Welcome to LIVIN' LARGE!

[Jean-Paul]

This is a subforum for those who are overweight (100 lbs or more). Your host for this forum is James Newman.

James started his journey several years ago weighing in at 580+... He took an interesting path when he decided that he was going to turn his life around. Rather than join a gym or look for a guru, he decided to educate himself and become his own guru.

He went to college, earning degrees in exercise science and nutrition, now completing his internship at a hospital In Oklahoma City. He's written for multiple publications and magazines, and he coaches dozens of peole from all over the country

To date he has lost over 270 pounds so far!

I met James in Phoenix at the Staley bootcamp, and can say that we were fast friends. We've talked numerous times about the possiblitility of doing a forum like this. He's a great writer with creativity, technical knowldege, and a real story to tell.

I will let him mention more about himself, but I wanted to give him a warm welcome to his new realm. Congrats on your new mod abilities, James. You're now LORD OF THE REALM, so you can rule with an iron fist.

[ninja]

Fat people unite!

(and I mean that in a very good way.)

[James Newman]

Thank you, JP for the opportunity to contribute in this forum. I think there is something strangely novel about being fat -- even moreso when you are the fat guy who is into fitness and nutrition. I want to begin by saying that I don't know everything. What makes one successful doesn't necessarily equal success for another. The truth is guys, as novel as it may sound there isn't any secret to what I have done. There are men and women doing the same thing I did everyday. We are fortunate to have so many members of this forum who have lost significant amounts of weight and kept it off. It is my most sincere hope that they will continue to share their experience with others here in the Livin' Large subforum.

My conversations with JP have been rapid fire brainstorming sessions (read: jump around a lot) that were they not tempered by the occassional childhood exuberance of the kids; I think my brain would melt from the sheer volume of knowledge one can acquire from him.

I grew up in Oklahoma City. I currently live in Tahlequah, OK and am employed by Tahlequah City Hospital. My title is Nutritionist/Dietitian's Assistant. I am still finishing up the last portion (3 classes) of my double major - Dietetics and will attend my Dietetic Internship after that --though I don't know where I will be going to do that. A little bit of uncertainty is good, right? After that I will sit for the RD exam.

Having a double major means multiple internships. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work with a group of Native American teenagers who had weight issues. The program centered around nutrition education and fitness. It was a wonderful experience and it was great to see the lives of young people being impacted. My new project is along similar lines. I will be writing a program to be implemented by TCH (hopefully) as a community outreach to the many overweight and obese adolescents in this area. I strongly believe that this is one front in the battle against obesity that we cannot afford to ignore.

Whether you are 5 lbs or 500 lbs overweight one of the most important things you can do is decide that you want to do something about it. While there is a lot of psychology in dieting, the plain and simple fact is that you must ACT if you want to get results. Coaches, trainers, dietitians, nutritionist, whoever may want to unscrew the cap on your head and pour in the motivation but we all know that isn't going to happen don't we? We can give you the tools, but it is up to you to use them.

This is a place where you can start to build your arsenal. Livin' Large is not just a physical state of being. It is also a state of mind. Health, wellness, and happiness are attainable....reach for the brass ring...MAKE IT HAPPEN.

Newman

[RobLL]

Hey - welcome, looking forward to hearing about your journey. Rob

[UConnJulie]

Newman, I really look forward to learning from you ... thanks for being here to share your insights and knowledge!

[RacerBill]

Excellent! Thanks for taking this on, Newman!

(BTW -- I think I recall you saying folks call you Newman. Please let us know if you like being called "Newman" or "James" or something else...)

[gregl515]

I was about 100 lbs overweight. I'm down to only about sixty or seventy lbs according to whatever description you use. I'd say a little over sixty. Looking forward to learning.

[James Newman]

RB: Just call me Newman....

Greg: Congratulations on your progress... what have you been doing to help you reach your goals?

Rob: Howdy!!

UConnJulie: Its good to be here. We all learn from each other. I personally believe that everyone is in some way my superior. Lets see what we can learn together..

Newman

[Mahler]

Newman,
Your journey, thus far, is so very inspirational. Thanks for taking this on and passing on the knowledge and helping others. All the best with the new forum.

[BamaDave]

Congrats, Newman! I look forward to reading more about your own progress as well as those who post in here. Your story is very inspiring, and it's even more inspiring that you have taken this personal quest and turned it into a career of helping others.

[gregl515]

Newman, I am dieting. I try to eat most of my carbs for breakfast in the form of Cheerios or some other whole grain cereal. The rest of the day is mostly high protein, good fats and lots of green vegetables. I do try to eat three pieces of fruit a day. Usually apples. I got very sick and lost my leg so I decided that I needed to make a change while I still have one leg.

I am diabetic and I intend to switch to a high protein, low carb diet in the future. Adam Campbell has given me information and suggested several books which I have read to get me started.

I do upper body weight exercises and some lower body bodyweight exercises and band exercises. I get physical therapy twice a week and use their machines as often as possible for my legs.

As soon as I get a permanent leg with an articulated ankle I will be able to do more traditional lower body exercises.

[julianne]

Glad to see you here James. I know EDT had a little something to do as well with your journey and it is good to see you succeed!-Jules

[James Newman]

Jules is right. In his blog recently, Alwyn talked about how every Coach needs a coach. More importantly, we all need someone in our corner as we travel the road of weight loss. I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to call Charles Staley my coach.

I have mentioned this before in previous threads and I will mention it again here. You will hear a lot of people go back and forth on what is more important - training or nutrition. Both sides of the debate have excellent arguments and I am not sitting the fence when I say BOTH are the bottom line. Many may think I am simply taking the easy way out by giving this answer. My reply: Take a look at the cost of a college education these days and then ask yourself this. If I didn't think both were important would I have invested so much time and money into getting degrees in both disciplines?

I apologize if I haven't replied to some messages fast enough. It is the holiday season and my hospital is full to capacity right now. This means a lot of work for me.

Stay tuned for an upcoming article about how i used Escalating Density Training to shed a heckuvalotta fat and become a lot stronger in the process...

Newman

[Goon]

As someone who has lost over 180lbs I can certainly attest to how my life has been effected in ways I would've never imagined. Losing 270 must REALLY feel awesome!

[James Newman]

Hey Goon....welcome....I am glad to have you here. Yeah, it is a pretty amazing feeling. I am truly thankful that I was blessed with the ability, resources, etc to accomplish it. Life is not the same...

Newman