Friday, July 16, 2010

Let's Get Serious...

I hear it from time to time, that folks stumble across this blog and are a little put off by the potty humor and the fact that I’m often taking potshots at this struggle that we’re all struggling with, this rock-littered road that has no finish line (I almost said “rocky road” but I didn’t want to make you hungry).

I understand it. Really, I do.

They don’t know me, don’t know how miserable and out of sorts I was sixteen months ago when I was pushing 300 lbs.

They don’t realize that I named this little patch of sunshine “Jack Sh*t, Gettin' Fit” because of a line I jotted down as I was preparing to begin this journey: “People who think losing weight is easy don’t know Jack Sh*t.”

It wasn’t easy.

For years, I’ve been a big-time yo-yo dieter. I’d manage to lose large amounts of weight, and then pack the pounds right back on. I can’t tell you why, have no way of explaining that kind of self-destructive behavior. Maybe it’s bad habits or just faulty wiring up in my head. Whatever the reason, I’d always gain it back… and then a little bit extra.

And as I got older, I found that I couldn’t flip the “losing” switch like I once could. I’d start a diet with the best of intentions, then find myself spitting and sputtering by week’s end. I couldn't catch the spark to start the fire…

Let me tell you something: I’m a big believer in the power of these blogs.

At my lowest point, when I felt like I was approaching last-chance territory, I reached out and connected with a couple of them. It was an eye-opening experience, a life-changing awakening.

I found that you could backtrack a blogger’s entire journey, see the person that they started off as and the one they’re on the way to becoming. Every blog isn’t like that, you know, but the ones that are have such a force about them, such an energy… you can just tap in and feel something powerful circulating through you.

I get a real kick out of making you snort and giggle, and I like it when you’re entertained by my funky act, but I do want you to understand that I’m a different person now than I was before, a better person than I was before.

Don't take that the wrong way either. I don't think overweight or obese people are worse that thin or fit people. I'm just saying that I'm better... I feel better, feel healthier, feel 10x more energized, than I did in my dark days.

I feel like a better person.

And I want you to understand that the very same opportunity is there for the taking for you.

It will take hard work and smart choices. It will take a lot of sweat and sacrifice. It’ll take commitment and it’ll take time.

You’ll go through periods when you think it’s much too much and you’ll have times when you think it couldn’t be easier.

But if you’ll find some way to stick with it, find something that inspires you to keep going and, well… keep going, then I think you’ll be a success, so matter what number that scale blinks back at you.

And if you think this journey is impossible, then I just have one thing to say to you…

You don’t know Jack Sh*t.

54 comments:

  1. Jack...You look great! and I know you feel great too! I am another yo-yo dieter, trying to find the willpower to stay on track and get back to a healthier weight! A little humor is always good for the soul, I say! Love your blog!

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  2. You really have been an inspiration to me! Thanks Jack, you do know sh*t!

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  3. You bring the good energy, Mr. Sh*t. Thanks...

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  4. Jack! This is awesome. You are SO RIGHT about the power of these BLOGS! I actually read the about me pages and I go back in the archives. I like to learn about people! See their growth. I even go back and read my own archives to give me a GREAT measure on my journey. That is one of the things that keeps me going. To see that I move one step closer to the BIG picture. Changing my Life not just changing the number on the scale...You put the FUN in this journey but you are the REAL DEAL and it is obvious you are in this for life! THAT is what keeps me hanging out!

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  5. You are completely right about the powser of thes blogs. I've only fairly recently discovered them but they have completely helped me. Even though you are all invisible friends, I feel like someone is there with me, KNOWING completely what I have gone through and what I am going through. I KNOW you know. It's comforting to know. I don't always comment but I always read. And I always laugh. and learn. You rock.

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  6. I LOVE the humor, but this was just the thing I needed this morning when I was feeling down. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  7. I love it when you "get serious". :)

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  8. You inspire me, amuse me and make me think about my own journey through fatassland. I lost a lot, gained some back, and currently fight the fat fight like a cat sliding down a wall, clawing the whole time. If you throw in a bit of potty here and there, I don't give a sh*t! Because you know.

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  9. I only this week found your blog, but have been coming here faithfully for the humor. Sometimes I feel if I don't laugh, then the struggle is too hard. Thanks for providing that daily laugh.

    My blog is nowhere near as powerful or inspiring or humorous as yours but I find I need the accountability to my readers, even if there's only 1 reader a day.

    Thanks again, Jack. Vee at http://veegettinghealthy.blogspot.com

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  10. Thanks for being one of those blogs that I look to for encouragement, motivation and inspiration. It's funny how you always seem to hit on exactly how I'm feeling.
    Get out of my head!

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  11. *sigh*...you so totally rock my world.

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  12. This was SUCH a needed post for me today! I was really down and depressed about my weight today (no matter what I've done in the past few weeks the scale isn't going down. ( http://runningthemarathonoflife.blogspot.com/2010/07/fitness-friday-5.html ) Thanks for the much needed motivation!

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  13. Awe, Jack! I like the sensitive side of you. It's endearing and so cute!!! *pinches your emaciated cheeks*

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  14. Life is nothing without Humor!!! I come to your blog everyday to not only be inspired but to not feel so along on this journey. Not to mention you are HILARIOUS!! I loved to see the serious side of you too. It's a fine balancing act but I thank you for walking that tight rope!

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  15. I'm a long time journaler, and have been blogging for a little over a decade (that's a personal blog that's locked... sorry). But i do the same thing. I go back into my history, I see the growth. I see that i have good days and bad days. I see that with a little help from my friends, I can survive the bad days and celebrate the good ones.

    As for the humor -- i think that's something a l9ot of overweight people do/use -- it's our barrier to keep people from getting close to us. I'm not saying that's why you use it, but it's something we are ALL familiar with. The funny fat person. You're using it in a way to pull us in. The insightful no-longer-fat person, who just happens to be funny.

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  16. Goosebumps. Your blog did for me what those before did for you. When I was about to quit, I stumbled across your blog and a couple others. and it has helped more than I dreamed.

    And I love the potty humor and the silly jokes. Humor has always been one of the ways I've survived obesity. It is part of who I am and that will not change as I lose weight. So keep on with the silly posts and awful song lyrics. I love it!

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  17. I didn't know you had a serious side. I love your matter of fact approach. Losing weight is hard, keeping it off is even more difficult. Thanks for letting all of us in on your "brighter" side.
    ~Jenny

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  18. I love both the funny and the serious posts. You're blog is one of those that can inspire and keep a person on the road to success. Yours and a few others are what keeps me trying. Sure I stumble, but I know there are people out there who have done this thing, and they've been successful even with the stumbles. You're doing great things!

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  19. A good blog can be a big help! your blog might not be the perfect fit for everyone, but I fell like if you help even one person then you are making a difference... there are some blogs where I cant even get through half a post... and then there are some that leave me wanting more, even after I read my way back through the archives!

    I really appreciate you sharing your journey and just wanted to say thanks for {unknowingly} pushing me to get to the gym! because I can! and I'm worth it!

    <3 Laura
    winloseorblog-laura.blogspot.com

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  20. When I tell people that Fat is a gift, a teacher, they sometimes look at me like I'm crazy. But too bad! It forces us on a journey that grows us up and teaches us how to truly take care of ourselves. Blogging is part of taking care of ourselves because it allows expression and working through anything that crops up along the journey.

    The journey does make us better people. Not good or bad about anyone. We're all just at different points on our own journey. But, we really have to take the trip... instead of resisting it... just to see what lessons are there for us.

    I love the way losing weight allowed you to becoming inspiring for others!

    Pat Barone, CPCC, PCC
    America's Weight Loss Catalyst

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  21. Oh Jack, I have found you a source of entertainment and motivation from the first day I found you, and although the commenting has been slow on my end (do to summer holidays and limited computer time) I still read and I love your blog and look forward to what you have to say.
    Keep doing what you are doing Mr. we all love you!

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  22. Your posts are not only clever and hilarious, but they are also very motivating, especially for those of us who keep falling off and getting back on the same wagon time after time after time! Love this blog!

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  23. goose bumps! I loved this post Jack! I think I say that pretty much daily when I read you but really this one was heart felt. Blogs gave me the extra motivation I was looking for over a year ago when I was struggling and I love the support it gives me daily now. LONG LIVE THE WEIGH LOSS BLOGGING COMMUNITY! :)

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  24. Jack,

    I find that people who are annoyed with others that make humor out of situations that shouldn't be humorous are the same that think laughing at someone's funeral is bad; when in fact I'd rather laugh at someone's funeral and remember the good times rather than cry like a good little girl (course, that don't mean I don't cry, trust me, I've had my fair share!). It's all a matter of choice. Personally, if I didn't have humor in my life, I probably would need to be on some serious meds to get me through if that was even possible. Some people prefer to look at life through multicolored glasses and laugh, and that's great! I enjoy reading your blog; it helps me get through the day if I'm having a rough one :)

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  25. I can soo relate!!! I have lost weight a bazillion times, but I NEVER remember ever sticking to healthy eating for as long as I have with my blog, I feel normal, my struggles are so like yours and every other weight loss blogger, when I read of someone giving up, then I read about someone getting almost angry over someone giving up because where they were VS where they are... bottom line I believe in blogging, this web community is amazing, the support, the encouragement.... sniff,... snifff.... oops sorry I had a moment :P

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  26. Thank you Jack..just thank you..Slimslampam

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  27. Thank you Jack! I've been doing the yo-yo weight-loss thing for years, since i was 14 years old! But this time it really feels different for me. I honestly think it's because i don't feel alone this time around. I have this amazing group of people, who i've never even met, that understand where i'm coming from! And the support i get is incredible!

    Thank you for putting a smile on my face and for making me laugh out loud! Laughter IS the best medicine!

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  28. I got all the picture of you I needed when I read that post you did about that overweight couple and their kid. Anybody who cares that much knows the pain of it.
    You have a great blog, I read your heart in nearly every post.

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  29. I have four brothers and raised a son. Potty humour doesn't bother me in the slightest.

    A good sense of humour and being able to laugh at ourselves and with one another makes this entire thing just a little easier to get through. And for the record, I have never felt that any of your jokes are in any way hurtful or insulting.

    Carry on. :D

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  30. Jack I enjoy the humour so much because so often weight loss seem such serious business. It is because it is about our health but why not have fun with it. I don't want to constantly obsess about how many calories/points I ate in a day and how many I've burned. I want to laugh at the silly things that run around in my head like the fact that I want to ask my WW leader how many Activity points I can get for sex. It has to be funny or it isn't me.

    Thanks for being the voice of *reason*. And congrats on your journey.

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  31. Jack - Don't you even think about changing your writing style for a few whiners!!! You have a zillion more fans who "get" you!! I don't think I could function without your inspirational and witty blog. You're my hero!

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  32. Jack, you are a many-faceted diamond! I love seeing this side of you, too. And now that my eyes are open to it, I see your heart in most all your posts.

    Those before and after pics you posted today are amazing... very inspiring. And I agree about the power of blogs... I am amazed at how much it has helped me. I had no clue when I started that it could help so much.

    Loretta
    =^..^=

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  33. I was a part of that group. The ones who were a little put off by this blog. I admit. I was so afraid that if I wasn't always completely serious, or that if I wasn't always perfect...I'd fail, again. I just did not understand. I do now, and I'm not sure I could live without humor on this journey. You bring it! Even when I can not. You also bring honesty and heart and bravery. I love it.

    I always say I had a "light bulb" moment when I realized that this journey needed to happen right now, that I could not wait. But it is blogs, and their authors that keep me going when I screw up, or feel like giving up.

    Thank you for that.

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  34. Great post Jack, and a great reminder that the power to be who we want to be resides in us all. We are the ones in control of this journey. Never doubt that your humor along the way has kept many of us laughing instead of being mad and frustrated. So for that, I thank you.

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  35. JS, great post. The funny thing is for me, I always find a message in your post.. always! Maybe the people that don't like it have just not got it mentally yet.... it is so much mental... getting the mind on board with what you want to do for yourself & your body. Ya got to have a sense of humor too or else you are gonna drive yourself crazy... it is HRAD HARD work but the payoff is amazing!

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  36. I am prissy.
    I am an uptight, middle class snob.
    I am snooty about bad language.

    Thanks for helping me find the fun in a part of life that could be a pain in the butt.

    You are one of the wise ones with a BIG heart.
    Thanks for the laughter.
    Thanks for taking this weight thing seriously.
    Thanks for your compassion and concern.
    Thanks for Blogging.
    Above all,
    Thanks for being you.

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  37. I'm a true believer too, Jack. You CAN go back to day one of my blog and see the despair and anxiety there.

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  38. You can't see me, but I'm clapping. And this coming from an elitist snob.

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  39. Who loves reading your blog everyday, I forgot to mention.

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  40. Your blog with it's humor, the great advice, the support and the potty humor is one of those blogs that gives me an electric thrill. Thank you for being a big virtual shoulder to lean on when we are feeling down, when we are looking for inspiration and most of all looking for someone to show us that we shouldn't take ourselves too seriously :) You are the bomb!

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  41. I'm sort of new to the blogging world and I find it very inspirational as I yo-yo my way along, (hoping to stop the yo-yo once and for all!) Hell, if we can't laugh about the journey...

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  42. It's posts like this that keep me comin' back. I love your humour and your wit, but when you get serious, I really really tune in!

    Thanks!

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  43. "I couldn't catch the spark to start the fire…"

    You got it in one Jack. That's just where I am. I am in middle-aged doldrums, wondering if I have it in me to carry on trying to lose weight. The road is long, but your efforts, like those of others, are inspiring. Oh - and don't you dare stop being funny, even though this is a serious business! :)

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  44. "I couldn't catch the spark to start the fire…"

    You got it in one Jack. That's just where I am. I am in middle-aged doldrums, wondering if I have it in me to carry on trying to lose weight. The road is long, but your efforts, like those of others, are inspiring. Oh - and don't you dare stop being funny, even though this is a serious business! :)

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  45. Another great post, Jack

    There's a quote I love "Life is too important to be taken seriously" and that's how I feel about the spirit your blog brings. I don't think your humor undermines the importance and gravity of weight loss, I think you MULTIPLY it by a little tongue-in-cheek humor about "tips" and such and by making us all laugh (in general, and often at ourselves).

    Your blog is my weight-loss must-read.

    And you're one of the few who tell the truth : weight loss is not easy. That is worth a ton too!

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  46. Teared up as I know every emotion that you've just expressed... so glad to know you! xo

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