The Personal Thread: Tell Your Stories Here

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 2:07 am

One of the neat things about the NFBC is that we are a pretty tight community here where friendships have formed over the last 7+ years because of our shared love of baseball. Those friendships have blossomed to where some members are best friends with their competitors and others have been big parts of their day-to-day lives.

Last year when my daughter needed surgery, a group of Message Board members chipped in to buy her a DS player for her long time on her back along with a big balloon. It was one of the nicest things a group of strangers have ever done for my daughter. My family always wondered why I was on the computer so much and that day I told her "this is why." It was pretty cool and in fact she's playing on it now, which made me think of doing this.

My idea for this thread is to have members post some funny happenings in their lives now. Get a little personal if you have a funny story about yourself or your kids or your spouse. It will ease the tension until Draft Day. If your kids are doing something great that you want to brag about, post here. If you're trying to lose weight and hurt yourself in the process, post here. It has to be somewhat comical if you know what I mean.

Here's mine to start out:

My oldest daughter turned 16 on Feb. 6th, the day the Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl. It was the most memorable birthday anyone will ever have. At the end we all hugged and cried like little babies. What a day.

Well the good times continued that week as she applied for a lifeguard's job and got it and then took her driver's test and passed on the first time. Now she had a job and her driver's license. I was sooooo happy for her. That was until I had to get car insurance for this 16-year-old.

I knew it would go up, but me being Mr. Krebs I was shocked to see how much it would go up!!

With two vehicles, my car insurance more than doubled (like 2.5 times) by adding her. Now Mr. Krebs isn't so happy anymore!!!

Should I take 15 minutes and call Geiko? Should I break down and get AARP insurance now that I'm 50?? Or should I just stop whining and be happy?

I know the answer and I'm happy for her. But each month I now have less to spend on good things!!! Oh well, thankfully my next daugher won't be 16 for a few more years!!! Anyone else get the same sticker shock recently?

team z · Post by **team z** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 3:03 am

I was shocked that when my son turned 16 that if he just received his license to drive he had to be put on our car insurance even if we had no intention of letting him drive our car. For the little time he would be driving we could not justify the expense. He had to wait till he was 18 and get his own insurance. But I guess that's really what the insurance companies want anyway.

My favorite question to ask your insurance agent.

When I buy my auto insurance am I insuring the car or myself to drive the car? Watch them squirm.

[ February 27, 2011, 09:06 AM: Message edited by: team z ]

Fourslot40 · Post by **Fourslot40** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 3:16 am

Greg,

My 15 year old daughter asked if we could take her driving. She thinks she is a good driver. However, I have seen her drive a go-cart and last time when she went through a pile of cones into pit row during a race, she didn't know what the cones were there for. They were there to block pit row during the race. Again, she thinks she is a good driver.

Anyhow, knowing this and knowing my patience level, I enlisted my lovely wife to take her driving. My daughter drove around a circle in our subdivision to start. She seemed to be ok with this. Then, my wife asked her to make a right turn at a quiet intersection. The road was a two way road with a largely landscaped median. Well, she made the right turn and kept turning... and kept turning... right onto the sidewalk with all four tires... then in a panic, stepped on the gas... came off the curb and then back on it a second time! My wife screaming to tell her to pick her feet up, she grabbed the wheel and took over.

My daughter is now wanting to get her permit. As much as I would like her to have the freedom to drive where she would like, we are fearing for her safety on the road. There will be a great deal of training in her future... or we will buy yearly bus passes.

John

[ February 27, 2011, 09:20 AM: Message edited by: Fourslot40 ]

billywaz · Post by **billywaz** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 3:18 am

Not doing any baseball this year, but since the football boards are dead awaiting the switchover, I was trolling around here.

There are a couple ironic items here with you Greg.

1) My stepson just got his license about a week ago, and yes.....our car insurance went up about 2x. Unlike your daughter, he needs to get moving on the whole job thing, or he won't be driving much!

On a side note, I imagine lifeguards in Wisconsin have to know how to skate well and save people who have fallen in the ice?

2) My stepdaughter's birthday is also February 6th. We (or I was) crying after the Super Bowl too, but obviously not for the same reason.

Good luck to all the fantasy baseball players this year.....if there is no football, I may regret my decision not to play at all this year.

Atlas · Post by **Atlas** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 9:54 am

Okay..let me take this off car insurance.

This comes under the heading of "You can't make this sh*t up" .Some of you guys may be able to relate.

I've been divorced about 2 years now and just recently started dating again. Met a nice woman..also divorced for a few years...about 6-7 weeks ago.

So we celebtate her Bday the first week of Feb. followed by Valentines Day, followed by my Bday shortly thereafter.

Just as things are going well (first warning sign) I get a voice message from her on Tueday that an old boyfriend of a year ago showed up on her doorstep and proposed marriage!!??

So aside from a short text and email that she's going to see her therapist (second warning sign) I still haven't a clue 6 days later what's going on.

Right now I'm laying odds 6-5 that she reconcils with him. So needless to say I've had a few extra nights for mock drafts!

Thank God for Fantasy Baseball and Football.

I think its the only thing that has kept me sane. Unless, of course, my 1st round pick goes down for the season..then I'll go back to dating.

CC's Desperados · Post by **CC's Desperados** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 12:08 pm

[ February 28, 2011, 07:54 AM: Message edited by: CC's Desperados ]

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 1:02 pm

Originally posted by billywaz:

Not doing any baseball this year, but since the football boards are dead awaiting the switchover, I was trolling around here.

There are a couple ironic items here with you Greg.

1) My stepson just got his license about a week ago, and yes.....our car insurance went up about 2x. Unlike your daughter, he needs to get moving on the whole job thing, or he won't be driving much!

On a side note, I imagine lifeguards in Wisconsin have to know how to skate well and save people who have fallen in the ice?

2) My stepdaughter's birthday is also February 6th. We (or I was) crying after the Super Bowl too, but obviously not for the same reason.

Good luck to all the fantasy baseball players this year.....if there is no football, I may regret my decision not to play at all this year. Sorry about your Steelers Billy, but those turnovers were killers. The Pick Six for a TD was a big play, but that Mendenhall fumble was the game-changer. The Steelers really had the Packers on their heels at that point and were in position to score again to start the fourth quarter. That play changed the game for sure. But still it was a FANTASTIC game to watch.

We have a glitch in the NFFC boards that we haven't had the time to fix yet. We will soon and get those back up and running. I feel terrible about that because I want to update everyone on the prize payouts. Fanball told me on Friday that they will start to go out this Friday, which is later than ever, but at least we have a date now and hopefully everyone will be paid in full soon. I'll send out an email to everyone to let them know. As you know, we've never been that late before and we never will be again.

We have a LOT of indoor pools in Wisconsin, thankfully.

Last thing about new drivers for the parents: Man, it's scary letting your kids take the wheel for the first time after they get their temps!!

You have to look calm and trust them to give you a ride, but damn is it scary!! But driving is like everything else and the more you do it the better you get. You just have to suck it up, hold your breath and keep going out with them. But damn that first time is scary.

Good stories all. Thanks.

Gekko · Post by **Gekko** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 1:22 pm

I have a two-parter. Part 1...

Over a 2010 Easter celebration with family, some pictures were taken and then emailed to the "family tree".

After opening the emails/pics and seeing what I looked like, this is an email I sent to my family on April 9th, 2010...

Title: Secrecy Breeds Problems

"Whether it’s the Federal Government misrepresenting statistics or Wall Street conducting complex financial transactions or the un-audited Federal Reserve’s Balance Sheet, when information is kept behind closed doors and away from the public, fraud and corruption run wild.

I am no different. No, I don’t have fraud or corruption examples to speak of. However over the course of the past two years, I’ve kept quiet, slowly watching my weight increase. I’ve had to buy a new wardrobe. I’ve dodged seeing some of my friends. I have less self-confidence. All because I feel like a hippo.

Various life events have contributed to my situation. I’ve experienced a miscarriage, a difficult pregnancy, a new baby, potential job loss, the economy has tanked, the USA is 14 trillion dollars in debt, etc... When faced with stress, it’s easy to replace exercise with complacency. It’s easy to comfort your fears by going to the refrigerator.

Over the past two years, [my wife] has asked me a couple of times how much I weighed, and each time I shrugged off the question, knowing the answer was embarrassing.

Well, the time has come to address my secrecy. No one wants to feel embarrassed; however isn’t that a necessary step on the road to recovery? Isn’t feeling embarrassed a “necessary mechanism” to correct an imbalance? No longer do I want to hold my breath at family functions hoping no one says anything about my weight. No longer do I want to wonder whether people are saying things behind my back. No longer do I want to wonder if I’m cutting years off of my life because my heart has to work harder.

From this day forward (until I get to my target weight and then I can relax the restrictions a bit), I will try my best to do two things, (1) eat sensibly and (2) exercise at least one hour per day. This is exactly what I did 8 years ago, and I was able to reach my target weight. I remember that feeling 8 years ago. I was on top of the world.

It’s not an easy journey and what I ask from all of you is to support me by being honest. Honest encouragement AND honest criticism. No doubt, encouragement is the easier of the two. However, criticism can be easy if it is constructive. If I didn’t tie my shoes, and I was running around, you’d certainly have no problem saying, “hey Mark tie your shoes or you’re going to trip”. Please have the same approach when it comes to my weight (or anything else destructive you notice in any of us). Looking the other way or not talking about it only fosters more of the same destructive behavior.

When I see all of you over the July 4th Holiday, I will have a weigh-in. My goal is to be 20lbs less than my weight today.

Hi, my name is Mark Srebro, and I’m overweight. I weigh 238lbs. My target weight is 190lbs."

Walla Walla · Post by **Walla Walla** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 3:22 pm

Mark,

Hang in there. Fat is sexy. Ask Doughboy.

I myself lost a couple of pounds. Well until I ate breakfast.

team z · Post by **team z** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 4:36 pm

No squirm. 2 kinds of cars; Insured and Uninsured. 2kinds of LICENSED drivers; Insured and Uninsured. You and your car are covered....the kids gain cov when you acknowledge them to your carrier, which is what instantly pushes your premium so high. [/QB]That doesn't answer the question. Why don't you agents understand that?

ToddZ · Post by **ToddZ** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 4:39 pm

True story ---

One of my first times in Vegas I believe there was an FSTA meeting and the first high stakes baseball draft before Greg officially started the NFBC. I wanted to save a few bucks the first night, since my flight got in around midnight and thought staying at a regular hotel was a waste for that night. I get in a cab, tell the driver the name of the hotel. We start driving, he asks me if I would like him to arrange some female companionship for me. I asked him if she knew Excel.

I spent the rest of the evening alone.

Edwards Kings · Post by **Edwards Kings** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 4:13 am

Originally posted by ToddZ:

We start driving, he asks me if I would like him to arrange some female companionship for me. I asked him if she knew Excel.

I spent the rest of the evening alone. Very funny! Todd Zola arriving in Vegas for the big event!

Cowboy Joe · Post by **Cowboy Joe** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 7:17 am

One of the things I enjoy about fantasy sports is that they are easy on your body. Well, maybe.

Several years ago, I ran into a high school buddy who played in a rotis league that had an opening. He ran through the details: American League, check. Auction format, check. Ultra roster, check. When I spoke to him the day before the auction, he mentioned one more league characteristic. "Oh, and these guys like to drink a litte," he said. NO, they like to drink a lot.

I expected beer consumption during the event, and I accepted the ceremonial shot we each drank to start the event, but that was only the beginning. Additional shots were required because x amount of time elapsed since you had downed your last dose or you just happened to sit in the wrong place.

Around noon, the Commissioner issued additional rules with shots as punishment. They included:

No chicken speak - Example, I'll throw out Victor Martinez for a buck - (buck, buck, buck), busted take a shot

No speaking German - Example, bidding for Vernon Wells -- seven $$, eight $$, NEIN $$; busted take a shot

No politeness - any mention of "please" or "thank you" and another one down the hatch.

At one point, I protested and was penalized yet another shot for "raising a ruckus".

Finally, a player was awarded a shot anytime he threw out a player who had already been auctioned. This one was a killer at the end of the draft for those unfortunates who hadn't prepared and pushed beaten men to the brink. Consequently, Shirley Christian, the Commissioner's mother always made someone's roster.

I stopped counting my consumption at 12 and cited the "physically unable to perform" clause as the reason for my retirement the next year.

This league was mentioned in one the chapter lead-ins in Fantasyland

Bo's Bombers · Post by **Bo's Bombers** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 7:40 am

Originally posted by Gekko:

I have a two-parter. Part 1...

Over a 2010 Easter celebration with family, some pictures were taken and then emailed to the "family tree".

After opening the emails/pics and seeing what I looked like, this is an email I sent to my family on April 9th, 2010...

Title: Secrecy Breeds Problems

"Whether it’s the Federal Government misrepresenting statistics or Wall Street conducting complex financial transactions or the un-audited Federal Reserve’s Balance Sheet, when information is kept behind closed doors and away from the public, fraud and corruption run wild.

I am no different. No, I don’t have fraud or corruption examples to speak of. However over the course of the past two years, I’ve kept quiet, slowly watching my weight increase. I’ve had to buy a new wardrobe. I’ve dodged seeing some of my friends. I have less self-confidence. All because I feel like a hippo.

Various life events have contributed to my situation. I’ve experienced a miscarriage, a difficult pregnancy, a new baby, potential job loss, the economy has tanked, the USA is 14 trillion dollars in debt, etc... When faced with stress, it’s easy to replace exercise with complacency. It’s easy to comfort your fears by going to the refrigerator.

Over the past two years, [my wife] has asked me a couple of times how much I weighed, and each time I shrugged off the question, knowing the answer was embarrassing.

Well, the time has come to address my secrecy. No one wants to feel embarrassed; however isn’t that a necessary step on the road to recovery? Isn’t feeling embarrassed a “necessary mechanism” to correct an imbalance? No longer do I want to hold my breath at family functions hoping no one says anything about my weight. No longer do I want to wonder whether people are saying things behind my back. No longer do I want to wonder if I’m cutting years off of my life because my heart has to work harder.

From this day forward (until I get to my target weight and then I can relax the restrictions a bit), I will try my best to do two things, (1) eat sensibly and (2) exercise at least one hour per day. This is exactly what I did 8 years ago, and I was able to reach my target weight. I remember that feeling 8 years ago. I was on top of the world.

It’s not an easy journey and what I ask from all of you is to support me by being honest. Honest encouragement AND honest criticism. No doubt, encouragement is the easier of the two. However, criticism can be easy if it is constructive. If I didn’t tie my shoes, and I was running around, you’d certainly have no problem saying, “hey Mark tie your shoes or you’re going to trip”. Please have the same approach when it comes to my weight (or anything else destructive you notice in any of us). Looking the other way or not talking about it only fosters more of the same destructive behavior.

When I see all of you over the July 4th Holiday, I will have a weigh-in. My goal is to be 20lbs less than my weight today.

Hi, my name is Mark Srebro, and I’m overweight. I weigh 238lbs. My target weight is 190lbs." I got my wake up a couple months ago when i went in for a yearly physical. Bad chloesterol high , good chloresterol low and triglycerrides high. I weighed 230 at the time and I am now 217. It's weird what stress can do to you. 4 years ago I was 180.

We also wentthtrough a tough pregnancy, had a baby last year and then our baby being diagnosed with tuberous sclerosis. A disease I had never heard about until then. Basically the disease has a wide range of what can happen. It can be just subtle like small skin patches to very severe with seizures and learning challanges. So far so good, as all his ekg have come back normal, so the older he gets the less chance of anything happening,

Anyway, I let my body go down the tubes and decided to take my life back. I might have been down a couple more pounds, if it wasn't for those damn girl scout cookeis.

You have made the first step and that is admitting there is a problem. You seem like your a no-nonsense guy from the posts you make, so get your ass in gear. I'll post my weight every week if you you will. We could even make a weekly weigh-in thread as I sure you and I are not alone. I sure Greg and Tom wouldn't mind cause the longer we live, the more contests we can join.

DOUGHBOYS · Post by **DOUGHBOYS** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 10:02 am

I get a kick out of the characters in our little community. I've met a lot of folks already at drafts and can put faces to a lot of names. I've told this story years before, but couldn't find it in the tangle of threads, so I'll give it another shot.

There was a time (2005, my first year) when I only looked at the Message Boards and didn't write

. My team was doing great and I didn't want to come off as either a braggart or trash talker.

The Boards were dominated by Gekko. If you don't like Gekko now, you would have hated him back then. To put it not so nicely, he was loud, looked for a fight, and never felt comfortable without a last word.

Anyway, I loved his posts as well as all others that would contribute regularly. They all became charicatures of themselves in my mind.

One in particular had me laughing with every post.

Walla Walla.

Saying the name makes me laugh. There is nobody on these Boards that can infuriate so many people, with so few words as Walla Walla.

Anyway, in 2006, Greg announced our leagues and Walla Walla was to be in my league.

After the first 10 draft selections, during the break, I saw Walla Walla loading up a snack plate. I grabbed a plate next to him, nudged him, and said, "Hey, I'm Dan Kenyon, I'm in the same draft as you, love your posts on the Message Boards. Giving me a small glance, he turned his attention back to his plate and said, "Harrumph"

It still makes me laugh.

I've only seen 'harrumph' in comic strips and books. Never have I heard anybody utter 'Harrumph'.

Think about it, if you're ever going to get 'Harrumph'ed in your life, who would be better suited than Walla Walla.

Get your butt back to Vegas, John.

.

.

Gekko · Post by **Gekko** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 10:59 am

part 2 coming tonight...

Doctor Who · Post by **Doctor Who** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 11:02 am

I will say that I am still new to these boards, as last year was my first year. Greg was able to get us in at the last moment in the Main event, as we were scheduled to do an auction in St. Louis. I am one of those lurkers you once were, and one of my goals this year is to be on the boards more and more active in this community. Hints why I'm headed to Vegas to enjoy this with you guys in a couple of weeks.

Now to my story. My buddy and I went to the St. Louis draft last year and did the one thing that you should never do in a draft. Drink! We had gotten there from our drive from Kansas City the same day, and were ready to sit down and drink while we had time to work it off later before heading back. Never a good thing when you have to rush to get your drinks in.

Well since this was our first ever live draft, we wanted to enjoy it. We sat down, looked at the other guys in the room, and talked to a few before the draft. Then we got antsy, so we looked at each other and said let's get a shot and a drink, but the first round is on you. Well, little did we know, the drinks were on the house! Oh boy, did that go over well with us!

So as we both are double fisting drinks, , we look around and see we are the only idiots drinking. So my buddy and I ask the room while we get up, "Hey anyone want a drink? It's on us!" Crickets... That's when I knew this was either going to be a hell of a day or a very bad one if ya know what I mean.

So how would two guys think they could gain an advantage during the draft by having two people there instead of one? Glad you asked! It meant one of us could go get drinks while the other stayed to draft!

Now I know what your thinking... You are thinking that you would either love to have us in your league or would hate being in our league. Well as we are gambling on March Madness on our phones, while drafting and trying to keep up, while not being the soberest people in the room. We finished in the middle of the pack last year, but I saw it as good for our first time, not being prepared to do a snake draft, and not taking it as serious this go around.

I will say we were well liked, with our witty remarks on players as they were drafted or just other jokes as they came along, except one guy. One guy during the entire draft just kept staring at us like we could go to hell. We just thought it was as funny as anything could ever be. So after the draft, everyone sits down to talk about it and other things.

The guy that had been staring at us all day comes over and says, "Guys, I have to say, I hated drafting with both of you." Now as diplomatic as we are at the time , we ask why is that? Then all of a sudden he starts laughing and says, "Because it took all my willpower to not laugh and start drinking with your dumbass'" We saw that as the best compliment in the world.

We all talk about this lil community, and it was hilarious last March, because we were in St. Louis and tons of Kansas fans had showed up to Pujols5 to watch. I believe it was Northern Iowa that they were playing, well me and my buddy had bet on them, not thinking they would cover, just because we hate Kansas. Anyways, we start cheering loudly with the whole bar being Kansas fans, yelling back at us. Then as the final minutes tick down, we look back and a lot of the guys that we were drafting with that day were now rooting for Iowa with us just to **** off these Kansas fans around us. It was awesome, when you hear the little section at the end of the bar, filling the place up with cheers as the rest of the place is dead silent when Iowa came back and beat Kansas in the final minute. That was when I knew the NFBC was for me. So hopefully I will have an even better story this year to tell, and hopefully people can have a little fun this year like last!

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 1:38 pm

I'm digging the personal stories folks. Nice job.

I know how Chapter 2 of Gekko's escapade turns out, but I'm still looking forward to the nude scenes.

Bring it on Mr. Workout Champion.

Gekko · Post by **Gekko** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 2:24 pm

Part 2...

Beginning on April 9th I went on a workout/diet regiment that (in retrospect) is very hard to imagine. I basically worked out or exercised EVERYDAY for between 1.5 hours and 2.5 hours. I cut my calories down to an average of about 1,400 calories A DAY FOR 3 MONTHS.

My weight loss table...

Friday, April 9th 238lbs

Friday, April 16th 232.4lbs (lost 5.6lbs)

Friday, April 23rd 228.0lbs (lost 4.4lbs)

Friday, April 30th 222.2lbs (lost 5.8lbs)

Friday, May 7th 219.6 lbs (lost 2.6lbs)

Friday, May 14th 215.4lbs (lost 4.2lbs)

Friday, May 21st 211.4lbs (lost 4.0lbs)

Friday, May 28th 209.4lbs (lost 2.0lbs)

Friday, June 4th 206.2lbs (lost 3.2lbs)

Friday, June 11th 202.2lbs (lost 4.0lbs)

Friday, June 18th 200.2lbs (lost 2.0lbs)

Friday, June 25th 197.6lbs (lost 2.6lbs)

Friday, July 2nd 195.0lbs (lost 2.6lbs)

Total weight loss = 43.0lbs

Unfortunately, I must have been pushing too hard for too long and my body broke down on July 9th. I tore a muscle in my rib cage and the worst part was I herniated a disk in my neck. This causes neck, shoulder and arm discomfort. I've since added back pain to the list.

I've seen my family doctor and two neurosurgeons for the discomfort and physical limitations the herniated disk is causing. All of them recommended surgery to help speed up the recovery process. Since I like to think I have a lot of patience (even when I'm living with pain everyday), I've been trying to tough it out. Some days are better than others.

Last month I saw an orthopedic dr for a 4th opinion on my neck. He said he would not recommend surgery if my symptoms stay the same and that over time my body will heal the herniation itself. I see him for a followup next week.

I decided 3 weeks ago that I'm going to push forward with returning to the gym (albeit doing different routines than before) and return to a less stringent diet.

Last week I weighed in at 197.8lbs

Today I weighed in at 196.8lbs (lost 1.0lbs)

My goal is to lose a pound a week and weigh in at 180lbs on July 4th, 2011!

This new journey I'm on because of the herniated disk caused me a lot of stress last year. Couple that with the baseball season, Fanball, my daughter waking up crying 4-5 times a night, and I wasn't a happy camper most days.

Hopefully brighter days are ahead.

hankstr · Post by **hankstr** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 2:42 pm

Mark,

Best of luck with your goal. I'm trying to do a similar thing - lose 14 pounds of fat and gain 3 pounds of muscle over 10 week period. 1400 calories was extremely low - don;t know how you managed that. I weigh 180 pounds (5'8") and even cutting back to 2,000 calories a day leaves me kinda hungry. We'll see how it goes. I'm on week 2. Heavy weight workout awaits tomorrow!

Hank

KJ Duke · Post by **KJ Duke** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:07 pm

Originally posted by Gekko:

I have a two-parter. Part 1...

Over a 2010 Easter celebration with family, some pictures were taken and then emailed to the "family tree".

After opening the emails/pics and seeing what I looked like, this is an email I sent to my family on April 9th, 2010...

Title: Secrecy Breeds Problems

"Whether it’s the Federal Government misrepresenting statistics or Wall Street conducting complex financial transactions or the un-audited Federal Reserve’s Balance Sheet, when information is kept behind closed doors and away from the public, fraud and corruption run wild.

I am no different. No, I don’t have fraud or corruption examples to speak of. However over the course of the past two years, I’ve kept quiet, slowly watching my weight increase. I’ve had to buy a new wardrobe. I’ve dodged seeing some of my friends. I have less self-confidence. All because I feel like a hippo.

Various life events have contributed to my situation. I’ve experienced a miscarriage, a difficult pregnancy, a new baby, potential job loss, the economy has tanked, the USA is 14 trillion dollars in debt, etc... When faced with stress, it’s easy to replace exercise with complacency. It’s easy to comfort your fears by going to the refrigerator.

Over the past two years, [my wife] has asked me a couple of times how much I weighed, and each time I shrugged off the question, knowing the answer was embarrassing.

Well, the time has come to address my secrecy. No one wants to feel embarrassed; however isn’t that a necessary step on the road to recovery? Isn’t feeling embarrassed a “necessary mechanism” to correct an imbalance? No longer do I want to hold my breath at family functions hoping no one says anything about my weight. No longer do I want to wonder whether people are saying things behind my back. No longer do I want to wonder if I’m cutting years off of my life because my heart has to work harder.

From this day forward (until I get to my target weight and then I can relax the restrictions a bit), I will try my best to do two things, (1) eat sensibly and (2) exercise at least one hour per day. This is exactly what I did 8 years ago, and I was able to reach my target weight. I remember that feeling 8 years ago. I was on top of the world.

It’s not an easy journey and what I ask from all of you is to support me by being honest. Honest encouragement AND honest criticism. No doubt, encouragement is the easier of the two. However, criticism can be easy if it is constructive. If I didn’t tie my shoes, and I was running around, you’d certainly have no problem saying, “hey Mark tie your shoes or you’re going to trip”. Please have the same approach when it comes to my weight (or anything else destructive you notice in any of us). Looking the other way or not talking about it only fosters more of the same destructive behavior.

When I see all of you over the July 4th Holiday, I will have a weigh-in. My goal is to be 20lbs less than my weight today.

Hi, my name is Mark Srebro, and I’m overweight. I weigh 238lbs. My target weight is 190lbs." Good luck Mark! I came to a similar conclusion to begin the year, but I've been on a less dramatic up and down gradual decline for about 10 yrs. On January 1 I decided on a simple plan to reverse that - workout everyday this year no matter what.

I set the bar low, a minimum of 20 minutes per day, to give myself better odds of being able to maintain it and fit it into an everyday lifestyle (in deference to what hasn't worked in recent years). I've been sick for the last week with a bad cold/allergies, but I'm off to my workout right after this for the 59th consecutive day. In the past when I've been derailed from a regimen it always started with one day when I was sick, injured or just didn't feel like it, then one day turned into a week which turned into a month. So I felt like it was important to not miss a single day and have no excuses available. I alternate between the gym and running. I've been running 2-4 miles every other day, and I've never done distance running before. It's getting easier, so a few weeks back I decided so sign up for the rock n' roll half marathon this June as extra incentive - something I thought I'd never even consider. I think the best thing I've learned has been to approach both the plan and running with a measured pace rather than kill myself to get immediate results.

[ February 28, 2011, 09:12 PM: Message edited by: KJ Duke ]

Gekko · Post by **Gekko** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:08 pm

Originally posted by hankstr:

Mark,

Best of luck with your goal. I'm trying to do a similar thing - lose 14 pounds of fat and gain 3 pounds of muscle over 10 week period. 1400 calories was extremely low - don;t know how you managed that. I weigh 180 pounds (5'8") and even cutting back to 2,000 calories a day leaves me kinda hungry. We'll see how it goes. I'm on week 2. Heavy weight workout awaits tomorrow!

Hank good luck!!! basically i tracked everything i ate/drank in a spreadsheet. counted calories, fat, sat fat, sodium, protein, etc

lots of salads, scallops, fish, yogurt, water