COMPARISON PICTURES

Here are some comparison pictures of me at my three and six month marks. I also added a visual representation of what I can fit in my original jeans. Hope you guys enjoy.

                                         

 

  

I didn't really have a comparison shot for this one but I thought it was funny. 

 

INSPIRATIONAL VIDEO

I think I need to make one of these videos for myself for my halfway point. What do you guys think?

FLOATING

Spring is coming and when you live in Central Texas that means people are getting ready to go back outside and enjoy the beautiful weather that the area has to offer. One of the activities that a lot of people my age enjoy to do is float the river with friends. Unfortunately, I have never done this before because I never felt comfortable floating in an inner tube. When you are constantly worried about a floating device's structural integrity, that should send a signal to yourself that something is wrong.

 I always felt left out, knowing that when friends would come into town, they would go float ,but I wouldn’t get to go. At first I felt like they didn’t want me to go, but then I soon realized they didn’t want to ask me because I always just said 'no' to any kind of outdoor/physical activity. The constant non-invites would just lead to me feeling animosity towards the idea of floating the river. I would think “how stupid of an idea is it to float a river…it sounds boring and dumb,” but really I was just masking the anger I felt at myself for not being able to do the simple act of floating in an inner tube.

But as the weight goes so does a lot of anger I had for things. I am learning that the more weight I lose the happier I am becoming with myself. Before, the feelings I had about something were heavily predicated on my weight. The views I had on floating the river are the same ones I had about playing basketball again, or skydiving (coming soon) but those views are changing with the weight. This is a topic I bring up a lot but I am starting to see more emotional changes than physical at this point of my transformation. I have been in the same jeans for almost two months now but it feels like my heart has grown out of my chest…haha okay Sam that might be too cheesy, but keep it if you want….
***EDITOR'S NOTE: That last part was, for me, way too cheesy. But it's true. Ricky may have had a big ass, but it has never been as big as his heart. So I'll keep it, but only because it's true, and only because I get to say so. If you don't like it, please, feel free to email me at idontgiveacrap@shutup.com***

Anyways, this year will be much different. I plan to venture into the world of floating with friends many times this spring and summer. So if anyone would like to come join me on my maiden voyage, I was thinking of doing a trip around spring break. And be ready for a good time, because that is all that seems to be going down at the moment, people.

WEIGHT CHART

I have been getting questions about how much weight I have lost from week-to-week, so I feel that sharing a spreadsheet of my progress would be an easy way to get everyone involved. As you can tell, there are good weeks and bad weeks, but every week I sweat the same, I ate pretty much the same, but the weight came off at different rates. That has been one of the biggest things to overcome, so far: the feeling of failure when you weigh yourself on the scale. The best way to overcome this is realizing that this journey is a marathon, not a sprint,and you can’t have uniform change. Numbers are great and they give you markers for how far you have come, but there are more important things at this point. For instance, seeing someone smile because of the lifestyle changes I have taken on, or knowing that someone has gained inspiration from my actions to get themselves healthy. Those are what really matter to me, and thankfully you guys are responding!

		Change in Pounds		% Change
Date	Weight	Last Week	Start	Last Week	Start
7/23/09	370.00
7/30/09	362.00	8.00	8.00	2.1622%	2.1622%
8/6/09	362.00	0.00	8.00	0.0000%	2.1622%
8/13/09	360.00	2.00	10.00	0.5525%	2.7027%
8/20/09	355.00	5.00	15.00	1.3889%	4.0541%
8/27/09	351.00	4.00	19.00	1.1268%	5.1351%
9/3/09	348.00	3.00	22.00	0.8547%	5.9459%
9/10/09	347.00	1.00	23.00	0.2874%	6.2162%
9/17/09	337.00	10.00	33.00	2.8818%	8.9189%
9/24/09	335.00	2.00	35.00	0.5935%	9.4595%
10/1/09	333.00	2.00	37.00	0.5970%	10.0000%
10/8/09	329.00	4.00	41.00	1.2012%	11.0811%
10/15/09	322.00	7.00	48.00	2.1277%	12.9730%
10/22/09	321.00	1.00	49.00	0.3106%	13.2432%
10/29/09	316.00	5.00	54.00	1.5576%	14.5946%
11/5/09	314.00	2.00	56.00	0.6329%	15.1351%
11/12/09	309.00	5.00	61.00	1.5924%	16.4865%
11/19/09	303.00	6.00	67.00	1.9417%	18.1081%
11/26/09	303.00	0.00	67.00	0.0000%	18.1081%
12/3/09	299.00	4.00	71.00	1.3201%	19.1892%
12/10/09	299.00	0.00	71.00	0.0000%	19.1892%
12/17/09	299.00	0.00	71.00	0.0000%	19.1892%
12/24/09	292.00	7.00	78.00	2.3411%	21.0811%
12/31/09	289.00	3.00	81.00	1.0274%	21.8919%
1/7/10	287.00	2.00	83.00	0.6920%	22.4324%
1/14/10	283.00	4.00	87.00	1.3937%	23.5135%
1/21/10	280.00	3.00	90.00	1.0601%	24.3243%

SIX-MONTH MEASUREMENTS

I am happy to bring you guys good news today. The past six months, I have put a lot of hard work in, and at every step of the way I have seen fantastic results. The six-month mark is no different! Even as I write this, I am still in shock by the numbers. If you would have told me this is how much weight and inches would be gone, I seriously would have laughed right in your face.
Thomas, Diana, Paul, Christine, Jason and Mariesa have done such a great job pushing me to my limit every time I step into Workshop Fitness. A big "thank you" to them all.
Also, a special thanks to Dale Dudley, Bob Fonseca, Charlie Hodge, Matt Bearden, Angela Davis and Daniel Gallo for letting me be part of the morning show which lead to this opportunity. All of you have made the past six months possible and I don’t know how I could ever repay you for all the fortunes you have sent my way. Now that we have that out of the way, let's get to some real numbers.





Here are my numbers from July 23rd, 2009

Weight: 370 pounds
Arm: 19.25 inches
Neck: 17.75 inches
Chest: 58 inches
Waist: 64 inches
Hip: 63 inches
Thigh: 28.5 inches
Calf: 19 inches





And here are the numbers taken January 25, 2010

Weight: 280 pounds
Arm: 16.75 inches
Neck 16.25 inches
Chest: 44.5 inches
Waist: 44.5 inches
Hip: 49 inches
Thigh: 24.5 inches
Calf: 17.5 inches


So in six months I have lost…

90 pounds
2.5 inches on my arms
1.5 inches on my neck
13.5 inches on my chest
19.5 inches on my waist
14 inches on my Hips
4 inches on my thighs
1.5 inches on my calves

Total: 56.5 inches lost!

Diana, the trainer who does the measurements, also added along the way two measurements on my waist but I didn’t include it on the list because we didn’t do them originally. These numbers to me are something that I can look back on and realize that I accomplished something I never thought was possible. For the longest time I just assumed I would always be a big guy, and that there was no alternative. That is not the case anymore, and I am proud to say the trend will continue. I am proud of my first six months of weight loss, but I am ready to prove some people wrong that don’t think I can finish what I started. Watch out, because I am coming full force for six more months, people.


EDITOR'S NOTE:
As editor of this blog, it is my pleasure to both see these fantastic results and to be able to help Ricky through his feats of weight loss by doing some grammatical house keeping. Though I knew Rick was a man determined to shed some serious pounds, I honestly never thought I would see him flourish into the person that he is today. I had the pleasure of seeing a guido-ed-out Ricky this past weekend at a "Jersey Shore" theme party, and to see his confidence, swagger and overall happiness was something that made my heart swell with pride. (And not to mention seeing his shaved chest and bronzed visage, neither of which hurt.)
Ricky has not won his day with a loud shout and shaky hand, but with a steady voice and staunch commitment. His determination to change his life serves as a contrast to the parlance of our times, where the youth of today so often take things for granted. So kudos, Rick. Here's to another 6 months and another 90 pounds. You are a man that I love.

Sam

SIX MONTH MARK TOMORROW

(DEC 08)

It is hard for me to imagine that it has been six months since I started. 

Looking at pictures from July gives me chills, and even looking at pictures from October helps me realize how much progress I have made. The halfway point is here and it still feels like I am just starting. Next week I will post my six-month mark-- inches lost and weight lost-- but I haven’t been posting them because I still haven’t seen my old trainer, Diana, to get them done (communication breakdown! My bad guys.). 

The numbers don’t matter as much as they used to.

(JAN 10)

 

When I first started this, all I could think about was how much weight I was losing, or how many inches were coming off. When it wasn't coming off as fast as in the beginning, around month 3-4, I started getting frustrated and was losing faith that my body would still change. It was only after talking to all my trainers and getting their input that I felt better about how my weight loss would slow down. My body would still be building muscle, I would still gain endurance and I would still see my body transform-- I just had to have patience. It was that kind of assurance that has really pushed me away from the idea of looking at the numbers towards really just worrying about the experiences.

 

3 months ago, I couldn’t have played a game of pick up football in the park with my buddies for 2 hours. 6 months ago, I wouldn’t have had the confidence to get a number from a girl I had barely talked to.  There are just so many experiences that have occurred in the last six months that have really shaped my life in a new direction. 

(JAN 10)

 

But with all the good things that are coming my way, I also need to come to the realization that I am not done yet, that I need to find new ways to be active and new ways to be social. If I sit satisfied, letting the complacency build, I will remain static, something that I don't want. Although I am incredibly happy where I am, I know that there is still so much more work to get done.

A MOMENT I WOULD LIKE TO FORGET

As I approach the six-month mark of my weight loss journey, I have realized that as my weight decreases, my world has become a much happier place. To make sure it stays that way, I often try to remember some of my lowest moments in life so that I won’t let myself get back there again.
This is one from about two years ago.

 I was doing an internship with a media company in Austin while still attending Texas State in San Marcos. The business I was interning for was relatively close to my grandmother’s house. I would sleep over there two nights a week so that I wouldn’t have to make such a crazy drive in the mornings I had the internship. One night, when I had to make the drive to my grandmother’s house, I decided that I would do my normal stop at McDonald’s and grab a bite to eat. Because I hadn’t eaten since that morning I was starving, and I decided to treat myself to a 20 piece Chicken Mcnugget meal (Large fry and large coke included). When I pulled into the driveway of my grandmother's house, I was about to walk in when I realized that I didn’t want my grandma to see me eat such a huge meal, so I ate the McDonald’s in my car instead.

Chomping down on the food, I always loved to cover the nuggets in McDonald’s BBQ sauce (the only way to eat these things, may I add) and as I was about to put it in my mouth some of the sauce fell on me. Except that it didn’t hit my shirt, it hit my belly.
I looked down and my shirt wasn’t covering my stomach.
The shirt I just recently bought for my internship couldn't even cover my gigantic stomach…A 5X SHIRT COULDN’T CONTAIN WHAT I HAD DONE TO MYSELF. I really don’t know what I weighed at this point, because I never got on the scale, but when a 5X shirt can’t cover your body, it hits hard.
I began to cry uncontrollably in the car as I still ate the food. I couldn’t believe how little control I had over myself. The food made me sick, hate myself and was tearing my life apart, but I still ate every last bite. I sat in the car and cried even after the food was gone because I realized at that moment that my life would be over soon. I had no control over what my body did. It only knew pleasure from food, and even though I knew it was crippling everything I wanted myself to become, I still let it happen.
I cleared up the tears and walked into my grandma’s house as if nothing was wrong. That night I made a promise to myself that I would take full advantage of anything that came my way with losing weight.

I thought that promise would be fulfilled with being a contestant on “The Biggest Loser,” but that never panned out. Eighteen months later, Workshop Fitness has become everything I could have dreamed of and more. With their help I have lost 90 pounds off my starting weight. With their help I have gained more confidence than I ever thought I could have had and with their help I will become the person that the guy eating 20 nuggets in a car while crying will never recognize.