History

Hello.

My name is Nate Rupple. I just realized that I am chubby.

Growing up my mother was an excellent "couponer". She was a wizard of finding deals at local grocery stores, comparing them to the coupons she would find in the circulars, and buying mass quantities of food. Our basement looked as-if we were stock piling for the end of days. Whenever I wanted to eat I had food available. With all this available food it lead to me never wanting to wait to eat. When I became hungry I wanted to eat the quickest way possible.

My adolescent diet looked something like this:

Breakfast:
Cereal always been a favorite of mine. It is quick, easy and filling. Our family always had a variety of kinds of cereal to choose from. My favorites include Golden Grams, Fruit Loops and Captain Crunch to name a few. All the cereals I just named go with out saying as being "bad for you". When I indulged myself in having these cereals the bowls I used were large Tupperware bowls. I would fill each bowl with half a box of cereal and third of a gallon of milk. I come from a large family which means my parents made sure I drank every last drop of milk I poured in my cereal. This lead to very upset stomachs. The pain was worth the pleasure.

Lunch:

Mentioning before of how when I wanted to eat, I ate. Fast food became my life. Taco Bell, McDonalds, Wendy's and Pizza Hut were my roulette of lunch choices. Quick cheap and "painless". If you know me at all you have heard my McDonalds stories. If you do not know me that well I will enlighten you now.

My high school was within walking distance of a McDonalds. I often would leave school (Sorry Mom and Dad) and walk to McDonalds and order the same thing almost everyday: Double Cheeseburger Meal - Large with a Coke and an extra Double Cheeseburger - $5.26. Back in those days I would almost be able to finish that meal, no problem. Now after school I would travel back to that same McDondals and get my afternoon snack - Two Double Cheeseburgers and a small Coke - $3.18. Everyone of those items were on the dollar menu. I ate this at least three times a week with very little extradition. The extradition is that although I ordered it I did not complete every meal, but, I tried.

Dinner:

Now dinner is a whole new beast. As I said before we always had a great deal of food in our house, the one thing we did not have, someone to cook it. My mother as great as she is does not cook. I do remember her making goolash (Noodles, Ground Beef and Tomato Sauce) and Green bean casserole a handful of times but that about covers her culinary skills. Therefore my brother and sisters and I became amazing microwavers. I would say that a majority of the food in the basement was microwaveable. Stoffers french bread pizza, Mac and Cheese, TV Dinners and Corn dogs were in my roulette dinner wheel. I am not knocking any of these items I love them all but I am sure most of them fall on the "bad for you" list.


Soda

I am putting this category on here because I am a lover of soda. Ever since I can remember I have been drinking soda as if it were a nectar of the Gods. In my basement and because of my mothers eye for a deal we always had cases and cases of cheap store brand soda. The best time of year would be Shop Rites, they are a grocery store, can-can sale. During this sale you could purchase a can of their soda for a dime. My mother would stock pile during this event. You could get a case, twenty-four cans, for $2.40. Orange soda, Grape soda, lemon-lime soda and Cola. It was like Christmas for me. So, to wash down all my meals I would pick a flavor soda and enjoy. Looking back I can remember drinking a six-pack a day of sodas. I loved it. This probably explains why I was such a hyper child.


The reason I give you this glimpse into my diet as a child is for you to understand of what I was accustomed to. Even though this horrible diet I never gained any weight so I never saw it as a problem. If anything people, including my family, would have classified me as "under-weight". It was not until, like everyone else, into my twenties that I started to notice weight-gain.

After moving out of my parents house my diet did not change much. If anything it had gotten worse because now I was free to drive anywhere and eat whatever I wanted. Having all that food available to me growing up lead to me being very impatient about waiting for food to be cooked. I do not recall ever cooking for myself, even to this day I do not cook. What I wanted was more fast food! If they did not have a drive-thru I prob did not go there.

Now I am in my mid to late twenties and my diet is catching up with me. I am over-weight and it is affecting me. Over the past couple years my waist size has increased by at least four inches and my weight continues to grow and grow. Today is the day I do something about it. This will be my first posting - over the next couple of weeks I will keep you updated on my progress. Included in the postings will my measurements and pictures.

--Nate