I was perusing cnn.com today and I came across this story. There are so many things I want to say about this, I'm afraid it's all going to come out a jumbled mess. Oh well, you'll deal.
1. Anyone who thinks they can walk ACROSS the country in six months has to be out of his/her mind.
2. He's ranting and raving about how he needs to take control of and change his life. Yet, on this trek, he's been eating fast food. I can see how eating fast food would help with weight loss...oh, wait, no I can't.
3. It's amazing to me that he's only lost 105 pounds on this year-long trek. Oh wait, no I'm not, see #2 above.
4. "He says he's gone through 15 pair of shoes, 12 pairs of pants, three shirts, 30 pairs of socks and his own sanity -- twice."
a. I can get the shoes and pants, but only THREE shirts. Methinks that's a tad on the nasty size.
b. I'm not sure he ever had his sanity. Most people would get a gym membership and hop on the treadmill, but no, he decides to trek across the United States.
5. He speaks of taking control of his life, but he left his family behind in California. I think it's safe to assume that he's not working right now, so who is helping to support his family?
In the article it mentions his website. So I went, expecting a great site, all about his motivation and commitment to a healthy lifestyle. I clicked on the link that takes you to the page where he says why he's doing this.
My Name is Steve Vaught, (born Stephen James Liller in Youngstown, Ohio). I am a 39 year old, happily married father of two great kids and I have a pretty good life here in Southern California. You would think that I would be happy because of these things, but I am not. I am not happy because I am fat and being fat makes every day unhappy.
I don't actually think that he's not happy because he's fat. Maybe he just doesn't know how to value the things he does have.
I am going to walk across the United states from San Diego to NYC to lose weight and regain my life!
Treadmill?
Being fat is physically and emotionally painful. It diminishes the quality of the good things in life and it will ultimately bring about an early demise. So being overweight darkens every good thing that you achieve in your life and even prevents some things from happening at all.
For all of you who read this and don't know, I am a fatty. I wasn't always fat, but I am now. And what this guy is saying, just isn't true. I've celebrated many happy days without thinking, "God, this would be so much better if I weren't a fatty!" I graduated from college and was accepted to law school while being a fatty. Nowhere on any application has it asked me, "Are you a fatty? (If so, cease filling out this application as you will not be admitted.)"
For the last 15 years I have been slowly gaining weight and it seems that whatever I do, it just spirals ever upward.
Put down the cupcake! Say "Yes" to the salad bar and "No" to the fries!
Socially being fat is hard to deal with because I feel that am looked down upon by people even when they are not doing so maliciously. It may be human nature. You know, "survival of the fittest". Also, I feel as though I am being taken advantage of by companies and people that want fat people to buy their latest "miracle pill" or prepackaged food that will help me lose the weight.
The big problem here is the intelligence factor. I am fat, but I do not feel that I'm being taken advantage of with miracle pills. I know they're crap and I move on. I personally think that those pills are marketed to anorexic girls who always think they're fat when what they actually are doing is giving Calista Flockhart a run for her money for "Human Skeleton of the Year."
So, after consulting the family and getting their blessing I have made the decision to stop this merry go round and dedicate myself to losing the extra weight. I have an addiction and there needs to be dedication and sacrifice to cure addictions. If I had a drug or alcohol addiction I would go to rehab. Well, what I have in mind is rehab for the fat guy.
I'm assuming his addiction is food. Perhaps he should have tried getting his jaw wired shut. Mighty hard to shovel food in your mouth if you can't open it.
I am going to take six months out of my life and walk across the United States from San Diego to NYC.
Ah yes, the six months that turned into over a year. How he thought he could do it in six months in the first place is beyond me.
My main purpose in undertaking this journey is losing weight. More importantly though, I need to change the behaviors that have allowed me to be in this situation in the first place. I know that to permanently lose this weight I must learn to be more responsible to myself.
Obviously, eating fast food the whole way across the country is EXACTLY the way to do that. Well done, Fat Man. Perhaps, since this got to be a huge thing, he could have stopped off at people's homes, not slept in a tent, and eaten a real meal every now and then.
Nuts you say? Well, maybe.
No "maybe" about it.
But how nutty is spending a fortune on miracle weight loss drugs or fad diets that never seem to have lasting results or dangerous surgeries that cost about the same as a luxury car?
Surgery isn't the only way to not be a fat ass anymore.
What about the fact that only 3% of weight loss attempts are permanently successful?
So, somehow him walking across the country makes his weight loss more likely to succeed?
What about the anxiety, depression and pain involved in everyday activities when you are fat?
He's going to give my fat ass anxiety if he keeps this up!
I donÂ’t want to miss out on birthdays, graduation, marriages and grandkids because I chose not to take my life back.
I'm interested in knowing why he's missing out on this stuff. My family welcomes my rotundity to family functions still. I also have a feeling that they still will, whether I want to go or not.
I am going to sacrifice some time out of my regular life to gain 30- 40 years of a better, leaner, healthier and happier life.
I doubt he'll be happy now if he wasn't happy before.
So considering all of that, I would be nuts not to do this.
Do I even need to comment?
Losing the weight will be the easy part. I plan to keep the weight off in the future by maintaining a proper diet and level of activity needed, as well as remembering how easy it is to gain weight and difficult to lose it.
Has losing the weight really been the easy part? He still needs to lose a lot more before he's really considered healthy, and what level of activity compares to walking across the country?
I think this man wasted a year of his life that he could have spent with his family. He could have gone walking around his neighborhood, changed his diet, and developed a healthier and more positive attitude on life, and all at home.
I just hope he's not walking back.
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