The third profile of Fit Happens is on Magic Bus, a friend of Hippo and Chris who I have never met but have heard plenty about through their podcast and their famous Game-a-thon sessions where the trio plays video games for 24 hours straight.
Magic Bus had many different reasons for joining the Fit Happens challenge than the others. He has also faced some early difficulties during this contest, thanks in large part to a vacation which briefly set him back in early March. He might be trailing the pack in the contest so far, but don't count out the Bus. As you read below, you'll see plenty of reason for him to continue his weight loss journey beyond the parameters of the six month contest.
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| Magic Bus (middle) with Chris and Hippo at their latest Game-a-thon in Nov. |
1. What made you decide to do Fit Happens?
Honestly, as lame as
it sounds, I wanted to get healthy for my daughter. I want to be a good role
model for her as she gets older and continuing to eat as I was would be
teaching her the wrong thing. I'd also like to be alive for her high
school and college graduations.
2. What were your goals to come out of this?
By June I'd like to be
down to around 250 lbs, but I don't plan to end there. Ultimately, I'd like to
get down to around 200 lbs or less. More than weight loss though, I want to
change my lifestyle. In order to keep the weight off, I know I need a permanent
change. I'm hoping at some point my tastebuds will change slightly and I'll
crave fatty foods less and healthier foods more. That's actually already
started to happen for me. I've developed a strong taste for all kinds of fruit
and lots of raw vegetables. Still fighting those bad foods though!
3. What changes have you made to your daily
habits during the contest?
Most of the changes
I've made have been to my diet. I used to eat a lot of fried and processed
food. I've reduced those foods and have started to eat more fruit and
vegetables. I've tried to make it a point to stay away from "diet"
foods because I don't see that as maintainable in the long term. Way back when,
I started WeightWatchers Online and that's been really helpful to me during
"Fit Happens". It helps me gauge how much I should be eating and
which foods I'm willing to splurge on and which I'm not.
Another
thing I'm trying to do is be more physical, just in general. I take the stairs
when I used to ride the elevator and try to take a walk a couple of times a
day. The Nike Fuel band was nice for motivating me in the beginning, but I've
gotten away from it recently.
4. Have you ran into any difficulties during this
contest? If so, how have you overcome them or trying to overcome them?
Oh
Yeah! My vacation to California was really hard. I almost fell apart, but I
decided that I'm not going to deprive myself from the foods I love, but try to
make at least one good choice at each meal. That might have been something as
simple as getting a water instead of pop, or passing on the appetizer or bread.
I did end up gaining a couple of pounds, but I think it would have been a lot
more if I hadn't kept "Fit Happens" in my mind.
5. When the contest is over, do you think it will
be hard to keep up this level of intense workout and/or diet?
No.
I've deliberately made changes to my diet and physical activity in a gradual
way for just this reason. I'm fairly confident that I'll be able to keep it up
past June and hopefully into the next year!
6. Entering the second half of the contest, what
are your goals for the next three months? Have you had to adjust them as time
has passed?
I'm
currently behind in the contest portion of "Fit Happens". I'd really
like to pull closer to the pack, so being a little more stringent on the diet
and especially physical activity is going to be important for me. I think my
overall goals have stayed pretty consistent though. I just want to be healthy.
7. What do you expect your final weigh-in to be?
250 LBS!!!!! (I hope)
8. In your honest opinion, who do you think is
going to win the contest?
My
initial though was B-Bo, but I'm not sure how much more weight he's got to
lose. With that in mind, I'm going to say Nick.
