Christopher Stiegemeyer (Lost 55+ Pounds!)

With the response that Kenneth’s story received last week, I made sure to get another fat loss success story ready for you guys this week. Oh, and I have some pretty exciting news that I’m going to share with you all later this week.

Alright, on with today’s fat loss story of inspiration. Christopher Stiegemeyer, just like many of you reading my blog, finally came to the realization that he had to do something about his weight. What I love most about Christopher’s interview is that he wasn’t ready to start, but he knew that he had to!

Taking the first step is the hardest, but once you do, just keep walking and don’t look back. As I’m sure Christopher, as well as the other guys I’ve highlighted, will tell you, you are going to make mistakes. Expect them and welcome them as learning experiences.

I hope you enjoy reading about Christopher’s continued fat loss journey, and please leave a comment …

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BEGIN ON THIS FAT-LOSS JOURNEY?
My wife and I got married May 2005, we found out we were going to be parents two days before Father’s Day that year.  My mom was diagnosed with cancer in July and passed in August.  At the time I was a pack and a half a day smoker and had been struggling with my weight my entire life.  That really brought the point home that I needed to do something about my lifestyle.  I wasn’t really prepared mentally or emotionally at that time to do anything about it, but that planted the seeds for what was to come.

It really all came home on my one year anniversary.  I was starting a new job the next day and the baby was napping with my wife in the other room.  I was halfway through a cigarette and I thought “You know what?  I am done with this.”  I started with quitting smoking, because I thought that doing both at once would be too much for me.  My true weight loss project didn’t start until January of 2007, but I really believe the beginning of the process was when I quit smoking because I realized I was ready to change.

WHAT NUTRITIONAL PLAN (SOME PEOPLE SAY “DIET”) DO YOU FOLLOW?
I don’t really follow a very solid plan right now.  I keep a food diary through www.thedailyplate.com and try to track my calories and intake that way.  I have been researching diet plans and balances because training for endurance running requires a lot of carbs, but so far it has been more about changing HOW I eat rather than aiming for a specific goal.

Nutrition has been a real challenge so far.  My toddler is a notoriously picky eater and there is always plenty of things around the house waiting to derail me.  Chicken nuggets may not be the most nutritious thing in the world, but almost any parent will vouch that when all else fails the nugget is king. 

I have begun looking for some easy prep things that are healthy and can be prepared ahead of time.  After a long day of chasing a 2-year old sometimes the last thing you want to do is cook dinner.  A lot of times my wife and I are just too worn out to prepare something sensible.  Especially if I went 5 or 6 miles that morning.

DID YOU SET A GOAL FOR YOURSELF? IF SO, WHAT WAS IT?
I have more of a general fitness goal than a real weight goal.  I don’t weigh myself super religiously anymore and  I don’t even measure myself right now.  I kind of decided to break up with all of that, I might consider flirting with it in the future, but boy those numbers can be deceptive. 

I am measuring myself via fitness goals and milestones.  A year and a half ago I couldn’t run 6 miles.  I couldn’t do 13 push ups either.  By the end of this year, I plan on being able to do sets of 100 push ups and I will have run a half-marathon.  Even if I still have a bit of chunk on me, that is progress I can’t argue with.

I have a very large frame and even straight out of basic training I weighed 230 lbs.  I convinced myself I was still fat because of the number, and ate myself into worse shape than ever.  I find that I have to have a goal I can really see makes a difference not just some arbitrary measurement.  I can measure miles and reps as visible progress, not just some number on a scale.

WHAT WAS THE HARDEST PART OF ACTUALLY STARTING YOUR JOURNEY?
Honesty.  Running is really what taught me about honesty.  The first time I ran a 5k, that was a really scary number.  I was in a 5k race to support my daughter’s school and I had never gone that far before.  About halfway through going up one of the “small” hills I nearly threw in the towel.  It was too hard, I couldn’t do it and at least I tried.  That was when it really clicked, that there was no one to blame but me.  My legs would keep going, they wouldn’t fall off and I just needed to do it.  I don’t think I was ever really honest before when I was trying to lose weight.  It was always a “Yeah, but…” thing when I fell off the wagon.


DID YOUR FRIENDS/FAMILY OFFER YOU SUPPORT?
I have struggled with my weight forever.  When I first started, I didn’t even really tell anyone I was doing it.  I started to walk on my lunch break at work with an old pair of tennis shoes I stuffed in my bottom drawer.  instead of two giant helpings, I cut down to one and slowly reduced the amount of what I ate. 

My family and friends are great, they all encouraged me and always have on these endeavors.  My wife especially for the way she glares at me when I have half a honey bun hanging out of my mouth.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR NEW MORE HEALTHY FOOD CHOICES YOU NOW MAKE? FAVORITES?
My biggest healthy food change has been cutting out/back on the fast food intake.  My big lunch favorite right now is brown rice with shredded chicken, jalepenos, enchilada seasoning and a little bit of low fat cheese thrown in.  I don’t know how incredibly HEALTHY it is, but it is easy enough for me to prepare and meets my carb and protein needs after a long run.  I can eat that 4 times a week and be perfectly content.

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT WEIGHT? HOW ARE YOU KEEPING THE FAT OFF?
My current weight is 275 and I have plateaued there for about 3 months.  I am sure I am losing inches because my clothes continue to fit better, but I know that I have had some fairly serious muscle gains just from the fact that there IS starting to be some lumps in my body that are from MUSCLE!  The first time I noticed spots in my legs that were firm instead of flab, I made my wife poke them to show her how “manly” I was becoming.


BESIDES OBVIOUSLY FEELING HEALTHIER, WHAT KIND OF CHANGES HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED BOTH EMOTIONALLY AND PHYSICALLY AFTER YOUR FAT-LOSS?
Physically it’s been more that things are easier.  Even at 330 lbs, I could go up the stairs to my house carrying 40 lbs of dog food and 30 lbs of cat food.  Now I marvel at the fact that I can do that and it was equal to me walking up the stairs by myself.

Emotionally has been the big change.  I used to be fairly well known for my confident and outgoing nature, I am starting to get that back.  I am starting to be proud of who I am again.

WHAT KIND OF REACTIONS DO YOU GET NOW?
I think the most amazing thing was right before I went on vacation at the beginning of the month.  I was doing a 5 mile run and I had complete strangers commenting on my weight loss.  These weren’t people I had ever spoken to, but in the same day I had 3 people that either live on my route or I see out exercising that commented on how much weight I had lost.  I was just floored.

ANY TIPS/ WORDS OF ADVICE YOU WOULD OFFER SOMEBODY TRYING TO LOSE FAT?
The thing that has tripped me up every single time, and I am struggling with right now as a matter of fact.  Body transformation takes time, it took years to get into the shape you are/were in and it will take years to get yourself “done.”  During that time, you will have a day or week or even month that you fall off the wagon and raid the Hostess bakery.  It’s OK.  Tomorrow you can get back on and erase any small amount of damage you did, don’t just throw it in and say you blew it.

Fellas, please keep sending your fat loss stories to me because I need more stories . . . thanks!

Related Posts:

• Kirby Fields (Lost 75 Pounds!)
• My LA Ink Webisode is LIVE!
• The 650 lb. Virgin – David Smith
• My Weight Gains & Losses By The Year – Part V
• Kenneth Lapins (Lost 50+ Pounds!)

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4 Responses to “Christopher Stiegemeyer (Lost 55+ Pounds!)”

1. Dennis Says:
   November 10th, 2008 at 5:27 pm

   Awesome stuff…thanks for sharing your story with us Christopher.

   I hear on chasing the kids around as well…my three have my head spinning by dinner time LOL…keep up the good work my man.

   Muata thanks again for putting your time and effort into this blog (thumbs up).

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   Muata Reply:
   November 10th, 2008 at 6:47 pm

   @Dennis – No problem Dennis. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment …

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2. kahadji Says:
   November 11th, 2008 at 4:35 pm

   Muata,
   Thanks for the inspiring story on Chris and this blog. I am a female and going through some serious struggles on the weight loss journey. Your blog gives me hope.

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   Muata Reply:
   November 11th, 2008 at 8:51 pm

   @kahadji – You’re welcome and I’m glad that you are enjoying the stories. Even though my site is geared towards men, the same principles and rules apply to everyone. Keep reading to learn from others and to be inspired by them also. Hang in there …

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