Hello! It is I! Christopher Altamirano and I’ve decided to get back in shape. Most people just call me Chris. Unless it’s my Mother. She’ll call me Christopher when she’s upset. Or by my nickname “Fiticker.” That is a story we shall save for another day.
Anyhow, you’ve made it to the blog. Congratulations for investing your time into this amazing digital piece of real estate. I can’t promise you’re going to like everything you’ll read but I can promise you it’s better than scrolling aimlessly on social media for hours on end.
To understand why I’ve decided to get my fitness journey started, you have to understand a little bit about my background.
The Early Years
Can you guess where I am? Yup, right there contorting my mouth in the middle. I’ve always been a bit.. how do you say.. different. I was always super hyper and needed to run around all the time. Mom would always say, “Christopher, stop kicking that ball inside the house!” So I’d go outside and kick the ball against the fence instead. Then dad would come out yelling, “Christopher! You’re going to break the fence. Stop kicking that ball.” Of course, like any other child, I didn’t listen. Fence boards were broken and I was enrolled into club soccer at the age of 8.
High School Soccer (2004-2007)
This is during my Sophomore year of high school. I played varsity this year and had injured my knee about five matches into the season. We won our section that year, very cool to be a part of that entire experience and I must say, with the way coach ran us into the ground, I was in phenomenal shape. I really miss those gold nike’s. Should I grow my hair out again?
College/Amateur Soccer (2008-2012)
I ended up playing or should I say benching at Fresno City College. Not really sure why I didn’t play, maybe I wasn’t good enough or maybe the coaches didn’t like me. I reserved for the amateur team that used to be around, Fresno Fuego. Funny how I was always good enough to play with an amateur team full of would be and former professionals but never my community college team. Yes, I have some salt.
Car Accident (2014)
By this time my knee injury had started acting up and I’d decided to quit playing soccer all together. My lifelong dream was to play professionally but I knew that wasn’t happening. What was happening was getting drunk. While partying in Santa Barbara, California for Deltopia (Google it) I was hanging out of a car window, the grab handle snapped, I flew out and my head smacked the pavement. I had freactured my skull and swelling in my brain began to emerge. Emergency brain surgery ensued to clear up the hematoma. The doctor said the alcohol had actually saved my life because it had thinned my blood. Ironically what almost killed me was what saved me.
A Fresh Start (2016)
Fresh out of a 3-year relationship and after many valuable lessons and beers later, my next stop was Portland, Oregon. From the beginning of that relationship to 2016, I went from around 185 pounds of solid muscle to a balloon of 230 pounds of not so solid muscle. The relationship with myself had definitely shifted and for the first time I had began to experience self-esteem issues.
By societies standards I was still a decently shaped young man. Women would even say I had a nice “dad bod.” But as a 26-year old former athlete, dad bod was not something I wanted to hear. I had reached rock bottom.
Present Day (2018)
I weighed in at 219lbs on 8/13/18 and by 9/13/18 I was down 6.2lbs. Definitely took a lot of work but honestly it was more mental than anything. Change happens slowly but surely and it’s all about finding a ritual and sticking to it.
Nearing my 29th birthday and having a recent health scare, I realized two things: I want to be as healthy as possible and the health care system in America is a fucking joke. The photo above is a one month before and after photo. I’ve made a simple commitment of working out 4-days per week and have given up alcohol almost entirely.
Looking forward to the progress and am excited to document the journey. I’m sure I’ll share what I’m eating and meals will definitely change along the way as my goals adjust. Thanks for your time!