Back on June 20th, I asked my friend and straight ally, Drew, to do a guest blog about his remarkable journey "From Fit To Fat To Fit," where as a personal trainer, he wanted to gain a better understanding of what his overweight clients face. He stated that in many cases, he felt his clients thought he "just didn't get it," in terms of motivating them to change their diet and exercise patterns to improve their health. He decided to gain that understanding, he would gain weight himself. He would deliberately adopt a more "standard" lifestyle which meant not exercising, eating things far removed from his usual spinach shakes, and doing what was necessary to cover his chiseled abs with at least 60 pounds of flab. You can see his initial results here

I've invited Drew to return to share an update with us, and asked him to also discuss what his experiences have been...not just in terms of having to unfasten his too tight pants while driving home from work, but also on an emotional and relationship level. After reading his article, hop over to his website. Every week he does a "food challenge" where visitors to his homepage suggest a weekly "Man vs. Food" moment, and people then vote on what they would like to see him shove in his mouth. In the past this has included a whole cake, a bucket of fried chicken, and as many corn dogs as he could eat at one time. In the future, at the suggestion of one of his fans, he intends to "revisit" some of those challenges he failed to complete to see if with his much larger "tank" if he would be able to succeed a second time around. Cast your vote on what you want to see him try to make it through for a new food challenge—and watch what the results are on his ever-expanding waistline--and his ever-expanding awareness.

"When I decided to take the journey from fit to fat to fit, I was a personal trainer that thought I understood. Sure, the purpose of the journey was to really understand, but as a trainer, more than anything, I thought that getting 'fat' would just confirm what I knew – that being overweight was the physical manifestation of a life without moderation. Not that I could talk. I had simply replaced a love of Oreos and Doritos with bicep curls and flexing in the mirror. But it was a healthy obsession. I'm sure you've never heard that rationalization before!

To be fair, one of the key goals of this journey is to provide a level of honesty that will most likely make both the fit and overweight crowd uncomfortable. Momma always said; 'if you're going to make someone uneasy, make everyone uneasy just to be equal opportunity.' With that said, let's start with making the overweight crowd uncomfortable!

Before I started my fit2fat2fit journey, I had a clear idea of how the journey would go. I could explore the nuances of junk food (does aerosol cheese really make a ritz cracker better?). I could be lazy and not have to worry about a daily workout (I was fully prepared to test the cliché of watching soap operas and eating bon-bons...although I have no idea what a bon bon actually is). I would gain 60 little pounds, learn a few things, but more importantly, teach the world that being overweight is simply a physical 'ailment' to overcome. I would then get back into shape, proving that this truly was mind over matter.

11 weeks into my journey, and it's time to be equal opportunity. To make those in the world that are lucky enough to be fit a bit uneasy as well. Because this journey hasn't been as straightforward, or as simple as I expected. Less than three months into my 'fat' stage, I've already gained 40 lbs., 8.5 inches in my waist, and 6.5 inches in my hips. It's true...I've added more inches to my frame than a standard ruler. My love handles are wider than my lats (which sadly, hasn't made me more loveable to my wife, I don't think), my gut is no longer 'hideable' (I now suck it in so that I can consider myself overweight, not obese), but all of this was expected. That's not the truth of being overweight. It's the unspoken torment that no one talks about.

Recently, I've blogged about how this change in lifestyle has made me lazier and physically and emotionally drained. It's even carried over into how I am as a parent and husband. My wife notices how lazy I've become and it's opened my eyes to just how dangerous this lifestyle can be (not only for the individual but those they love the most (spouse, kids, etc.). I find myself giving in and letting my daughter eat the foods I'm eating because of the convenience. I don't want to play with her as much because it tires me, and I tend to always take the easy way out (watching a movie instead of going outside and playing, etc.).

I didn't realize how easy it would be to give into this lifestyle and how it would carry over into other aspects of my life, especially my family, which I didn't want this to effect. And that's the uncomfortable truth for me. I was wrong to think that being overweight is simply a choice that people make because they can't say no to their vices. Hopefully, my continuing journey allows us all (fit and overweight) to learn something more than how many corndogs a personal trainer can down in one sitting. Personally, I have a feeling I have a lot more 'learning' to come in the next 3 months – lessons that will shape my 6 months of 'fat' to fit.

Looking at my journey so far, I'm amazed that the personal trainer in me always thought he really knew the whole story. But in the end, I think I'm finally starting to be able to understand how an overweight person feels when they tell a trainer like me that 'you don't get it.'

No, I really didn't. But I'm starting to."