Fat Man UnleashedA Healthy Weight Loss and Fitness Blog

Stretch Marks Are My Biggest Regret47 lbs LOSTso farOctober 1, 2007 by Israel Lagares | 35 comments

I have some of the ugliest stretch marks known to man. It’s rather disgusting and repulsive. Of all the things I have regretted about letting myself get so overweight, it’s my stretch marks that I regret the most. I have bunch of them along my sides that wrap around my love handles. I also have a few on my lower abdomen. Let me not forget the ones on my arms, although I don’t care about those that much since I have had them for years.

I just couldn’t let myself post the pictures of the stretch marks on my back. I have limits dammit! If you look close enough you can see them in my current Evolution Pictures.

I first noticed all of the disgusting stretch marks one day when I had finished showering. I was toweling myself off and went to grab the deodorant when I noticed some reddish purple marks on my back in the mirror. I thought I was bleeding. But alas, it was the dreaded stretch marks. I immediately examined my body and realized that I had officially self-mutilated my body by letting myself get so fat. I then put on a shirt and hoped they would disappear.

They did. Because I didn’t look at my body in a mirror for many months. I was depressed the whole time. That also led to my making this blog and deciding that enough was enough. The affect it had on me was devastating. For all those months I continued to add to the obesity by over eating, binging, and not exercising. I still find it a little hard to look in the mirror but having to take photos for the blog is helping me. You see, this is therapeutic for me. It also helps me hold myself accountable.

This may seem shallow but I don’t want to have a bunch of nasty marks on my body when I finally get back in to shape. I have seen some people, and friends, and it isn’t a pretty sight. I hope mine turn white and blend in with my skin over time. If not I won’t be taking my shirt off at the beach. No sir!

Is there some kind of surgery to remove stretch marks? Are stretch marks haunting you?

Like this? Share it:

I Bought a Recumbent Bike47 lbs LOSTso farSeptember 30, 2007 by Israel Lagares | 19 comments

I just purchased a recumbent bike from Wal-Mart. It’s the a Stamina Model # 4755. I know it’s not the best quality but I think it will fulfill its purpose for now. Plus it was only $108 bucks. It’s pretty cool and gets the job done for now. I just felt like I needed to have a back up machine for when I couldn’t run on the treadmill. There are days when I just can’t go all out on the treadmill. Now I can perform some HIIT on the bike. It’s supposed to only hold up to 250 lbs. Ha! It held me up good (300+ lbs). It makes no noise and actually gives me a good workout. I know that I will be getting a good workout from it. So will my wife.

My Sunday was a good one. It was a nice day outside: Sunny and windy. So the family went to the park and it was great. We ran around, we played tennis, and we enjoyed ourselves. I managed to work my abs out too. When we got back home my wife made a delicious egg, chicken, and vegetable omelet for dinner that satisfied every craving I had today. My mouth just watered a little thinking of it. It’s late and I need to sleep. That’s all I got in me for today.

Like this? Share it:

I Almost Didn’t Workout but then…47 lbs LOSTso farSeptember 28, 2007 by Israel Lagares | 12 comments

I did. And loved every sweaty minute of it. I had been struggling with myself all day as to whether or not I was going to workout. I wanted to but something wasn’t letting me. Two days ago on Wednesday I had a pretty grueling workout, so I took yesterday off. I ate right and controlled my mouth, although my brain kept saying, “EAT. EAT. EAT.” It was pretty tough getting through that.

I kept thinking that I should just give up and stay fat. But then my inner warrior kicked in. I held off on the binging and made it through yesterday unscathed, calorie wise. Today was much of the same and since I hadn’t worked out in a day my brain started telling me to give up again. Until I finally got off my ass and went into my shack.

This is a result of that:

As you can see I had a pretty good workout. I feel awesome right now actually. I worked out my back and biceps, then hopped on the treadmill for some good old fashioned HIIT. Well, it wasn’t old fashioned. I switched it up a bit. I think that modifying workouts is something I tend to do. That way they fit within my limits. Nonetheless, I was feeling the pain, and goodness, of having worked out. Especially since I began the day not wanting to even think of fitness.

So, I almost didn’t exercise but I am sure glad I did. It feels that much more satisfying knowing that I beat the little demon in me that wants me to stay fat and unhealthy.

Damn. Now that I think of it, I know why I worked out. It was because of my wife. Wow. That’s like a revelation. She got home from work. Then she suggested we go to the movies. We watched some Popeye cartoons and took a little nap. At that point I only had 2 hours to get ready, workout, blog, and do my other online stuff. Without thinking, I prioritized by putting on my workout gear and going right into the shack. Cool.

Thanks honey!

Like this? Share it:

A 300 Pounders Workout Sneakers47 lbs LOSTso farSeptember 16, 2007 by Israel Lagares | 6 comments

I have been thinking about how important the type of shoes I wear are for my exercising. I generally wear sneakers that have comfortable cushioning and some type of bubble or shock absorber. It all depends on the type of exercise I will be doing. This is a break down of what I wear.

New Balance: One of the Best Running Shoes Ever Made

My favorite pair are my New Balance 8505’s. I came across them while at Dick’s sporting goods store one day. That day I was looking for a pair of everyday walking sneakers to buy. As soon as I put these on I was in love. They have excellent shock absorption and aren’t too heavy. The mesh lets my feet breathe and the soft material conforms with my feet. I wear them for most of my walking. I actually wear these even when I don’t workout. I would say these are my everyday shoe.

I also own a pair of black New Balance 574’s. I wear these for light activities such as playing tennis or going to the park to run around with the family. This version is the old school, classic New Balance. They aren’t too heavy and have a perfect fit. I like the fact that they aren’t too flexible. Why? Because I have been known to twist an ankle or two and having sturdy shoes are great when you are making quick shifts and changes of direction.

I didn’t start wearing New Balances for exercising purposes until I got back home from the military. I was first put on to New Balance when I was in boot camp. I was extremely shocked to find out that the running shoe of choice at Marine Corps Recruit Training Depot was New Balance. I wore those to the ground, but damn did they take the punishment.

Nike Shox: A Comfortable Cross Training Shoe

The other pair of workout sneakers I have are Nike Shox, version TL 4. I have always been a fan of the Shox line of cross trainers. I purchased a pair of the $140 variety when they first came out. I used to love Nike’s Boing-Boing commercials. I affectionately refer to my Shox as Boing-Boings. One thing I dislike about them is that they were made sorta flimsy. After much wear and tear, they would tear. I did notice that Nike is making them a bit more sturdy. My latest pair have been with me for 2 years. They have those Shox absorber thingies all throughout the sole. It’s mostly mental, but I feel like they help with my weight. I wear these for my running and weight lifting. When I wear them I feel as though I have a pep in my step. So they serve as morale boosters too.

I believe that having the right pair of shoes is essential. For me, it directly correlates with my progress. I remember one time when I was at Marshall’s. I had seen a pair of the basketball version of the Nike Shox. I bought them right away, no questions asked. That same day I wore them for a session on my treadmill. What was that for…I experienced what I think are shin splints. It was a terrible decision. I had an excruciating pain in my shins as I ran. I have never felt anything so painful in my shins before. I tried running for a few more minutes but I couldn’t. I returned them the following week.

Now that I think about it, I have always been picky with my footwear selection. In high school I would choose to wear a raggedy pair of worn out sneakers over a pair of brand new sneakers that our coaches would give us. I guess it’s because I had broken them in. I have been told stories of players getting turf toe and other foot pains when wearing new sneakers during rigorous exercises.

Anyway, those are my sneakers and I am sticking to them. What do you wear?

Like this? Share it:

The Shack - A Workout Haven47 lbs LOSTso farSeptember 14, 2007 by Israel Lagares | 10 comments

The shack in my backyard is very important to my weight loss success. I want to take this time to show my appreciation, not only for the shack, but for what is means to me. The Shack is going to help me in my journey. It is like my secret weapon, except that it isn’t so secret.

It all started when I was a kid. A fat kid. I have always wanted to have my very own gym. I grew up in a low income household in the project buildings in New York City. Having your own room was hard to come by, so you can imagine that my dreams of having my own workout facility were slim to none. Around the time I was in high school I started working out with my cousin at home. We had a couple of dumbbells and did some push ups in my bed room. That was as close as I had ever come to having my own gym. I then joined the football team and opted to make that “my” gym. I would be the first guy in the weight room and the last guy out. It was my home away from home.

Then I moved to Florida and bought a house. Better said, started renting a house from the mortgage company for 30 years. One of the main reasons I got the house was because of the little shack in the back. It was perfect. It had plenty of room for a weight bench and a treadmill. And best of all, it was my very own personal home workout facility that I had always dreamed of.

This is my backyard and a look at The Shack. We had just gotten some pavers installed so the backyard was demolished. I am happy to say that it is back to normal now. I took all of these pictures when I first started the blog. I had meant to post about The Shack, but I guess it slipped my mind. Sorry for that Shack, sorry.

This is a close up of the outside.

While The Shack is awesome and is helping me achieve my goals, it wasn’t complete until I got my equipment in there. The treadmill was purchased at Wal Mart for about $200. It is only supposed to sustain a weight of 275 lbs, but it manages to hold me up. The bench set is a Nautilus. It allows for various exercises. I can bench, squat, incline bench, decline bench, lat pull down, seated row, tricep extension, bicep curl, military press, and a couple more exercises that I can’t remember. My best bud Lukas gave it to me as a gift. He knew that it meant a lot to me. He even helped me put it together. It also serves as a weight rack for the extra plates I have. I purchased the olympic bar at The Sports Authority. It came with 300 lbs worth of weights.

The Shack’s carpet was already installed when I got the house. The walls on the other hand were not there. I put the walls in with my uncle’s help and painted them with my sister’s help. I have been meaning to buy some large mirrors and some motivational posters but I haven’t gotten around to it. The space isn’t too large but it gets the job done. I have the Nautilus set in there, the treadmill, large speakers and a radio system, some loose dumbells and I still have room to move around.

One thing that I definitely want to add real soon is an air conditioner since it gets extremely humid and hot in there. There are times when I can hardly breathe. It feels as if I am suffocating. I used to workout with the door closed, but now I leave them wide open.

I wake up everyday with no reason to not workout, I have my own gym. This is something that I prefer since I really dislike going to public gyms like Bally’s Total Fitness. Ugh, just thinking about it annoys me. It is not my type of environment. I like dingy, dirty personal dungeon gyms. So those clean, prissy public gyms aren’t for me. I think that started back in high school. We used to call our team workout room the Torture Chamber. It used to get so crazy in there that the walls would sweat with water.

I have built an emotional attachment to The Shack. It has become part of my life and will always be a part of me. The Shack doesn’t need to be a physical entity. For me it was mostly in my head at first. It’s my personal place to think, reflect, and better myself. I would just treat wherever I worked out as my Shack. It didn’t get fully realized until I moved here a couple of years ago. Everyone should have their own “Shack.” Whether it’s a small room in your house, your living room, a local gym, the garage, the park or in your head. Everyone should have a shack to escape to.

Like this? Share it:

Sweaty, Sore, Hungry and a Bet47 lbs LOSTso farSeptember 13, 2007 by Israel Lagares | 2 comments

Let me start off by telling you about my bet. I was helping my bud pack up stuff for a move when he jokingly offered me his large size Dallas Cowboys jersey. I told him it wouldn’t fit me and he agreed. I then told him to give me a few months before it would fit me properly but he scoffed at me. That’s when I decided to make a bet, a bet that I would fit into the jersey within 3 months and it would look GOOD.

So here is a picture of how the jersey looks on me now. The mere fact that I fit into it now is amazing. Deion Sanders, eat your heart out. Who said a 300+ pound man couldn’t where a size Large.

The last few days workouts have been busting my butt. I have upped the ante to two workouts a day so that’s probably the reason why. I have been aiming at having at least two cardio sessions a day. I start my day by eating some cereal, then heading into The Shack for my first session. The Shack, as I call it, is my workout haven. This usually consists of strength training and cardio on the treadmill. After about an hour and a half I get the heck outta there and then have my protein shake and lunch. My second session is usually a non-traditional workout such as going to the park and running around with my daughter or moving some stuff around the house. Although it may not seem like a strong second workout, it is effective because I sweat a ton.

My body is extremely sore from the extra exercising session, but I think I like it. I haven’t felt this kind of soreness in a while. I feel it all over my body. I was beginning to think that I was maybe not working out hard enough or effectively enough, so this is a welcomed change. The soreness goes away right before I workout, but returns right after which gives me a sore-less workout experience. A buddy of mine once told me that pineapples are excellent for muscle soreness. I take glutamine and protein, plus water and sleep. I think that works good for me.

I do get a bit scared about overdoing it. I don’t want to overwork my body to the point where I can’t workout effectively. That’s something I have been thinking about a lot lately. There have been times in my life where I have pulled muscles, broken bones, and twisted ankles. All of those suck big time and I just don’t want to go through that again.

Something else that I realized is that I have been really, really hungry over the past few days. I guess that the thermogenesis is really kicking in now. Which is good, because I need to keep my internal furnace burning if I am going to lose this weight. It’s also been an exercise in mental toughness. There have been moments when I just want to raid the fridge and fill the emptiness that I am feeling in my stomach. I have not been starving myself or anything like that so I guess it’s just the extra workouts that are burning up those calories faster.

On another note, I recorded myself doing some bench sets and running on the treadmill but I couldn’t upload the files to You Tube.

Like this? Share it:

Late Workout Today47 lbs LOSTso farAugust 29, 2007 by Israel Lagares | No comments

I woke up today with the desire to workout. But I didn’t right away. Instead I went over to a friends house and helped him move a 250 pound big screen television from his upstairs game room to his downstairs living room. After a few minute and a lot of sweat, we did it. Oh, did I say that I had a sweater on the whole time? It’s about 95 degrees outside. Yep, its Florida. I decided to test myself and had the sweater on almost the whole day. I just took it off actually.

It’s 9 PM on my side of town. Now I need to go workout. I am planning on getting on the treadmill for a few minutes then benching and doing triceps. I hope I have the energy to get a good workout. Time to lace up my Nike Shox, go into the shack, and workout. It should feel really good.

Before I go in though, check out this picture of me. This is a picture of me getting my daily dose of the internet. Notice the huge arms and roles on my sides.

Yuck, I need to get rid of all that fat. I am planning on keeping some size on my arms and chest, but I definitely want them more toned. Plus, I need to cut down on the chubbiness in my face. There’s an extremely chiseled jaw line underneath there somewhere. I know there is.

Like this? Share it:

Controlling My Calorie Intake47 lbs LOSTso farAugust 28, 2007 by Israel Lagares | No comments

The last couple of days have been pretty satisfying. I have managed to mentally suppress my appetite. As soon as I get up I make a protein shake and eat a bowl of raisin bran cereal with soy milk. Then I eat a yogurt, fruit and or a half a can of tuna for lunch. Dinner has been grilled chicken with salad.

Here’s a pic of an awesome tasting grilled chicken with romaine lettuce and virgin olive oil salad. Man was it good. My wife definitely knows how to make a mean grilled chicken salad.

The last few days have been all about “getting it done.” I have been mentally preparing myself for each day by telling myself that I WILL DO THIS! No matter what. The truth is that I must do this, there is no room for failure here. Not this time, not again. That’s the approach I am taking. That’s what has worked for me in the past, so that’s what I will do.

The working out and eating right part will come. I know it will. It all starts up there in your head. This past weekends workouts still have my body aching, but I like it. It reminds me that I am on my mission and that nothing will stop me.

Not even me.

Like this? Share it:

Day 1 All Over Again, 345 lbs with Videos47 lbs LOSTso farAugust 27, 2007 by Israel Lagares | 2 comments

Yep, that’s right. I was on the right track for about a month, doing my workouts and eating the way I needed to eat. I was even mentally “there.” But that’s behind me now because today was the day I started all over again.

I weighed myself today and was at 345 lbs. I told ya it was day one all over again! So that’s the starting weight I will use. So I woke up today and told myself “Israel, get off your butt and do this! Just do it!” I know I have it in me darn it. I was on a high school football team that was borderline torturing us for practice and I made it through Parris Island in South Carolina (that’s the Marine Corps Boot camp). So this should be super, duper easy. But you know what I realized? I had peer support during those tough times, working out alone in my shack doesn’t provide me that. So that’s where this blog comes in, along with some offline peer support from some friends and family. So I suggest if you are planning on embarking on a mission such as this, you do not do it alone.

So my first workout in a few months was a good one. Here are some videos of my bench workout. I managed to still be able to rep 225lbs 10 or 12 times. That’s pretty good muscle maturity I got going. I started out benching 205 lbs to warm up.

Repping 205 lbs on the bench

A close-up of my Y R U So Small Shirt and pumping out that last rep.

Me repping 225lbs on the Bench

Afterward, I almost passed out. Not because I was intentionally trying to push myself to the point of exhaustion, but because I think my body was SHOCKED! I knew that I had to stop so I came inside and got a cup of water. Then I started feeling dizzy and my stomach was in knots. I had passed out once before many years ago but it was nothing like this. So I sat down and collected myself for a few minutes. After it had passed I made a whey protein shake: Two 25 gram protein packing scoops of muscle building goodness. I then scarfed down some amino acids, creatine, glutamine, and a multi vitamin to wash it all down. The only supplements that I plan on taking include protein, glutamine, creatine, amino acids, and a multi-vitamin. I won’t be taking any appetite suppressants, rapid-energy boosters, or what ever else is out there. Not until I am at least 50 lbs lighter or so.

All I did for today’s workout was upper body. I benched, did some lat pulldowns for my back, and some standing bicep curls. That little and I still almost passed out. Go figure…I guess I am that much out of shape.

Like this? Share it:

Weigh-In Day: 330 Lbs. Progress Photos47 lbs LOSTso farJune 10, 2007 by Israel Lagares | No comments

Well, I am happy to say that I lost 18 lbs so far in only 2 weeks since I have begun my journey. I have developed a mini-complex. By that I mean that I on a constant workout mode. I always want to be working out or eating right or doing something that will assist me in my overall weight loss. I guess its a catch 22 because it’s good that I want to be healthy and exercise but I also need to catch myself so that I don’t over train or under eat.

I have also decided to only blog a few times a week, minimum once a week. My workouts have me feeling awesome, lighter on my toes as I walk around. I have had some really great workouts this past week. This was only the first full week of my strength and conditioning training, but it has been awesome. I have managed to up my minutes on the treadmill to an average of 20 minutes per session before needing to slow it down to a walking pace. My strength training has been awesome. I am actually in a really good place. I have been able to maintain a good amount of strength through out my fat days. I also discovered that I have a good amount of lean muscle, which is over 200 lbs.

Overall, with my cardio, strength, and alternate routines I am happy. Plus losing 18 lbs in 2 weeks makes me feel good. I was originally aiming for 10 lbs a week, but I think a reasonable amount would be 5 lbs minimum lost per week. Anything over 5 is just extra. I want to take this time to say that losing over 2 lbs a week is not something anyone should strive for unless you are experienced with it. I have been through this road before and know my limits.

I have been able to stick to my strict eating diet. I have managed to only drink water and green tea for the last to weeks. I have the occasional soy milk or 2% milk with my cereal. I have cut out practically all of the sugars I used to consume. Its been a very strict diet, but I know that I need to do this in order to reach my goals. I have cut out anything else. I eat healthy and it feels good to know that I am sticking to it. I am already used to the eating of certain foods only so it isn’t a big deal anymore. When I go out to dinner I order healthy dishes.
I am looking forward to next weeks weigh-in and progress. So, until then, without further ado, here are the updated photos.

That is all for now, I am off to a good start. I am eager to start posting pics with more definition. Peace.

Like this? Share it:

Double Time47 lbs LOSTso farJune 5, 2007 by Israel Lagares | No comments

Today was an awesome day. I woke up ready to workout but couldn’t because I spent the majority of the day with my daughter. It was so great because we enjoyed each others company. For breakfast I had some Total Raisin Bran with some 2% low fat milk. It tasted really good and filled me up. After that I had my daily morning protein shake. I usually prepare my shakes with Green Tea instead of milk or water. I don’t know why but I like it that way. After spending some more time with my daughter and in between episodes of The Backyardigans on Nickalodean, I managed to eat some tuna for lunch with some green tea to wash it down. Yummy!

I called Lukas to come over so that we could have our weekly workout session. He jetted over and we began working out. We benched and did some triceps. Some will argue that you shouldn’t work those two muscle groups on the same day, some will argue that you should. I like switching it up so I don’t really care. We did about 6 or 7 sets of bench. First with 135 lbs to warm up. Then 3 more sets with 225 lbs. Finally 3 sets of 135 lbs to cool down. It was quite a workout. Then we did some triceps and abdominals. He showed me some new exercises to target my mid section and I showed him my patented twist workout. We loved each others new found torture-like exercises.

After we finished with the strength training part of the day, I jumped on to my treadmill and JOGGED for 10 minutes straight. Why did I capitalize “jogged?” Well, it’s not every day that you see a 340 lb man jogging for 10 minutes at a decent speed. Also, I was not expecting to be at this point until 2 or 3 weeks into my working out. So it was an awesome achievement. I jogged for 10 minutes, walked for 6 minutes, then jogged or 4 minutes more. I was extremely pleased with the afternoon workout.

This is my treadmill in the “closed” position:

After the workout we had some whey protein and took a break. I made my shake with green tea, fiber, whey protein, and glutamine. It does not taste too bad and I like to take it all in at the same time, instead of separately. For dinner I had two slices of grilled chicken with salad. It hit the spot. So a few hours pass by and guess what? I was ready for my “two-a-day” second cardio session. Normally I would workout in the morning and then again at night, but this time I had to exercise only a few hours later. It was well worth it.

My wife has been wanting to drop about 15 lbs off of her petite frame. She keeps saying she needs motivation, so instead of going into The Shack to get on the treadmill I told her to get dressed so that we could go for a walk. She does so right away and after a nice stretch we start off. Right away I tell her to jog instead of walk. We start off jogging down the street. It’s dark so we decide to jog in the middle of the road instead of the sidewalks. I didn’t want any weird animals jumping out at us. LOL. About 10 minutes into it I start needing to urinate, my wife is 130 lbs and is in pretty decent shape so she is a few steps ahead of me. I yell at her to stop so that I can relieve myself in a bush. A minute later we are back hitting the pavement. The sweat begins pouring down my face, arms, and legs. I immediately realize that my body is beginning to show the effects of working out a few hours earlier. But that did not stop me as I kept pushing. My wife did as well, she was now about half a block ahead of me at the point. I was not in any pain, I simply could not pump my legs any faster. It was odd, almost like slow motion. But I kept at it. When we got back home I was drenched in sweat. I sat down for a few minutes then did some of the ab exercises that Lukas showed me earlier in the day. My wife did some push ups and abs of her own and we went inside. My mom thought it was pouring rain outside. That just shows you how sweaty I was.

After a nice warm shower I laid down and thought of the great day that had just passed. I had managed to workout two times with two different motivated individuals. Days like this are good, especially after the lack luster week I had on my trip.

Oh, I almost forgot, I took some pictures today after my first workout. Here they are:

This is me posing like a super muscular strong man.

I have a long way to go, but this is 8 days later.

This is me looking normal and worn out after the first workout of the day.

Well, tomorrow is another day. I am extremely excited with what tomorrow holds. Hasta la pasta.

Like this? Share it: