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THE SHORT VERSION: I was fat. I am no longer fat. Thanks P90X!

THE LONG VERSION: I first got fat while stationed in Germany with the Air Force in the 1980s. I was not fat-fat, just overweight for what i was used to, so I did the Atkins thing in 1983-84 and that worked to take off the excess baggage.

I have always been an on-again-off-again gym guy. I don't like the inconvenience of

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THE SHORT VERSION: I was fat. I am no longer fat. Thanks P90X!

THE LONG VERSION: I first got fat while stationed in Germany with the Air Force in the 1980s. I was not fat-fat, just overweight for what i was used to, so I did the Atkins thing in 1983-84 and that worked to take off the excess baggage.

I have always been an on-again-off-again gym guy. I don't like the inconvenience of traveling to and from the gym, not to mention the public nature of the workout. I also did some distance running -- 10k and half-marathons -- for a few years, tried Suzanne Somers's diet (which worked really well, but, as with all those kinds of diets, was hard to stay on). Even though I was overweight, if I could stay in the 180- to 190-pound range on a 5'10" frame, I would be okay for the Air Force.

In 2001, after 20 years and 3 days, I got out of the Air Force, and the pounds started piling on. When I hit 215 I Somercized my way back to 190, but before long I had gained it back -- and more.

In the mid-2000s, I attended a family reunion and realized that I was the fattest person there. This made me want to lose weight, but everything I had tried before was temporary, and running was no longer an option, because it hurt my joints too much to do that.

When I hit 235, I started having pain in my abdomen from what I perceived to be an accumulation of fat squishing my organs. Plus, my doctor had put me on two blood pressure medications. At that point I knew I had to do something, so I started restricting calories. Wow, I lost 50 pounds in 8 months, but got stuck there. I put 10 to 15 pounds back on over the next few years, but, fortunately, never got back up to my previous weight.

I was almost at the point where I was just resigned to the "fact" that I was too old to lose weight without severely restricting calories. I knew restricting calories was not workable for the long run, so I was stuck.

Then my brother got me to try P90X. I didn't feel I was ready for the X. I mean, I had been walking a lot and doing pushups, crunches, and pullups, but nothing huge. I was at 195 and out of shape, for sure.

Well, P90X was just the snap I needed to get me going and really working toward my fitness goals. I pressed play every day, and eventually, by week 9, was able to do all the workouts all the way through -- okay, with modifications ;=)

After the first round I was down to 178 pounds. Under 180. Hadn't been there since the early 1990s! My waist shrank by 4.5 inches. I could wear t-shirts I hadn't been able to wear in years.

I continue now with P90X and a proper diet -- balanced and almost sugar-free -- to work toward a goal weight of 165. I'm not really that tied into weight, but I'm kinda figuring that's the weight I'll need to be at to hit the body-fat percentage I want.

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