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| 280 lbs Graduation From Fire Academy |
Fat to Fire Fit all started when I was hired as a full time
firefighter, my dream career! I was overweight most of my life, never really
caring about what types of food or how much I ate. As a kid I played sports, I
was the butterball on the team. I just went through my childhood knowing I was
heavy but it was in my genes and there was nothing I could do about it and
that’s just how it was. . In 2006 I was hired by my local fire department after
testing with them for the second time. In 2004, I did not make it through the
physical fitness portion of the testing process secondary to my lack of
physical conditioning. Reading the obstacles that would I would face in the
allotted time seemed doable but little did I know how taxing this challenge
would be not only on my muscles but also my cardiovascular system. I was
definitely unprepared to say the least, I vowed that I would not allow the
physical part of the testing process stop me the next time I tested. I did just
enough preparation two years later to pass the PACE test and I was beyond
myself to be hired and living my dream as a full time firefighter. I was still
overweight and knew somewhere in the back of my mind I needed to do something
to change that but hey I was still young, I had plenty of time. It seemed to
bother me the most while working with an extra 50 plus pounds of gear on my
body, in high temperatures, all while dealing with the added stress and
workload because I was still in fact, a "probie", trying to find my role
in the fire service. I will never forget
the day and events that led me to making the decision for a healthier
lifestyle.
It was a June day in coastal South Carolina, working a 24
hours shift, it would be a test of my physical and mental abilities. Just like
every summer afternoon a storm came rolling through and we were dispatched to a
house fire from a lighting strike. Upon arrival to the scene my heart was
pounding in my chest as hard as you could ever imagine. This was it, everything
I had been training for, I was about to be living my dream, fighting fire!! I
was very lucky that day, I made it back to station without passing out or being
transported to the hospital for fluid resuscitation due to complete exhaustion.
I will never forget how I felt, my head was pounding so hard, it literally felt
like it was going to blow off and I really thought my heart was going to pound
out of my chest for the rest of that shift. After that incident I was useless,
I was physically exhausted and had we been called to duty for another fire I
know my body would not have been able to carry out what was expected of me.
That day I made a decision, it was time for a change, I
needed to do better for me, I couldn't wait another day, there was too much on
the line, that day was the start of my life changing process. The next day I
joined one of the local gyms and started going five days a week. I had no clue
as to what I was doing when I went to the gym. I was a total fish out of water,
I stuck with the treadmill, it was safe-“lots of cardio will help me shed the
weight”. After a few days I picked up on some weight lifting I had observed by
other members but I had no real routine or concept of programming. The results
were not happening fast enough so I tried jump starting it with fat burners, I
thought ‘this for sure will help shed the weight”, boy was I wrong!!
I tried everything on the market at the time, all the latest
and greatest "diets" with unfulfilled promises. I would lose the
weight, get bored with the diet and end up putting weight back on. I couldn't
find something that worked for me. Now I am a pretty computer savvy guy, I did
my research on the internet about anything that seemed like it could help in my
journey of weight loss, but really I knew just enough to get myself into
trouble. I literally spent thousands of
dollars on supplement after supplement, buying into weight loss programs
promising to drop unrealistic amounts of weight or inches in a week or even a
month. I was increasing my daily visits
to the gym, cutting my calories so drastically, literally starving myself and
one day it all caught up to me.
I was sent home about
halfway through a 24 hour shift because I just “wasn't feeling right”, I
couldn't really put my finger on exactly what was wrong but chief sent me home
and told me to get some rest. After arriving home, showering and laying down
for the evening I felt wiped out, I couldn't catch my breath and I suddenly had
this heaviness in my chest, “oh shit this is it, my worst nightmare coming
true. I am too young for this“, I thought to myself. I drove to the local
emergency room where after telling the nurse how I was feeling was rushed
immediately to the doctor for concerns of the dreaded two words, heart attack.
Now again lucky for me, my abnormal EKG was not a heart attack but a result of
an acute cardiac condition called pericarditis. Now although there is no
definitive answer as to what specifically causes pericarditis, both the
cardiologist and myself believe the combination of excessive prolonged calorie
restriction and the unusually high doses of pre-workout supplement were the
precipitating factors in this case. After discharge home from the scariest
hospital stay of my life I again came to a fork in the road where I needed to
make some changes. I started this journey to engage in a healthier lifestyle
and improve my overall quality of life and clearly having spent the past few
days worrying about my heart was not accomplishing the goal I had set from the
start.
What to do? I hired a coach. I was talking to a friend in
the gym about hiring someone that works with athletes and has a back ground in
nutrition. I again did my research and I found not only one of the top
trainers/nutritional gurus in the county I also ended up becoming true close
friends with him and still am to this day. Not many coaches become true friends
with clients and he will tell you I am only the second client out of hundreds
that he still talks to as a friend to this day.
Hiring my coach was the best thing I ever did in my weight
loss journey. He was straight forward with me and didn't sugar coat anything.
He always told me, “I don’t do anything but give you the tools needed to get
the results you want”. I had to do all the work with those tools to make it
happen. Not only did he help me get in the best shape of my life, he educated
me and explained that I was not on a diet, a diet is short lived. I had decided
to make a lifestyle change, which is permanent. My coach showed me how to
implement healthy eating, exercise and rest, yes REST, into my daily routine.
In the beginning, I can remember being completely astounded by the amount of
calories my coach was asking me to intake in a day’s time. In my first week of
healthy eating I had eaten more food in that week then I had eaten in 4 weeks,
it was both incredible and overwhelming. With patience, practice and an
incredible support group I can say that I have successfully met my goal of a
healthier life but meeting this goal has laid the foundation for a whole new
set of goals to crush.
As I went from Fat to fit under my coach’s direction, I
wanted to learn how and why this was so easy. Why is the rest of the county so
lost when it comes to weight issues? Why had I not learned all of this earlier
in my journey? How can I use what I have learned to help others with the same
struggles I faced? So I decided it was time to get back in school and learn so,
I enrolled in Precision Nutrition and obtained a Level 1 Nutrition Coaching
Certification. As a full-time firefighter and being overweight most of my life
I found a way to help my brothers and sisters in the fire service.
This brings me to where I am today. I formed 1st Due Fit,
which is a company that is devoted to helping the fire service reduce LODD's
due to cardiovascular issues (heart attacks). 1st Due Fit is here to help
fellow fire service members become healthier and better fit to do the job. 1st
Due Fit is also about promoting the importance of combining proper nutritional
intake along with the implementation of a daily physical fitness program to
prolong our years of service and reduce the risk of cardiovascular collapse
when called to duty. The 50 plus
brothers and sisters the fire service loses every year to these issues is
preventable. 1st Due Fit is aware that everyone has to start somewhere, I fully
understand the struggles of the overweight, sedentary person. Just remember you
didn't become overweight and out of shape in one day or with one meal. The same
goes for making a lifestyle change, it will not happen overnight, or with one
healthy meal. One healthy choice leads to another, to another and before you
know it, it’s not a struggle and comes second nature. A true lifestyle change
takes time, a lot of patience, practice and a desire to be healthy.
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| 280 lbs to 185 lbs |
I will end this blog post about myself and the amazingly
crazy journey it has been on this note, this transformation did not happen overnight
or in some crazy 30 day crash "diet”. This continues to be a work in
progress that changes and molds to meet my current goals.
For all my brothers
and sisters in the fire service please look at your career with this in mind:
Your fellow brothers/sisters on the job, your crew,
department, family, and the public you are devoted to serve are entitled to
have a healthy, physically fit "occupational athlete" that is ready
mentally and physically for the unexpected at any given time. Every firefighter
no matter rank should carry themselves in this mind set.
When things get tough, your body is sore, you want to eat
junk, you want to give up- just read this quote:
"Highest Expectations Are Minimum
Requirements"-J.Brahm
J.Brahm
@1stduefit
1stDueFit.com
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