracle pills" or "wonder diets" and I have lost more than 165 pounds to date on my own, and for anyone that thinks that it is more expensive to eat properly I honestly find the opposite to be true, when we first started eating better our grocery bill went WAY down. I do a bulk shop at the beginning of each month and I go to four different stores to get this load of food, we pick a weekend and just make one of the days "shopping day" and then we only go back for fresh fruit and veggies and random things we may have missed throughout the coming weeks. I do not eat specialized food or a ton of supplements, most of what I eat is home made and hardly anything is from a package. I do not have a room full of gym equipment or a membership to a gym outside my home, all I have is a stationary bike that I bought off of craigslist for $45 a couple dumb bells also bought off of craigslist for $15 and a pair of Saucony running shoes thats it! so No a fancy home gym with a ton of machines is not needed to lose weight nor is a membership with a weight loss program. Now don't think that I knock those things because I don't I am sure some of these programs work (I say some because some are just plain old silly and a rip off) and having a Gym membership surely has its perks and honestly once I start weight training I will likely join up with one but my point is that it is not a necessity that you have these things in order to lose weight. Discipline, Determination and some willpower is all that is needed to have a successful weight loss, just try it you will find that I am right.

When you take the mental out of the equation the entire process simplifies, think about it, if you just eat what your body needs to live and fuel the movement that you put into a day and nothing more thats all there is to it, anything else is just an excuse and part of the mental. Clear that gray matter of all of the things that you THINK that you need to have in order to lose weight and just do it, put down the giant bag of greasy potato chips and the tub of sour cream and try some carrots, pour that cola out into the sink and drink a big glass of H2O or green tea instead your body will thank you for it.

Once again the post has come to an end and it is time to get up off your behind and get a glass of H2O into your body, I have my green tea here next to the keyboard so I will join ya. I will leave you with a quote to ponder. "Strength does not come from physical capacity, it comes from indomitable will" -Mahatma Gandhi-

As Ever
Zeusmeatball

3 comments:

  1. I salute you sir!

    You've done incredibly well so far and Gandhi was right. It's all about the will.

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  2. Well, nice to get re-acquainted with you. ;) I feel like I was a close witness to your non-fancy weight loss journey that you've had for the past year, so I can safely say that you are correct, sir! Determination, a dash of willpower, a little bit of support and BAM - - a combo that can't be beat, weight-loss wise.

    Oh...and I'm glad to finally know where you got that whole "Zeusmeatball" name. I had always wondered, but I was actually a little afraid to ask! Haha!

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  3. I've been reading your blog pretty much since I started my own journey in November. What really caught my attention in this post was how similar our starts were!

    I had always considered weight loss surgery an option and when I started looking into it there was an "are you ready?" quiz on the lap band site.

    Well when I got to the question that basically said "Are you ready to eat 1/4 cup of food per meal for the rest of your life" I paused, went to the kitchen, looked at a 1/4 cup measuring cup and said HELL NO!

    So like you I realized the point of surgery was to make you eat less so I decided to see if I could eat less without the surgery.

    Well one step led to another, I found 3FC.com and The Daily Plate and now I'm down from 319 to 296. I had a lull over the holidays but I'm right back on track now.

    Anyhow thanks for your great blog - I love your writing/pictures/honesty and I do try to drink a bottle of water when I'm done. Speaking of which...

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