VR-1 and the Botched Atkins

The VR-1/Jaleco Concept Art Team in '03. I was probably near my highest weight in this photo. Estimating around 490lbs. >

Post-college was an outstanding time in my life, though it was probably one of the worst for me concerning weight-gain. I can’t be sure because I did not dare step on a scale – acting like I didn’t care but actually fearing what I would see – but I would bet that I put on some (and by some I mean a lot) of pounds between the summer of ’02 and the summer of ’04.

I graduated from art school in 2002 with the dream of obtaining a career where as someone would pay me to draw. With a lot of hard work and a little luck I made that happen less than two month after graduation. I was picked up as a concept artist at a local video game developer, VR-1, in July. I am incredibly proud of the fact that I was able to do this so quickly. I suppose not many people can say they accomplished their life’s dream right out of college…

And what a life! Some two years before I got back together with my future wife. Responsibility was minimal. I was a single guy, had my own swingin’ (figuratively) bachelor apartment, and though I was on the low-end of the pay scale for video game developers, at the time I was still making more money than I ever had before. Now, I have never considered myself an excess spender, but at this time in my life I had the means to do what I wanted –and I did - and it was fantastic.

Of course, this also includes an excess of food. And I mean that. Not only was I eating extravagantly (lots of lunches out, dinners with the guys, and dates – yes, I got dates believe it or not), but this was a period of taste discovery for me. I was having my eyes opened to foods I had never before known – and I fucking loved them all! As a matter of fact, it was during this time that I fell in love with two of my now favorite kinds of food – sushi and pho. All together both are relatively healthy foods, but I was eating anything but healthy, that’s for sure.

Despite this time of growth, both physically and professionally, I did make my first sincere, however botched attempt at dieting on my own. Seriously. And this leads to Kirt and his amazing shrinking diet…

Kirt was my very first art director. Kirt was a great guy; I liked and respected him tremendously. Now, being the size that I am, I never saw Kirt as being overweight. Not in the slightest. Then, one day he turned the corner and I realized that he had lost a lot of weight! I mean, this fellow that I thought was fairly normal sized was now super-slim. I was blown away.

“Kirt, how did you do it?” I inquired.

“The Atkins diet,” he replied.

His description was loose, something about eating all proteins – meats, cheeses, eggs – and cutting out all of the carbs. Well, shit! I can do that. And I did - no further research needed!

At the grocery store the next day I loaded up on chicken, steaks, pork chops, cheeses, and lots of eggs. No more bread, no more pasta, no more tortillas… nothing. And for the next two months this is how I ate. Stupid. I never even bothered to look up how to actually manage the Atkins diet. I didn’t know. I didn’t diet. It sounded easy so I just jumped in.

Also worth a brief mention – if I my recollection serves me, this was the time that I quit soda for several months. I switched to iced tea. But as already revealed that too did not last.

I think I lost some weight. I mean, eating only proteins will do that (though in my Atkins world meant that making an 8-egg omelet was completely justified as long as I didn’t have toast or hash browns with it) – but I can never be sure. Again, I never stepped on a scale to measure my actual progress. Stupid. I mean, my pants fit a little looser… I think? Stupid.

Obviously my approach to this was completely wrong. I eventually started getting terrible headaches and feeling very ill as a result of my brain receiving no fuel from me purposefully denying it carbohydrates. Thankfully I was smart enough to realize that I was probably hurting myself more than doing good. Soon enough my botched Atkins diet was a thing of the past. Pass me a ‘Dew and the pasta bowl… it’s time to eat!