Meet the Lardblogger

I was born 8 weeks prematurely. At birth, I weighed 2lbs and 13ozs. Throughout the first six or so years of my life, I played catch-up, both in development and weight. About the time school started, though, I’d caught up with my peers. Then I started to race ahead. Both in terms of intelligence and in terms of bulk.

I guess all those years of being told to clean my plate caught up with me.

Throughout my life, I’ve been that kind of shy fat kid. The one who got by telling jokes when he was cornered. The one who read voraciously in private, but still feigned slowness when forced to read in front of the class, so as not to stick out. The one who didn’t want to try too hard and get all A’s because he didn’t want to be singled out. The one who didn’t date. The one who had maybe 5 friends he spent time with because they were like him. The one who was picked on, mocked.
The one who ate more and went out less because of it.

I’ve tried to get in shape over the years. Walked on the treadmill in middle school. Played some pickup basketball. Went to the gym for a few weeks in college. Every so often, I’d try something to lose weight, only to not see results, get frustrated, and quit. It took something drastic, my father’s diagnosis with diabetes, to get me moving again.

What started off as a simple diet change has become a lifestyle change. I’m still not thin, by any means. I’m also still not in very good shape, but I’m working on it. I’m never going to be Charles Atlas (I’m of Irish descent; I don’t tan and I don’t get ripped abs), but that’s okay. It’s not about becoming a bodybuilder. It’s about losing some weight, preventing all the ailments that come along with being fat, and hopefully living past 50.

I’m not going through this alone, and if you’re out there sweating your guts out on the treadmill, then you’re not alone either. That’s why I’m blogging, and hopefully, we can do this together.