Losing weight is longterm project
Local men say motivation is key to success
Jan. 24, 2013 6:14 AM,
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Chris Day rides his bicycle for exercise. Day lost 100 pounds with diet and exercise. / Patti Blake/ The Star Press
Support Chris Day
Day is a finalist for a Chocolate Milk’s Team Refuel sponsorship. Vote for Day and check out his commercial at www.gotchocolatemilk.com/applicant/christopher-day.Day also has been blogging about his weight loss. Visit http://iadviseu.blogspot.com to read about Day’s workouts and see his transformation.
MUNCIE
— Each January millions of Americans make the decision to change their
lives for their physical and mental health by losing weight.
That’s a lot easier said than done.
The body’s sore after the first few workouts. The bed feels so great on winter mornings when workouts were planned. Weight loss has hit a plateau and results aren’t coming as quickly as they did a couple of weeks ago.
“Believe me, I was 310 pounds. It took six years to put on more than 100 pounds from the 200 pounds I originally was. I had to accept that getting it off wasn’t going to happen overnight. It was going to take some serious work,” said Chris Day, a financial adviser in Yorktown. “That’s not easy to accept. It’s not easy at all to get up and start doing something, being the heaviest guy on the treadmill, but that’s the only way to do it.”
When he was in high school and college, Day was pretty active — and had a high metabolism — giving him a lean frame on a 6-foot 2-inch body. He was in the marching band and ran and swam from time to time. And as a college student he often ran from class to class, burning calories regardless of what he was eating.
Then, life became more sedentary. He became a financial adviser after two years as a marching band teacher. He also became a father, eating along with his wife, Molly, who was eating for two while he was eating for himself.
“I remember my oldest daughter sitting on my lap and she was maybe 5 years old and she was patting me on my belly talking about ‘Daddy’s big belly,’ ” Day said. “It was actually kind of embarrassing. I started to think about whether that’s how I wanted her to remember me and I thought, ‘No.’ That was the motivation I needed to start.”
First, he started by walking for a few minutes on the treadmill, ignoring his concern about being the heaviest person at the Yorktown YMCA. Then he moved on to running for 30 seconds at a time. Before he knew it, he could last for one minute. Eventually he ran a 5K race, using an app on his iPhone with a schedule he could follow.
Now he’s made friends — especially Gary Thomas, his mentor — who run, bike and swim with him and encourage him to keep going with his dreams.
Day has lost more than 100 pounds since 2010 and is now training for a full Ironman — a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run all in one day.
“I would go out for a run with the Yorktown Running Club, and I’d be the slowest one there. I’d see people just run out in front of me and be gone,” Day said. “But I’m a goal-oriented person. I had the idea in my head that I would one day do a 5K. Then a marathon. Then a triathlon. It kept me focused.”
Rob Fisher was also motivated by family to lose weight.
With a grandchild on the way, he wants to be sure he has the energy to keep up with a baby and eventual toddler he knows will steal his heart.
In the last year, he’s lost 70 pounds, making two big changes in his daily schedule.
“First, I’ve made my workout the first appointment of the day,” Fisher said. “I also didn’t really change what I eat as much as how much of it I eat. I started following portion sizes, and it’s made a huge difference. I find myself losing weight without even realizing it.”
Fisher, a self-described loner, has done most of the work by himself, using his music to keep him moving.
He understands the reasons why people quit working out — they’re the same reasons he used to stop — but Fisher said at some point the motivation and seeing results got him through the difficult workouts.
Day understands those hard times as well, but he’s gone from a man who needed motivation to one who inspires others — including his wife — to turn to a fitness lifestyle.
Along with organizing the “Four on the Fourth” walk/run event in Yorktown each July and working with residents to build trails, Day has also been selected as a finalist for a chocolate milk sponsorship, which provides a portion of participants’ race costs. Day would use his sponsorship to cover the $600 fee to participate in the Ironman.
“This has moved beyond just me and my goals,” Day said. “That’s why you end up continuing with these goals. It’s about how these changes will affect your kids or your community and what you can do to make things better. I’m glad to be an inspiration to others. I love hearing that from people. He keeps me going.”
That’s a lot easier said than done.
The body’s sore after the first few workouts. The bed feels so great on winter mornings when workouts were planned. Weight loss has hit a plateau and results aren’t coming as quickly as they did a couple of weeks ago.
“Believe me, I was 310 pounds. It took six years to put on more than 100 pounds from the 200 pounds I originally was. I had to accept that getting it off wasn’t going to happen overnight. It was going to take some serious work,” said Chris Day, a financial adviser in Yorktown. “That’s not easy to accept. It’s not easy at all to get up and start doing something, being the heaviest guy on the treadmill, but that’s the only way to do it.”
When he was in high school and college, Day was pretty active — and had a high metabolism — giving him a lean frame on a 6-foot 2-inch body. He was in the marching band and ran and swam from time to time. And as a college student he often ran from class to class, burning calories regardless of what he was eating.
Then, life became more sedentary. He became a financial adviser after two years as a marching band teacher. He also became a father, eating along with his wife, Molly, who was eating for two while he was eating for himself.
“I remember my oldest daughter sitting on my lap and she was maybe 5 years old and she was patting me on my belly talking about ‘Daddy’s big belly,’ ” Day said. “It was actually kind of embarrassing. I started to think about whether that’s how I wanted her to remember me and I thought, ‘No.’ That was the motivation I needed to start.”
First, he started by walking for a few minutes on the treadmill, ignoring his concern about being the heaviest person at the Yorktown YMCA. Then he moved on to running for 30 seconds at a time. Before he knew it, he could last for one minute. Eventually he ran a 5K race, using an app on his iPhone with a schedule he could follow.
Now he’s made friends — especially Gary Thomas, his mentor — who run, bike and swim with him and encourage him to keep going with his dreams.
Day has lost more than 100 pounds since 2010 and is now training for a full Ironman — a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run all in one day.
“I would go out for a run with the Yorktown Running Club, and I’d be the slowest one there. I’d see people just run out in front of me and be gone,” Day said. “But I’m a goal-oriented person. I had the idea in my head that I would one day do a 5K. Then a marathon. Then a triathlon. It kept me focused.”
Rob Fisher was also motivated by family to lose weight.
With a grandchild on the way, he wants to be sure he has the energy to keep up with a baby and eventual toddler he knows will steal his heart.
In the last year, he’s lost 70 pounds, making two big changes in his daily schedule.
“First, I’ve made my workout the first appointment of the day,” Fisher said. “I also didn’t really change what I eat as much as how much of it I eat. I started following portion sizes, and it’s made a huge difference. I find myself losing weight without even realizing it.”
Fisher, a self-described loner, has done most of the work by himself, using his music to keep him moving.
He understands the reasons why people quit working out — they’re the same reasons he used to stop — but Fisher said at some point the motivation and seeing results got him through the difficult workouts.
Day understands those hard times as well, but he’s gone from a man who needed motivation to one who inspires others — including his wife — to turn to a fitness lifestyle.
Along with organizing the “Four on the Fourth” walk/run event in Yorktown each July and working with residents to build trails, Day has also been selected as a finalist for a chocolate milk sponsorship, which provides a portion of participants’ race costs. Day would use his sponsorship to cover the $600 fee to participate in the Ironman.
“This has moved beyond just me and my goals,” Day said. “That’s why you end up continuing with these goals. It’s about how these changes will affect your kids or your community and what you can do to make things better. I’m glad to be an inspiration to others. I love hearing that from people. He keeps me going.”
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