Michael Funaro

 

August 07 2006


Obesity is a condition that Michael is determined to leave behind, and he's accumulated the tools to do just that. Aside from the NutriSystem Nourish program, Michael counts three "ingredients" that are necessary for weight loss - and they deal with the importance of having the right mindset for it.

Country: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Age: 45
Weight now: 397
Target weight: 199 (just because I want a "1" in front of my weight again)

-What finally made you decide to start with a weight loss program, and how much did you weigh when you first started?
My weight problem really only began after the age of 26. I played sports most of my life and also in college, so I was always in top physical condition. I've always been a "big" eater with a healthy appetite, but my exercise and youth kept the pounds off. At 26, I weighed 175 lbs. and was in great condition. That was also when I started working my first ever desk job and over the next 18 years I slowly but steadily gained weight -- usually between 10 and 30 pounds a year and some years I may have even lost a few pounds. But as I gained more weight I became less active and my appetite didn't diminish so I wasn't burning those calories anymore.

By June 2004 I weighed at least 510 lbs. I say at least because I may have even weighed more than 510. It wasn't until my mother went into the hospital that June and I had to walk a long way across the hospital that I realized how terribly overweight I was. I thought maybe I weighed in the 300's but you are in denial most of the time. During that long walk I found myself huffing and puffing for breath, my knees and back killing me, sweat pouring from my face and my heart pounding out of my chest. I actually thought it was good I was in the hospital since I might die right then and there. Sometimes in our lives it takes a catastrophic event to make us change our lifestyles and I didn't want a heart attack or stroke to make me decide to become healthy. That walk was enough to wake me up.

-What type of weight loss program are you following?
I've tried them all and they all work to some degree or another. But like most people, you lose weight during the "honeymoon" phase of the diet and once you settle in you either lose interest or get bored and go back to old habits. The weight comes back and you usually gain another 20 pounds or more on top of where you started. Hopefully we all learn from our past mistakes and I've made enough of them on diets. What I've come to learn is that when you say "program" you really mean a comprehensive approach to your weight loss. It's not a diet, it's a program. By that I believe that there are three main ingredients to your program. In the past, I approached it always as just a diet and neglected the rest of the program. Losing weight is as much above your neck as it is below and here is my program.

1) A diet that works for me. For me, that means a low-fat diet that keeps my calories between 1800-2000 per day; a diet rich in vegetables, fruit, lean meats and fish. It also means journaling all my food and drinks so that I know exactly what goes in my mouth every day and how many calories I am taking in. It also means zero tolerance to fast food. I have learned that I just can't have fast food once in a while. I can't eat fast food -- period! -- it helps to put me back into old my habits.

2) Exercise. Yes, you've heard it a million times, but exercise is a key ingredient to your weight loss program. I joined the gym in July 2005 and I try to go at least three times a week. I do my aerobic exercises on the treadmill for 30-40 minutes and then I have a weight training circuit that I do for my upper body that was initially set up with a trainer. My entire gym day takes about 90 minutes.

3) Support and accountability. This is the one that most people overlook. I know I always did and ultimately it's what led to my failures. We all think we can diet and lose weight alone. But the truth is we need help. We need people who have succeeded for motivation, people going through the same thing for support and people to help prop us up when we are down or had a bad day. It was around 2004 that I heard of Dr. Nick Yphantides. He is a doctor who himself once weighed 467 pounds and lost nearly 260 of those pounds in about a year with his "Taking a Swing at Weight loss" baseball tour across America. To help others he created a website called healthsteward.com. Dr. Nick knew the importance of support and accountability to the overall success of a weight loss program. I joined his site and met others like me, people wanting to lose weight. Many of us didn't have shoulders to lean on for support or others to prop us up when we had bad days. This site provided my missing ingredient as I'm sure it did for many others. When I joined I was number 24. Today there are well over 200 members of this small but very important community. Dr. Nick has provided something that many of us didn't have in our lives.

Initially I decided to not follow a particular diet. I just cut out fast food, processed foods, high-fat foods and tried to eat lean meats, fish, very little dairy, and lots of vegetables and fruits. In June 2004 I was well over 500 lbs. and by October 2005 I was tipping the scale at 342 pounds. I won't say it was easy and I won't say I haven't struggled, because I have. In fact I've gained weight at various times during the last two years, usually because I allowed myself to revert back to old habits (which always seem to be just lurking around corners) or because of holiday celebrations. It's when I seem to get most confident or think this dieting is "easy" that I have a bad day or gain weight. This is why support is so crucial to your overall success. These people are there to get you going again, not allow you to feel sorry for yourself and remind you why you are doing what you are doing.

-Why did you choose this weight loss program?
Something else I've learned is that you cannot become bored with any item of the three ingredients. If you do, then you will stop and start regaining. I know, it's happened to me during the past two years. So I am always looking for new ways to improve my three ingredients or add here or tweak there. It keeps things fresh and keeps you motivated. So in order to change my diet, I am now doing NutriSystem Nourish.

I joined for many reasons. With any diet, I do lots of research beforehand. I found that NutriSystem offered a similar diet style to what I had been doing all along. The exception was that I had been depriving myself of one of my favorite foods, pasta. I love pasta and I found that the NutriSystem Nourish program allowed pasta in their pre-packaged food lists. So now I can eat things like Ravioli, Pizza, Rigatoni and Lasagna; things I found myself craving before. The difference is that NutriSystem uses portion control and healthy ingredients. I also like their low-glycemic program, which really helps to curb hunger. And, for a single guy like myself, the pre-packaged foods meant little preparation to eat meals that I really enjoyed. I just popped them in the microwave and in a few minutes dinner was ready. It was all of these items that made me choose NutriSystem. Since May 1st, I've lost over 50 lbs. on Nutrisystem - and I really enjoy the food!

-How long have you been on your weight loss program?
Overall since June 2004, but on NutriSystem since May 2006.

-What kinds of physical activities do you like doing to help you lose weight and stay fit?
I finally broke down and joined a gym in July 2005. I try to go 3-4 times a week. I do 30-40 minutes on the treadmill, followed by a circuit of weight machines that I set up along with a personal trainer. My entire program takes about 90 minutes per day. When I'm not at the gym, I have one of those large fitness balls in my home. When I am watching television I will do abdominal crunches on it during commercials. I figure this way I'm doing something physical while doing a sedentary activity like watching television.

-What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome or are still overcoming?
I believe that I will always fight the obstacles, the rest of my life. Once you are obese, it's something that you will battle for the rest of your life. I can be on a program for months on end and yet at the drop of a hat my old habits can come back in no time. It might be a piece of cake I had at a party or maybe that Christmas delicacy that I hadn't had in ages. Then I find myself rationalizing with myself: "Well, I've gone off my diet now so I might as well splurge and I can get back on my diet tomorrow." When you start doing that you are setting yourself up for failure. So I can never get overconfident that I have this licked or that I will never fail again.

Overeating is like any other addiction; you will always have to keep at it to keep it at bay. For most obese people or even those looking to lose 20 or 30 pounds, emotions play a huge role in overeating. Like I said before, a lot of weight loss is above your neck, not just below. If I'm mad at something, upset, depressed or even very happy, food becomes a great comfort. I have to learn that food is not a cure-all for my emotions. In fact, if anything, I am worse afterwards. I beat myself up for having given into my food compulsions.

-How do you keep yourself motivated?
Motivation is difficult at times. My motivation comes from wanting to live longer, and being healthy. I want to enjoy life and not be worried about my weight or hampered by it. Then there are the little things most "normal" people take for granted. Can I fit in the chair at a restaurant? Will the seat belt buckle if I take a plane? Will I have to pay for a second seat on a plane? There are lots more examples like these, things the average person never thinks about but the obese person thinks about constantly. I once broke the chair in my dentist's waiting room. Needless to say, I never went back to him again.

-Do you have any weight loss tips for our readers?
My advice is this: you have to want to lose weight first and foremost. If you aren't ready or you approach it with a less than 100% attitude you will fail. And never lose weight to please someone else, do it for your own health. Do it to be around longer in this world and to be there for those who love you. And don't forget, you need all three ingredients to even have a good chance at long-term success; diet program, exercise and support. Oh, and if you have a lot of weight to lose, don't get discouraged by losing 1-2 pounds a week. You didn't gain the weight in a month; don't expect to lose it all in a month too. Be very cautious of portion control. You don't realize how out of whack portion control is in the USA. We are eating sometimes four or five times the amount in one serving that we should be. That's something I've learned from being on NutriSystem.

-Do you think it will be easy to fall back into your old lifestyle pattern? How do you prevent this from happening?
Every single day it is easy to fall back into old habits. I'm afraid it's something I will battle to the day I die. I try to prevent old habits by taking a breath and thinking, "Do I really need what I'm about to eat?" "Am I hungry or am I eating out of emotions?"

I give myself some time to think, maybe have a glass of water and see if that takes away the feeling. Most times, I can keep myself from eating bad if I just don't give into impulses and eat without thinking first. I also think of how good I feel when I eat well and exercise. And, how badly I feel when I overeat and I have that stuffed feeling. Which do I prefer? That's what I ask myself.

-Do you have a favorite Web site or blog that helps or inspires you to lose weight?
I started my own blog when I started NutriSystem so that I could basically help to tweak Item 3 of my ingredients (support). My writing about my daily thoughts and NS foods helps me because I go back and read them and see what I was thinking or doing on those days. And, if it helps others then I'm happy about that too. I have also met many others with similar weight loss blogs. I like to read a few of them and they can all be found on my own blog: Michael Da Vegas Blog. These other bloggers have great ideas, great recipes, NutriSystem tips and some great books I've already bought because of recommendations.

I also still am a health steward at Dr. Nick's HealthSteward.com site. If you are looking for support, this is a great site to meet others like yourself and know that Dr. Nick has been through the same thing you are going through.