OnePhatMan
First, the boring part: several people have had trouble seeing all of the site because of a combination of limitations with Internet Explorer’s rendering of pictures within a style sheet, and their screen resolution being set low. I’ve modified the style file for the site, so anything that formerly would have forced itself on top of the right sidebar will now go behind it. Text should still wrap and be readable, but any big pictures should go to the background.
I’ve been asked if I intend to continue using Friday as a junk food day. For those who don’t know, Friday is the day I eat most any unhealthy thing I want, anything I’ve maybe been craving during the week. For example, this past Friday, I had fish sticks and tater tots. Why? Because I saw them on TV earlier in the week and they looked good. Rather than running out and getting some right then, as I might have done back in the days when I was much larger, I made a mental note to have them on Friday.
And then I did.
Junk food day serves a good purpose that way. It lets you deal with any cravings you have during the other six days by providing an outlet, a way to say to yourself I can have that, just not right now. It makes it easier not to cheat yourself and eat unhealthy (which can lead to guilt and a binge) when you have a special time set aside to eat whatever you want.
A junk day also serves a second good purpose: it reminds you how eating crappy food makes you feel. I guarantee you if you eat good natural foods for six days, then on the seventh you pig out on processed unnatural things, you’ll understand. You walk around for hours feeling like you have a bowling ball in your stomach. Your workout the next morning seems sluggish, and it’s hard to keep up your normal effort because of the sludge in your veins and digestive tract. And speaking of your digestive tract, it shows you what foods with little redeeming nutritional value and no fiber turn into on their way through you.
So why would I do that to myself?
Because it keeps me from eating things like fish sticks and tater tots regularly. When I was losing the 171 pounds, it was a piece of figurative cake not to eat any unhealthy foods. I was driven then, on a mission. I wanted to prove to the world that it was possible.
Near the end of that mission, I decided to try the junk food thing, because I was having the occasional temptation. I found something out when I did: I still enjoy the taste of junk. Could I eat it every day? Sure, but I remember where doing that got me. See, there’s the problem with eating it every day—you don’t feel the bowling ball, you don’t feel the sluggish, because you’re used to it and you probably don’t eat as much of it as you would on a single junk day. You don’t feel crappy because you don’t know what it feels like to feel great.
Junk day, for me, is an extreme reminder of what that food will do to me. I get to enjoy the hell out of it (because I still like the taste) when I’m eating it—like the doughnuts I had from Publix Friday morning for breakfast—but I also get the painful reminder of how much worse I feel physically after I ate them. I also know that if I only do it once a week, I’m not going to undo the other six days.
Pleasure and pain, baby. Remember that? You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around, that’s what it’s all about. 
So the short answer, after all that wind-blowing is that yes, I intend to keep having junk food Fridays.
Unless—here’s the catch—it’s not working. Remember, the big secret to getting anything you want out of life is to set a goal, and work toward it. If you find that what you’re doing isn’t working, you modify your approach and you try again. Stick with it, and you’ll get what you want.
So if I ever think that, contrary to what I believe about one day of bad screwing up six days of good, junk day is keeping me from what I want, you better believe I’ll drop that bad boy in a second. Because as good as it tastes, nothing is worth my health. I know what it feels like to be a little overweight, fat, and even morbidly obese, and I don’t ever want to feel like that again.
Life’s far too important for that.
Given that it’s been a while since I’ve written for this site, there may be questions you have for me, or things you’d like me to write about in the future. By all means, let me know. Please do it via the contact page (there’s a form there, or just email me) instead of using the comments.
I went for a hike on Monte Sano mountain yesterday, and for the first time ever, I went up the hardest trail there—my favorite trail, the Waterline—twice. I thought I was going to pass out the second time, and my legs were spaghetti when I finished, but I did it. Sometimes I wish we had taller mountains here.
Remember, unless you push yourself to find out what you’re capable of, you’ll never know what sorts of things you can accomplish.
How have you pushed yourself today?
If you want to get notified when I write an update, this link will do the trick.
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Fred, I just want to say that I am so, SOOO glad you are doing this site again. It seems everyone I know who is overweight is running to have gastric bypass surgery and it’s really been getting to me. You give me so much motivation and a reminder that it CAN be done.
> How have you pushed yourself today?
Even though I had some concerns about the weight, I lugged an entire week’s worth of lunches in with me today. My messenger bag didn’t seem nearly as heavy as I thought it would and I even crested a few hills in gear or two higher than normal.
When I got to my last turn I was so glad I made it, and easily at that.
Unrelated note: Glad to see you’re using WP, it rocks, no?
Beck
Thankya, Bonnie—so far, it’s good doing the site again.
Beck: Unrelated note: Glad to see you’re using WP, it rocks, no?
WP rocks my world. I love that it not only does everything for me, but also lets me tweak it any way I want to. And don’t even get me started on the coolness of plugins.
In response to Bonnie:
Take it from me, I did not “run” to have gastric bypass surgery. After almost 50 years of up and down struggle, it took a couple of well researched years to finally make a decision. The surgery is a tool, not a cure. But, it has removed for now the great amount of anxiety that I felt for many years about my food obsession. It does make chemical changes in certain hormones that help disconnect some of the unhealthy attachment to food. We still have to deal with “head hunger” and emotional issues as well. Please don’t make judgements about these things that are life-saving to many people that have failed to reach a healthy weight after many years of struggle. It is a good choice for many seriously obese people that make that decision.
Fred, I use to read your site many years ago when I was losing weight… I lost 130 lbs… sad to say I put it all back on and am now just beginning to be on my way down again…. hopefully…. Your journal helped me alot so I was thrilled to see that robyn posted a link and let us know you were writing again…
just wanted to say HI and thanks for all the inspiration.
Oh, I’ll be pushing myself pretty damn hard in yoga class after work today. I love that class–such a challenge of strength, balance, and endurance. I never would have thought that that’s what I would get out of it before I knew what yoga was all about, but I LOVE it. Recommend it to anyone & everyone.
Here in Canada this is our Thanksgiving weekend. Suffice to say I stuffed myself yesterday and felt absolutely awful for the rest of the evening.
Got up and hit the gym and my legs felt like lead!
but I stuck to it and felt nice and energized at the end of my workout. I believe the occasional pig out is a great way to remind myself to stick to my guns and leave my old gluttonous ways behind!
Fred are you going to post old Phatman entries? I never got to enjoy Phatman before you took it down….would love to get some inspiration!
Love you here in Ontario..
Kay, thankya much.
Elizabeth in NC: Recommend it to anyone & everyone.
I tried it once, and quickly got embarrassed at how goony I must look. Sadly, there wasn’t even anyone around to see me. Madonna certainly built up nice arms and shoulders with it, so it looks like it works, for sure.
Nancy: Fred are you going to post old Phatman entries? I never got to enjoy Phatman before you took it down….would love to get some inspiration!
A good number of them ended up in the book, which I plan on putting online in the near future. I supect I’ll dig into some of the ones I wrote after the book, or that didn’t get into the book, from time to time.
Hi Fred! Great to see the site up again! I am a diehard from the OneFatMan.com days-I believe I wrote to you once about how I lost my gallbladder thanks to yo-yo dieting and a slimfast-type program. I loved reading the journal then-you inspired me to use the food-bank-pound incentive-and it made me feel great to donate the food and celebrate the pounds gone. I am glad to see you are still living the healthy lifestyle-it obviously works for you!(and I know you work hard for it too) Like Nancy, I am in Ontario Canada and have just finished the big Thanksgiving feast…ugh. I am so glad that there is no major celebration for at least 2 months, and I can work on getting more focused on my goal and turn my eating around. On that note, today is the final “day of junk” where any junkfood left in the house gets thrown out at midnight, so excuse me while I go help myself to the last slice of punkin’ pie…GLAD YOU”RE BACK PHATMAN!
I’m with you on how lousy the junk food makes you feel. I’ve recently lost 25 pounds, mostly by cutting the extra sugar and refined crap out of my diet, and I had some (OK, a LOT of) Ben and Jerry’s Friday night. I woke up with a hangover, and I hadn’t had a drop of alcohol. I kept my sugar intake mostly in check on Saturday and then was crabby and sad all day Sunday. I can’t believe what a difference there was. Yeesh.
Oh, long-time reader from back in the OneFatMan days.
So…how soon is ’soon’ for putting your book online? Not to pressure you or anything! Thx
Wendy, as soon as I have a place for it.
Happy to see this site back. Loved your book. After 12 odd years of yo- yo dieting up and down approx 100 pounds (I hope I converted that correctly from KG’s!) I finally took the mindset on exercise and food that has helped me to reach my goal and this time stay forever. Every now and then I refer to your book still. Although less and less as I have become my own champion now! I orginally found Robyn site through this onephatman site and all these yrs later still a dailt reader despite not being a kitty person!
Hope to see the older entries soon. Thanks.
Welcome back…….I got the book and I’m a fan of yours. When ever I backslide, I read a few chapters for inspiration. No gimmicks, just hard work does it. Now if I could just quit eating after I fight with the Old Lady…..the things we do to our body to feed the head! Keep on keepin’ on, Phred….
Glad to see you back Fred. I’ve been around since One Fat Man and I still hang on your every word, you the man!
It’s great to see OnePhatMan back on the web. You gave me alot of motivation in the old days and unfortunately I still need that motivation. I have been struggling with knee problems and I know they will be better if I can get moving and lose this weight. Today I will be getting on my recumbent bike and pushing myself to put on as many miles as I can. I know the more I trade this fat for muscle…the more efficient my body will begin to work. Best of luck to all who are trying to get healthy and lose weight.
Do You look at the TV show “Biggest Loser” If so, What do you think about it? They lose a lot of weight in only a week.
I am glad to be getting your emails again…I am also on your wifes email list.