Michael Nuttall is the Nutrition Services Director at Lovelace Women’s Hospital and an experienced chef. He shares his motivation to become healthier by losing weight and increasing his physical activity today on our blog.
The seed to want to change started with the simple things. Putting on socks and shoes would take my breath away. Things that were simple became hard. Clothes wouldn’t fit. I didn’t want to go out with friends, because I didn’t fit in restaurant booths. I was afraid I would break chairs because of my size. At Lovelace, we have an annual wellness screening. Seeing those numbers, I knew that I wanted to do better for myself.
I think the moment that really opened my eyes to needing to change was when I was asked to do a cooking segment on television on heart-healthy cooking. I returned their request with a question, “Do you really want a fat man to teach heart-healthy cooking?” Being out of breath taking the supplies up the stairs to the studio and seeing how large I was on their monitors were more motivators for me to lose weight.
A co-worker encouraged me to join the Lovelace running team. Not feeling very comfortable with that idea, but knowing I had to do something, I started walking. I would listen to an hour-long YouTube video and walk a couple of miles. Seeing a number of people day after day running on that same path that I would walk, I started to want to do more than walk.
I tried to run and thought I was going to die. Meanwhile, my co-worker continued to encourage me to join the running team. The running team captain showed me a free app for my phone that showed me how to begin interval training. I would run for one min and walk for five minutes. As I got stronger I adjusted the setting.
I realized I was making this change for more than myself. The kicker was - I was so big that for one of my vacations, we took a road trip from Albuquerque to Atlanta to see my grandmother in the summer of 2013. We drove, because I was too embarrassed to buy two seats on an airplane. After seeing my grandmother I thought I’d never see her again.
It takes a lot of time and money to drive across the country. She was getting older and I knew I wanted to see her again. I was determined to do something about my size to fit into
a plane seat. I did get to see her again in July of 2014. It is one of my most cherished memories at this point. Seeing how happy she was to see me - if for only one more time. She passed away Oct 29, 2014.
Today, I eat substantially smaller portions, but I eat more frequently. For breakfast, I try to have a piece of fruit and a protein shake. For a midday snack, I’ll have a protein bar or peanut butter and celery. I’m more conscious of what I’m eating. In the past, I loved a Chick-Fil-A chicken biscuit. If one was good, two were better. For me, it’s a matter of changing my mind set. Instead of eating a chicken biscuit every Friday, I may have one only once a month now. Also, I have increased my fruit and vegetable consumption, while lowering carbohydrates and fatty meats. I exercise at least fives days a week - running, bike-riding, swimming, and core strength training.
I didn’t get this way overnight and my advice to other is to know it’s not going to change and turn around over night. You need patience and persistence. Someone told me a bad workout is better than no workout at all. Every time I don’t want to workout, I’ve noticed it turns out to be the best ones yet.
Commitment to friends and being a part of a community is the biggest change. That is the turning point when you realize you’re not alone. It is important to have other people who care about you, ask you how you’re doing and hold you accountable to yourself.
I’ve learned there is fun in the hard work and that feeling of pride that comes with a new accomplishment. I know I need goals or my workouts lose focus - entering races or challenges helps me with that. All of these are factors are ones that I could point to as turning points in my weight loss journey. The most important lessons I have learned are from the my failures and setbacks.