The Goal Is To Be In The Best Healthy Shape

By César Michel | April 17, 2023

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All my life I’ve been on the chubby side. I have lost weight and gained weight but I have never been in my best healthy shape. Ever since the pandemic happened it got me thinking about life. If I want a better and more enjoyable life for as long as possible I have to make this my goal. I don’t want to be the most cut, most fit, or strongest person. I also don’t plan to compete in any bodybuilding contest anytime soon. I want to be in the best healthy shape.
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Photo by César Michel | Disneyland Park with by brother, 90's kids

I want to be able to move around and be active. I want to travel and do fun things with my family. I don’t want to run out of breath or feel like I’m dying when going on a easy-level hike.

 

Since I can remember at 13 years old I got advised to be on a diet and write in a journal. I had to journal everything I ate since I was overweight and diagnosed with high cholesterol. The main reason I went to go see a doctor in the first place was for the bumps on my knees and elbows. I was then referred to Children’s Hospital to see a specialist. They cut my bumps on my knees and later confirmed it was cholesterol deposits.

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Photo By César Michel | Cholesterol Deposits On Both Elbows

These cholesterol deposits are also known as cholesterol bumps, or eruptive xanthomas. I learned this from Dr. Lee as she described it in an episode of TLC’s show Dr. Pimple Popper (See here). The case shown of Robert was extreme compared to mine but I can relate to him lying about not caring. My clothing preference at work would always be jackets, sweaters, or long sleeve shirts no matter the weather.

 

When I’m around family and friends I don’t care but being around other people does give me a little bit of anxiety. Waiting in line at the grocery store or at an event people stare and look at me in disgust. I can hear kids tell their parents “look mom” and every once in awhile little kids poke my elbows in curiosity. I laugh it off and smile at them while their parents tell them to “get back here”.

 

When I graduated high school back in 2005 I was at that time my heaviest ever which was 215 lbs. I felt shame and guilt for allowing myself to gain so much weight since I came into high school as a freshman at 155 lbs. So I decided I was going to get after it, lose weight and see if the cholesterol bumps would disappear.

 

I took action by enrolling in the community college gym class for a semester. When that was over I got my first gym membership at 24 Hour Fitness. I also started going on basketball gym runs with my friends which was fun.  After 2 years of doing this, I got down to 165 lbs looking skinny fat but my bumps were still there on my elbows.

 

Looking back at that time I wasn’t eating the healthy way. My cardio choice was either playing basketball or elliptical machines and sometimes both. It also didn’t help I was partying a lot and was being easier with the choices I made with food. I then fell in love with my beautiful girlfriend 01.15.08 now, today, forever and ever as we always say. Then my lovely son was born 08.21.09. Gym and everything else went out the window as my main focus was them. Providing and being with them it’s all I cared about.

 

Did I yo-yo back? I sure did gain the weight back and some more at 225 lbs. Looking back at old pictures got me thinking, like wtf? So I tried again with counting macros, having a “bro split”. I started going down the rabbit hole of youtube fitness.

 

I watched a lot of youtube fitness videos. Some of my favorites were The Hodgetwins (before they went all political & foodies), Matt Ogus, Chris Lavado, Chris Jones, Nick Wright and Christian Guzman. The “Golden Era of Youtube Fitness” was awesome. I was soaking up all their wisdom and knowledge from all their years of experience.

 

I dropped to 185 lbs. I also looked and felt better because I was lifting weights along with cardio compared to when I was 165 lbs. Then work life happened. More is better mentality kicked in. I wanted to get promoted, “move up” to earn more money so I stopped caring for my well-being as time went by. In January of 2021, early pandemic time, I weight in at 280 lbs (my highest weigh-in). Everything came to a stop and it gave me a chance to think about life.

 

I started to think of the many things that contributed to me being overweight. Was it genetics, being comfortable, stress, consumerism, or feeling stuck in the 9-5 rat race? I say all of the above without realizing it. Reading Atomic Habits and Your Money or Your Life has been life-changing. It put a lot of things in perspective for me. How to make more conscious decisions and why. Now I know that I have put in place good habits to succeed at anything and be frugal by enjoying the things that I have. I started to track my money habits so I will track my eating habits as well while keeping it simple.

 

April 2023 I’m down to 265 lbs by simply eliminating fast food and diet soda. I don’t know why but diet soda was the hardest thing to kick out. It’s probably all that artificial sugar. I realized that even though it is 0 calories and 0 grams of actual sugar it made me more hungry and crave sweets. So water and unsweet tea for my beverage choice.

 

I won’t be stressing over what diet I choose. Alex Hormozi, author, investor and entrepreneur, debunked the diet bs. He made me realize that diets are different by only macro they cut. As long as you stay in a caloric deficit you will lose the weight. I recommend watching his amazing youtube video where he talks about this. He breaks down his friends different diets and how he can eat anything and still be jacked. (watch here)

Gif by Giphy

I started to keep track of my macronutrients (20% fat, 40% protein & 40% carbohydrates) using my fitness pal app. It’s easy to use. You search what you eat or type it in and add it. It saves your eating history so if you eat the same thing again you can quickly add.

 

I will start with 2,000 calories and will weigh myself every week same day and time with a goal of 1-2 lbs per week. For me, it will be Monday as it is easy to remember being the first day of the week. I am aware the first month I have to watch out for drastic weight loss. It can be water weight then I’ll decide to increase or decrease the calories I eat so I don’t lose weight too fast. I think I’m passed that point but good to keep in my mind.

 

For my cholesterol, I am taking fish oil and cholest off vitamins. They help lower and manage my cholesterol. I also plan to eat more veggies and other natural ways to keep my cholesterol down. I want to avoid medicine prescribed by doctors like Lipitor. I don’t like the fact that they have side effects. The side effects can be a problem in the future which defeats the purpose of medicine.

 

I doubt my cholesterol bumps will reduce in size so the next step will be to get them cut off. Last time I counted them I had a total of 12 bumps. I’ve had 2 cut off my right elbow before and burnt leaving 2 small scars that don’t look bad. I definitely would take the small scars over bumps any day. I don’t want to wear sweaters or long sleeve shirts on hot days anymore.

 

My success indicator won’t be the scale. It will be all about how I feel. If I’m feeling good, energized, and confident I’ll be happy. This will allow me to be active and enjoy activities as opposed to feeling tired or out of breath. My goal is to be in the best healthy shape and that’s how I will achieve it. Life can be taken away at any given time and enjoying it as long as you can with the people you love is all that matters.


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