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I am a Fatty

May 30, 2018

I feel like I am at an AA meeting: Hi, my name is Rick, I eat sugary sweets whenever I can, I eat cookies, I have at least 4 or 5 Cokes a week and I am a fatty. Everyone says in unison, “Hi Rick!!”. I am addicted to sugar and it keeps me saying that I am a fatty. Luckily my sugar levels are normal, but it keeps me having a belly.

If you know me, and most of you do, I am not big or look particularly overweight, but I am a fatty. My arms are not flabby, my legs are pretty lean from bike riding. My Panza, or belly is way oversized for my frame. This really bothers me. It kinda didnt before and I was able to live with it. I have started to eat quite a bit healthier in the last couple of years. I have lost 15 or so pounds. My face is much slimmer but the belly will not go away because I am a fatty!!!

I started by drinking less sodas. I thought that even a little less High Fructose Corn Syrup would be a good start, and it was. My fried chicken consumption has dropped drastically. Chicken fried steaks are a treat I only enjoy about every couple of months. At Christmas I have 1 or 2 tamales at a sitting instead of 5 or 6.

So has all of this helped? Yes. As mentioned, I have dropped about 15 pounds in the last few years. Now I am at about 172 or 173 and can not go any lower. In the weight loss crowd they would say I plateaued. A few weeks ago I started to really look at myself and wonder what I was doing or not doing. I realized that I still had a few sodas every week. Fast food still was in my diet several times a week. Bike riding was once every two weeks instead of twice a week like I had hoped.

It was time for a change. Diet is not what I do. I believe in lifestyle change. I have tried to take out ALL of the high fructose corn syrup(HFCS) in my life. That means no sodas, ketchup or anything with hfcs. I still use ketchup, but only the more expensive ones that dont have hfcs. Paleo, Keto, Adkins, are all diets that have some merit and I take information from all of these and others to come to a lifestyle that works for me.

I try to have less carbs. Whole, raw almonds and walnuts are always close by for a snack. I have fruit also when I need something a little sweet, but healthy. Whole foods instead of processed are what mostly go into by belly now. Does it show? Not yet. After 1 month does it show? No. It will take months if not years to get my beach body. You will not see my ab muscles this summer, maybe next year. To see my abs next year I have to change my lifestyle to completely eliminate sodas. I have not had one since May 1, 2018. No ice cream at 10pm. In fact no food after 8pm. Hard sacrifices is what will get me to no belly, hard abs and weigh in the 160s. Only then will I not be a fatty.

Do I get frustrated that we are spending about double on wholesome groceries than before to eat NON processed foods and I still have a belly? Of course. My almond butter only has one ingredient, almonds(expensive). But I know that it takes time. It also takes LOTS OF EFFORT AND PLENTY OF SACRIFICE. Do you think that I like to NOT have a soda? I love the sugary taste of sweetness that envelopes your tongue every time you sip on that sweet sweet nectar that we call Coke. Spoken like a true fatty, right? My belly loves processed kraft macaroni and cheese, but my future beach bod will not materialize if I continue eating it.

What else takes lots of time, effort and sacrifice to develop? Real Estate Investments. People that I meet tell me that they want to own 10 rental properties in the next 3 years. They want to retire from the job that they hate and replace their income with flipping and rental properties in the next 5 years. Is it possible, yes. Is it probable, no.

I have been a real estate investor for about 15 years. Kinda like my eating situation I did a little at first. I got kinda serious for a little while here and there. Always learning and trying new things here and there but not taking real estate serious. I have built, along with my wife, some notes that produce some regular income, deal flow, some rental properties and now some mentoring for newer and more advanced real estate investors.

It has only been in the last 4 or 5 years that I have really taken the real estate serious even though I have been doing it for 15 years. I have built up lists of contractors. Rehabbing a house has almost become second nature. I have even taken on the Office of Historic Preservation to rehab a historic home. It happens to be Our House that we will be living in by Halloween.

When someone calls me about a house I can usually tell whether it is a good deal or not within about 2 minutes. This is because I know the different areas of town, prices in many areas, demand for housing and many other factors. I say this not to brag, but to let you know that when you do something over and over, you get good at it.

When my sister first got me out on my bike over 10 years ago I was slower than a constipated turtle. One of our earlier rides she got me to puke because I could not handle it. I would ride at about 10 or 11mph and be completely and totally worn out after a 7 to 10 mile ride. Since then I have ridden in a couple of 100 mile rides. 60 mile rides are tough, but do not completely tear me up. Usually I ride between 15 and 30 miles at a 14 or 15mph pace. I get off the bike feeling good and NOT totally drained.

It takes much practice and constant learning to get good at anything. Real estate is no different. Keep researching, looking at properties, making offers and networking. If you have not purchased a property yet, you will soon. Then another and another. After you do it for a while, you will increase your net worth greatly.

Market timing is also important. We may be at the top of the market or pretty close to it. Keep that in mind. You dont want to get into flipping a bunch of properties and get caught if prices start to drop. Learn all you can, meet and talk regularly with other investors and most of all have fun.

Good luck and happy investing.