I'm a 41 year-old police detective.

Over the past 10 years, I've let myself get overweight. Tired. Lazy. Unattractive. Boring.

It was easy--I had an excuse. I went back to school in 2002 and worked my way through a Master's degree from the University of Florida, Summa Cum Laude. Mostly, I carried a full-time course load in addition to my full-time job. And homicide callouts. And court overtime. And instructing at the police academy. You get it. I'm a Type A personality.

While I was busy perusing book after book and researching paper after paper, my ass got bigger and bigger. My pants size grew larger and larger. Meh...I'll fix that later. Well, guess what?

Later.....is NOW.

And, it's a hell of a lot easier putting the weight on than taking it off. Anyone who had gained and lost more than 20 pounds will tell you the same.

This is my journey to lose 35 pounds and compete in the closest thing to the Olympic Games offered in amateur sports. The 2011 World Police and Fire Games in New York City.

I have 5 months to lose the weight and train my body to compete against elite athletes from around the globe. I've seen the records and they're no joke. I'll have to swim faster than I did when I was 14 or 15 and broke county records in Maryland back in the 80's.

No luck necessary. I'm getting my fat ass into the pool.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

The Motivation


I've been hitting the gym hard for the past two weeks. Dieting---well, "eating clean" as they say. It hasn't been easy. There are so many temptations out there, the least of which is Starbucks. Let me tell you--not going for the venti vanilla latte and opting instead for a grande brewed coffee with no cream has been....well....a bitch. But, I've found that replacing a few things has made a huge difference. Instead of cream, I use some skim milk and a dash of cinnamon, which actually sweetens it a bit. I've never used sweetener of any kind in my coffee. so I guess I'm ahead on that front.

I've cut out ALL white flour, sugar, starches and most gluten. This has, by far, been the most difficult part of this venture. I had no idea how much CRAP is out there! Being a Type A (+++, ha), I've read nutrition books by Tosca Reno, Jillian Michaels, Timothy Ferriss, you name it. They're all basically telling us the same thing--cut out the crap. Okay....but where do I start? When I cleaned out the cupboards and actually read the ingredients in some of the stuff I've been shamelessly cramming into my gullet, I was really shocked. It's disgusting. Hydrogenated oils? Partially hydrogenated, refined, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated--hey! I've taken chemistry classes and I don't need these words to make their way from my table into my bloodstream, thankyouverymuch.

Start with what you're eating. Knock it off--plain and simple. Find the strength within yourself---and love yourself--enough to quit eating shit. Seriously. I'm a sugar JUNKIE and I've given it up. I quit smoking, cold turkey, on November 3, 2003. I quit refined sugar on March 13, 2011. Give yourself some credit for being strong. You don't need it--it wreaks havoc on your system and keeps you from performing at your best. I feel like a different person after only 2 weeks. 2 WEEKS, PEOPLE. Don't you have 2 weeks in you to give it a shot?
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