How I lost 80 pounds in less than a year

Oggs Cruz

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How I lost 80 pounds in less than a year
'260 pounds, 160/120 blood pressure, 12 donuts a night, 31 years old. Something has to be done,' writes Oggs Cruz of the starting point of his weight loss journey

There comes a point in your life when you just surrender. You acknowledge what you know of nature, which is essentially the very morbid notion that we are mortal and that everything you do is just in preparation for your eventual demise.

In my case, I hit that spot when I turned 30. I was 260 pounds, pretending I weighed 240 pounds in all official records where I had the liberty to cook up a not-so-embarrassing number in the weight section.

I was diagnosed hypertensive, with a daily blood pressure of 140/120 (sometimes up to 160), which I rationalized as something resulting from my line of work rather than the lifestyle I chose. 

BACK THEN. Unhappy and struggling with the lifestyle of choice

I was 31 when 2014 started. I had no New Year’s resolutions, thinking that those resolutions are only for people with a certain semblance of hope. I regularly went to the gym and lifted a lot of heavy weights and did a little bit of obligatory cardio, not to improve but just to give myself a false notion that I was healthy.

BACK TO FORM. Working out and trying some new moves

Surprises and decisions 

The first part of 2014 had me going through life with dangerous contentment. Days were spent slaving away in the office, rushing deadlines and dodging irate bosses. This forced me to make my nights all worth it, searching for happiness in the form of bowls of beautiful ramen and mouthfuls of glazed donuts.

Then something happened. An officemate invited me to try out Crossfit in a box (or gym) which was just a few hundred meters away from where I live. I didn’t like trying out new things, especially when it comes to fitness, since I already resolved to live out my life working during the day, eating junk at night, and routinely lifting weights to say that I am actually doing something for my health.

I initially declined but something drove me to change my mind that Saturday. I headed to the Crossfit MNL, did the one-hour workout which consisted of air squats, push-ups, ring rows, and other things I’d normally scoff at as kindergarten exercises.

Under the programming of the brilliant minds, those movements taxed me to the point of realization. I was terribly unfit.

As I asked permission from the coach to take a leak in the middle of the workout (which was just an excuse for me to go to the nearest tree to pathetically vomit), all the scary numbers went through my mind: 260 pounds, 160/120 blood pressure, 12 donuts a night, 31 years old. Something has to be done. 

After the 3 days of nursing my aching body, I went back to the box and signed up for a month. I struggled through the workouts. Knowing how physically and mentally hard it was to burn the junk I’ve been eating, I started researching on diets that were fit for the lifestyle I was embarking on. I discovered the Paleo diet, which in layman’s terms, is a diet wherein you are only allowed to eat food available during the Palaeolithic era, ruling out grains and other processed food.

NEWFOUND CONFIDENCE. Photo by FatCat Studios

Action plan 

In a month, I lost more than 10 pounds. The following month, another fifteen pounds disappeared. Belts became necessary to keep my jeans from dropping from my waist, and my office barong started to look like a priestly vestment. Also, I started smiling more, and developed a bit of confidence in how I looked and how I felt. 

In a few months, I dropped down to less than 200 pounds. My blood pressure went to normal levels. I relished in the idea that I was able to do something about the state of my health without being forced. I surprised myself. 

Life-changing

In less than a year, I lost 80 pounds, more or less. I’ve learned how to eat without feeling deprived, which involved me regularly eating ice cream, hopia, polvoron, and yes, those bowls of beautiful ramen.

Crossfit has been getting a lot of flak from a lot of people, saying that it is too intense and that the risks for injury outweigh all the aesthetic benefits. All I know is that it works and it has worked for me.

I enjoy surrounding myself with people whose only motivation for helping you out is a zest for seeing you improve, even in the midst of competition that is intimately intertwined with the mechanics of the fitness regimen. 

Crossfit has humbled me and is continuously humbling me, with techniques and movements that are always seemingly out of reach. The same way it has forced me to realize how grossly unhealthy I was several months ago, the program is persistently pushing me to concentrate on areas where I know I’m weak, instead of avoiding them entirely. 

The heart of the story

The heart of the story here is that life is full of surprises, and some of those surprises might turn out to be so awesome, they become life-changing. 

When a friend invites you to jog around the office but you’re too scared to be seen running around Makati with all the pounds you’ve gained, just forget the fear and go for it.

When a pal teases you to do Zumba but you think you don’t have the graceful hips to wing it, throw away the apprehensions and just simply do it.

When a bud suggests that you go try Crossfit with him but you’ve read all those articles dismissing it, give it a try.

You’ll never know what fits your personality and what will work if you keep clouding your mind with doubts and caution. I never intended 2014 to be the year to be healthy. I actually gave up hope on that. However, a friend invited me to try out Crossfit, I took the challenge, loved it, and got all better for it. My only regret now is why I didn’t do this when I was in my twenties.

Nevertheless, the future cannot be any brighter, thanks to all the coaches, friends, and family members who never failed to push me to get better. – Rappler.com

Francis Joseph Cruz litigates for a living and writes about cinema for fun. He is also a movie critic for Rappler. The first Filipino movie he saw in the theaters was Carlo J. Caparas’ ‘Tirad Pass.’ Since then, he’s been on a mission to find better memories with Philippine cinema. 

 

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