Jerry went through all of your comments and questions from the post I wrote about his reaching Lifetime, and answered them the best he could. It's kind of long, but he wanted to make sure he answered everything. Enjoy!
Q: Have you given up any of your favorite foods or have you just learned to eat less?
A: I eat less. Way less. Katie and I would typically, when we were heavier, go through as much beer and pizza with cheese bread as our guts could handle. Now, we limit ourselves to just a couple pieces during a weekly family pizza night and enjoy a drink later on while enjoying our shows together.
Q: Do you have trigger foods?
A. Who doesn't?! Doughnuts. I could seriously eat them until I pass out. I work with 12 other guys. One day we decided to all pitch in $5 and get some doughnuts in the morning. That's $60 for doughnuts, and we ended up with 7 dozen. I ate at least 2 1/2 dozen on my own. True story.
Q: What does it mean to you that you were able to follow in Katie's footsteps on this journey?
A: Katie has lead me through all of this. There is no way that I could've ever done any of this without her. I always say that she has done all the work for me and I truly mean that. She makes that food and I eat it. That was about it. The last 20 pounds though, I feel like I have earned through diligent tracking and INSANITY workouts.
Q: Now that you and Katie have achieved your weight loss goals, what lessons/messages do you hope to teach your children about healthy living?
A: We want our kids to be as active as possible. When I was a kid, weight was never an issue. It didn't seem like this huge epidemic among us kids. Reason? We were active. We were outside. I want to go retro-childhood with the boys and do more active things outside and just field whatever questions come our way.
(Katie here): In regards to food, we don't label foods "good" or "bad", because I really don't want the kids to think it's bad to eat certain foods. Instead, we try to be as fact-based as we can, so they learn to make their own healthy decisions. For example, I might say, "Do you guys know why your body likes these black beans? They make it easier to go poop." (They love when we talk about poop). We also don't eat out much, and we tell them that it's because our bodies feel better when we eat home-cooked food.
When they ask why I write down my food or measure my food, I tell them that I used to eat too much all the time, and my body stopped telling me that it was full, which made me very unhealthy. So I have to measure my food because my body doesn't let me know when I've had enough. Then I tell them that they are lucky, because their bodies work just fine, so they don't have to measure food, they can just stop when their bellies feel like they've had enough.
Q: As you lost weight and got closer to your goal, did your guy friends say much about it?
A: Interestingly enough, they made me feel like shit sometimes. That's as blunt as I can be about it. I would get the 'you're starving yourself' and 'you're getting too skinny' comments all the time. But I have learned that the people who typically say that have issues themselves so I ignore it.
Q: What is the biggest benefit you've seen or felt from getting healthier?
A: I just look better. Ask Katie. She can't keep her hands off me.
Q: What was your biggest challenge?
A: Willpower. I've done WW before but I have never stuck to it. I have commitment issues. So, I was determined to work my way through it.
Q: When and why did you start losing weight?
A: I started losing weight in January of 2010 because I was one of those chuckleheads that has to start a diet on New Years Day. This was probably the 6th year in a row that I started on New Years Day and typically lasted 3 days. It stuck. I didn't really "track" until March of this year.
Q: What exercise do you do?
A: Insanity DVD's. This just started recently so wish me luck.
Q: What treats do you allow yourself?
A: BEER. As much of it as my points will allow. None of that Budweiser crap though... I'm a craft guy. Something new every day.
Q: Seriously how was your weight loss journey different from your wife - is male weight loss more mental, physical?
A: I guess I'm not a "typical" guy. Most men are stuck in their ways. I was wide open to trying new things. So, as a man, I would think it's more mental, getting out of your comfort zone.
Q: When Katie started losing weight and eating healthier were you upset, resistant, or sneaking food?
A: Good question... I never had a problem eating healthy. However, when I started restricting myself from the foods that I wanted I found myself starting to binge eat and sneaking food. It was easy for me because this would normally take place late at night when everyone else was sleeping. Katie totally busted me one day and I felt like a teenage boy who just got caught jerkin' it by his mom. It was so humiliating that I joined WW the next day and finished my journey.
Q: What is your lunch like? Do you pack lunch? If so, what is typical for you to take?
A: Leftovers from dinner. If it's not leftovers I typically take a sandwich, pretzels, Fiber One Bar (for my sugar fix), and fruit.
Q: My question is do you have a binge eating problem like Katie?
A: I never thought I had an eating disorder until I met Katie. Wait, that sounds horrible. What I mean by that is I thought I was normal. I never considered my eating habits as a disorder or unhealthy. I would be considered more of an "overeater" than a "binge eater", though.
Q: I was wondering if you had any measurements or sizing you could share with us from before/after?
A: Well... I was a 2XL in my shirts and a 42 in my pants...get it? In my pants. Now, I wear a 31/32 pants and M/L shirts.
Q. Do you have a history of being overweight?
A. I never really had a weight issue until I hit middle school. When I was kid I was very active outside. Growing up as a military brat there was always something to do on post. I was very active with sports, I was always outside. When my dad got out of active duty we moved and I didn't have a whole lot of friends. I found myself hanging out alone and playing video games. I never really got any friends until high school. By that time I started packing on the pounds, probably around 200 pounds for the 4 years of high school. I never really noticed my weight until I got married. Katie was always trying all the fad diets and I got sucked right into it with her.
Q. How do I get my husband to lose weight?
A. First off, they have to want to lose weight. If they don't want to then there is no point in trying. It was really easy for me because Katie did the cooking and calculating. I did the eating. I made it a point to make room in my day for the things I wanted. Beer was the #1 thing I wanted. So I made it so. But, I think the biggest thing is, they have to want to do it. Katie had never once hassled me to lose weight. Oddly enough, I started my journey to support her. I knew that having me do it would improve her chances of being successful. Look at me now.
Q. I am a lifetime member of WW and just recently had a baby girl so I am working on my pregnancy weight. My husband also gained some weight during the pregnancy and wants to get healthy/in shape (he needs to lose about 30 pounds) but he doesn't want to do it at WW as he thinks it's for women. What encouraging words would you have for a man looking to get healthy?
A. Easy question. What worked for me is just having an open mind about retrying food I thought I didn't like. I was always told that if you try something enough times you will grow to like it. Example for me, hummus. I hated hummus. Despised it. Thought it was the grossest thing ever. What the hell are chick peas anyways?! But, I've acquired a taste for them after having it enough times. Lentils. Beans. Veggies. All on my 'never gonna eat that' list. Now, I love all of them with the exception of cauliflower.
It was easy for me because Katie would make new recipes and set them in front of me. That's what I ate. Eventually I said screw it and just joined WW. The thing with WW is that men have this preconceived notion that it's only for women because that seems to be who the commercials are geared towards. At first I didn't tell anyone I was on WW because of that. I was afraid of the backlash and losing my man card.
But when people started taking notice of my weight loss and were asking how I did it, I had no problem telling them it was through WW. I was proud of myself and finally happy that I was going in the direction I needed to go. The Jerry Train was leaving Fattsville Station and if they weren't on board with me, then they could suck it, because I was doing this for me, not them.
Q. Of course we all want to be healthy, but a lot of times I find myself motivated by superficial reasons. Do men stress over looking good in the mirror and in clothes, or a certain size clothing like women? Do men compare themselves to other men? A lot of times, I just want to be "normal". I am not going for "supermodel".
A. Yes, I currently stress. I want to put on a gun show and make everyone notice my accomplishment. This only started recently though. I have been doing Insanity and have yielded very positive results. My body is more defined and toned and I have built some muscle on top of that. I try to not compare myself to others, simply because some guys think that they are a lot skinnier than they really are... skinny jeans are made for these individuals.
Q. Do you track your calories daily and keep a food journal? I wouldn't think men would find that "manly".
A. I do track my food with both the paper tracker and the WW etools. I never carry my tracker with me and usually log my food before I leave for work so I never have to worry about people looking over my shoulder and questioning my manliness.
Q. Do you have a favorite healthy, low calorie food/dinner?
A. Lentils. Anything lentils.
Mexican lentils and rice will make any meat loving guy a lentils fan.
Q. Do you exercise regularly? My husband works swing shift and is finding the time for exercise difficult/overwhelming. (I run according to his schedule too, since I do not have a treadmill or babysitter.)
A. I didn't exercise until recently. I started doing Insanity and have made the commitment to do it every day that I'm supposed to. With that said, my swing shift can also wreak havok on getting this done. In the mornings when I work day shift, I wake up at 3:45 to get it done. On midnight shift, I wake up in the afternoon and do it then. I find the time. People who say they don't have the time to take care of themselves need to reevaluate what's really important to them and what's not.
Q. When people acknowledge your significant weight loss, does it make you uncomfortable? It does me sometimes.
A. People acknowledge it in one of two ways. They either ask what I've been doing and say that its awesome or they say that I'm losing too much weight and I look sick. The latter seems to sound almost jealous of the success, so I shrug it off and go about my day. No one is going to ruin this for me. The only opinions that matter to me are mine and Katie's.
Jerry gives me a lot of credit for his weight loss, but I give him a lot of credit for mine! I know I couldn't have done this without his support. It really helps that we have done this together. We both look and feel a million times better!
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