The Insider Scoop w/ Big Sexy by Tyler Albrecht

I stopped into TITLE Boxing Club on Friday before the evening class to speak with local family man and celebrity, Alan “Big Sexy” Spade. Alan is a social studies teacher in Frankfort, which he jokes makes him almost the same as a P.E. teacher. Alongside his wife, Alan has two children. His 20-year-old daughter, Yulie, currently attends Georgetown College, plays soccer, and is studying to be a teacher like her father. Alan’s son, Bailey, is 24 and graduated from Centre as a soccer player. He currently 24 and attending law school. Alan has been with us at Title since July 2020, and has made major strides in his weight loss journey since the beginning of this year alone. Being someone who has gone through a similar weight loss transformation, I wanted to connect with Alan so he could share his story and progress thus far.

[Transcript]

Tyler: Hello, Alan. I want to start by saying thank you for taking some time to sit down with me and talk to me about this transformation you have had. So, what’s going on, how are you?

Alan: No problem whatsoever. I’m feeling good, ready to relax and head into the weekend.

Tyler: Glad to hear it! My first question is this…What is the magic number? How much have you lost? My second question is what brought you into Title for the first time?

Alan: So, all in all, I have lost 70 pounds. Around this time last year, I went to my doctor and weighed 280 lbs. We spoke a little bit and he just told me there are not a lot of 80 year old men who are my size. I’ve always had a bigger frame but never carrying this much weight. I decided to make a change and started here at Title.

Tyler: That’s amazing, congratulations. That doctor’s appointment had to be tough. At my heaviest I didn’t realize how heavy I was until I stepped on the scale at the doctor. I remember being very disappointed. Anyway, you came here for your first class and what happened?

Alan: That first class was tough. I took it with TMurr (Taylor Murray, Title Trainer) and I had to take rounds four and five off to finish the class. I was beat.

Tyler: That first class gets a lot of people regardless of fitness level. And looking back you now know that it is just part of the process. I saw my weight that day at the doctor’s office before I went to college. During those years, I also started with a boxing class (among other things) and the weight just kind of melted off. Did you have the same experience?

Alan: Unfortunately, between August and December of last year I did not see a big change in weight but I did experience a change in my cardio level. It was getting easier and easier to make it through class.

Tyler: So, what do you think was the source of your problem?

Alan: I had a bad diet. I was taking in too many calories and not burning enough throughout the week. I was still taking in a lot of carbs, a lot of bread, things like that. I was doing some work with a bootcamp trainer, Lee Anne Tipton Graham and she said, “no amount of exercise can offset a bad diet.” After that I started doing some research online about eating better. I didn’t really look into any programs like Arbonne, weight watchers or anything like that.

Tyler: Pretty wise words to live by. So, you did your research and then how did this shape your eating habits and diet moving forward?

Alan: Starting in January of this year, I have been changing the way I eat in general, but also the way I snack. I usually snack around ten and two between my main meals of the day. And when I’m snacking I choose vegetables and fruits rather than nuts for example because of the difference in calories. Nuts are really calorie dense so I can eat a handful of almonds or something versus a lot more grapes and get the same number of calories. I operate around 2000 calories a day and try to burn about 5000 a week which puts me on track to lose like two pounds a week.

Tyler: Ok, it sounds like you’ve got a pretty good snack regiment down. Tell me about what you might eat for, let’s say breakfast on a given day.

Alan: For breakfast, I might eat oatmeal and a fried egg or some avocado toast which I know sounds yuppy but I think is actually yummy (these were real words chosen by him). I’ll still give myself a bowl of cheerios at night sometimes because I can spare the calories, but overall try to eat pretty clean.

Tyler: Awesome, well it sounds like you have a good grasp on what you can and can’t eat. When I started losing weight I was doing workouts outside of the boxing class I was taking to continue losing weight. What kind of routine do you have? What are some other things that you might do to supplement your workout?

Alan: I like to make it to the club most days of the week. Outside of here, I get up at 5:30 in the morning before work to do some weight and circuit training twice a week. I get up and run five kilometers three times a week. The running, I think, has been what’s helped me the most, although there are days when I absolutely do not want to do it.

Tyler: It seems like a lot of exercise, are you doing any of this during the weekend or is it all done Monday to Friday?

Alan: When I originally got to it, I started doing seven days a week, but it was tearing up my body. I wasn’t resting and I was always hurting. So, I dialed it back to five days a week so that I can rest and still do other things. As far as exercise on the weekends, my wife and I will take a nice long walk with our dog.

Tyler: Well Alan, I appreciate this time you took to share your story. You are a man with an impeccable work ethic. A lot of people come in here to lose weight and I wanted to get a story of someone who has done just that. Well, it looks like your class is about to start so I’m gonna get out of here and let you do your thing.

Alan: Sure, sure, no problem. I hope it helps anyone who might be looking to shed some weight as well. Thank you, and yeah, my hands aren’t even wrapped yet, so I gotta get to it.

[End transcript]

For my readers who are trying to lose weight, it is very possible, but it’s going to take work and constant modification. It almost always does! It’s not solely about exercising and the type of workouts you do throughout the week. Like Alan, we must acknowledge that we may not be eating the right kinds of foods or in a way that supports our goals and such an active lifestyle. A quote I found on social media sums up this idea nicely. “20 percent of changing my body is working out but 80 percent of my gains are made at the dinner table.” Most importantly though, readers, is that this whole journey is about self-love and giving your body what it needs to keep you moving forward for many years to come.