Angel Garcia: Memoirs of a (Long Beach) Loser

So here we go...I've been excited about this for a few weeks. Anticipation growing. I knew I had to make some changes and I know the time is now. I participated in the Long Beach Loser competition in the past and did pretty well. I dropped 49 pounds. I learned a lot about myself and pushed myself to the limit.

I was never a small guy. I always knew I had to get this weight off. I've had a gym membership for 10 years and I'd go, break a small sweat and call it a day. I had no clue how to push my body to the limits. I grew up in a family with both parents working and always pressed for time. Dinner was either made at home and not eaten until about 8 or 9pm or dinner was picked up through a drive-thru window so I had years of poor eating habits to overcome. I had no dicipline. I knew what I was doing was bad for me but I had no idea or honestly no drive to change it. The Long Beach Losers seemed like the right thing at the right time.

When it began I was struggling to run a block without stopping and nearly falling over. By the end of the competition I was running five miles a day and enjoying it. I even completed a 13-mile jog two days before the competition ended, running from the Seal Beach area to Huntington Beach and back! I was also unemployed. I had been laid off from my job the first week of the competition so besides job hunting I had nothing else to do but condition myself. To get faster, run further, and push myself. I didn't have the stress of getting in shape and trying to balance a full day of work like so many others did. I was completely focused.

After the competition was over I was hired by a local major business so my days of waking up and taking long leisurely runs were done. I had to balance work, life, and exercise. Sadly I failed. My runs and work outs started to become less frequent, at times non-existent. My dieting went to hell as I would have "what was near me" for lunch or dinner. Most of the weight I had lost slowly started to creep back. I knew this but I was so busy and out of whack with my priorities that I didn't do anything about it.

So here we are, the 2011 Long Beach Losers competition. My goal this time around is to learn how to balance life. How to work, exercise, eat right, and live a better lifestyle durring and after the competition. I like to say...."I lost a lot, gained back some, and now I'm trying to loose a few."

So I invite you to join me as my team and I take on the Long Beach Loser competition and work hard to change our lives for the better. It's going to be a tough ride but one that is going to be funny, enjoyable and have an incredible payoff in the end.  Sit back, relax, and get ready. Wait, forget that! Get up, grab your workout gear and join me in this adventure!