He thought he could cheat!

Dave's lowest was 179 lbs. one week. The week he went to the 700 Club TV show. (You can view the clip on his site: http://www.thislittlepiggywenttothegym.com/, it's in the left hand margin).

Upon his return, he was feeling great, looking fantastic & totally in the zone. And then people really started telling him over and over of how he 'looked TOO skinny'. He heard it all: frail, gauntly, sick...he was even asked if he was on drugs. These discouraging bubble-busting comments started taking it's toll on him, as he had to hear it daily from people.

Couple observations here:

• NO ONE ever told him he was TOO FAT when he was over 400 lbs.
• David was never SELF-CONSCIOUS when he weighed 425 lbs.
• Again, I was one of the few cheering on his efforts (just as I was one of the few warning him to lose weight).

What was the deal? He was finally healthy, no longer OBESE...and people weren't happy. Here's a lesson: don't live to make people happy. NO MATTER WHAT you will never please people. Do what is good for your body, your life, your family, etc.

Because of these comments of 'being frail, petite looking, etc' Dave became very self-concious. Actually,  the first and only time in his life that he was insecure. How ridiculous it that? One, he didn't look bad at all. He was lookin' so fine, super-hot & lean...yet, he felt insecure? And two, he had been 400+ lbs. and very confident? These negative opinions from others had devestating results. He started having a CHEAT MEAL. One on Sunday evenings is where it started.

Now real quick, imagine an ex-alcoholic who had been sober for a few years, not a drop of alcohol, starting back up & having 1 drink on the weekend. Imagine a pothead, staying clean for a few years...and then having a puff, once a weekend. Do you think that they could just have 1?....I'm afraid not.

So then, a person whose drug was food...going from clean eating to 1 cheat meal on the weekend..."There's no harm in it"....right? WRONG!

Calories in 1 slice: 298
Calories in whole pizza: 2,384

Dave's first cheat meal on that first Sunday in September of 2010 was pizza. His fave: pepperoni w/ mushroom on pan from Rusty's. At this first meal, he could only eat about 2 1/2-3 pieces. By the end of his cheat-season, he could put away a whole large pizza.

And soon, cheat eating started on Saturday afternoons and/or evenings...then Sunday lunch, and sometimes followed by a Sunday cheat-dinner......What foods was he eating??? His old 'faves, that's what:

• Pizza w/ super wedges & ranch
• Super Burritos
• Ribs
• Steaks
• Combos at the Mexican restuarants w/ sides of beans & rice
• Tortas
• Tons of chips & salsas
• Chili Beans @ family bbqs
• PB & J - w/ it thick!
• WHATEVER HE WANTED!

Now check this out: Monday thru Friday, he was going to the gym, continuing to burn 800+ calories a workout. And all of his meals from Monday thru Friday were home-prepared, clean foods. Dave started all this cheat eating in September last year...and took advantage of eating whatever he wanted through the HOLIDAYS. (This is why I am helping people w/ the 100 day Battle of the Bulge thru the Holiday Season.)

THE RESULTS: WEIGHT GAIN!

Of course, the entire time, I was reluctant to eat with him. That would just be encouraging the behavior. Plus, I DID NOT WANT TO GAIN! In fact, I was on my own mission to lose my baby weight from giving birth to our second son in Jan. 2010. I ate my clean healthy meals as he binged on all the fatty, red meat, high-carb stuff he wanted.

I was dying inside. Here I had watched Dave lose 246 lbs. in 2 years...and in a matter of months...he was packing on the pounds. I began to pray again.

And then, in April of 2011, I looked at him...his belly beginning to get a little round again & I asked the forbidden question (in my nicest tone), "What are you weighing in at these days?"

As he glared at me and asked why, I was nervous, but I knew I would be doing him a disservice if I didn't share my heart and concern..."Well, you're lookin' a little rounder these days and I'm curious if you are still weighing yourself...remember what Trainer Tom says, 'stay accountable to the scale'".

This was not what he wanted to hear...yet it was truth...and he knew it. I buckled down & prayed and prayed again. And he decided once again that 'starting on Monday'...he would start eating better. (Oh, if there was no such thing as Mondays, how many people would not eat crazy for the weekend just to start eating good on a Monday?).

So on a Monday, weighing in at 232 lbs...Reality sunk in...in a matter of 8 months of eating what he wanted on weekends only (thank goodness), Dave faced the fact that he had gained 53 lbs.

Imagine that for a minute...how many calories was he eating on the weekends to gain that much weight...despite the clean eating thru the week...and the 800+ calorie-burning workouts thru the week?

And so he faced the facts and the truth that he could not cheat-eat on the weekends. PERIOD.

He continued to go to the gym and started eating better on the weekends...but as old habits are hard to break...it did take him a bit to master the 'lean eating all week long' habit again...more on this later...