Considering A Career As A Trucker... Any Advice?

Yeah, I've spoken to a friend or two and they told me it's not that hard to be a big guy and still be healthy as long as you know what to do... Any tips? I'd assume keeping relaxed is top priority here. :P

You may have misread what I meant. I said I had good blood pressure but I never said I was healthy by any means. As far as my blood pressure goes Im just lucky. True I am very laid back and do not normally get to excited.

But I have no delusions about the fact that I am not healthy. I eat crap the majority of the time and I cant be healthy doing that. Just to clarify my size I am 6 ' and 240 lbs. Not huge but need to take 40 to 60 lbs off. I am borderline diabetic so in this industry I must get it under control. I have struggled with weight most of my life on and off. Probably 10 years ago I lost 60 lbs, was down to 170. Felt great but I can honestly say I still was not healthy. I ate fast food every day but switched to diet coke and stopped eating french fries. It was better, but not what I need to be doing. It actually was easy. I read a book called 7 secrets of skinny people and it worked like a charm. Basically taught myself to eat what ever I was craving but to stop when I was satisfied and not when I was stuffed. And to only eat when I was truly hungry not when I was bored. Never allowed myself to eat while driving. Concentrated on my food when I ate instead of shoving it in while I watched TV. I ate what I craved because if I craved a cheeseburger and ate a salad when I was done I still wanted the cheeseburger. Eventually I even started craving salads. Then like a bonehead I slowly got away from it and put all the weight back on.

I understand what you mean when you say you like your body the way it is and I am not trying to hound you about health or weight. But I will tell you this based on my own experience and the experience of everyone I have ever met that had weight troubles. I have never met anyone that lost weight and heard them say I felt better when I weighed more and now I wish I had not lost the weight. With the exception of someone with medical conditions of course.

Woody

Hey guys! Sorry for almost a week with no replies, to make a long story short a lot of IRL drama happened and I'm about to take a massive leap of faith.

The long version of this is, I've been spending all week arguing with my roommate and scurrying around trying to prepare for Thursday, when I interview for a data entry job. To do this, I'm going to have to take a sick day from the warehouse, and it might end up getting me fired. On the flipside of this, it's fairly likely that my days at the warehouse are numbered anyways, considering they just cut the temps' hours and according to HR I'm just a "smelly liability"... Really kind of them to say that. Either way, the forecast calls for firings and/or lay-offs and I'd probably be among the first to go.

Worst case scenario, I get fired from the warehouse, don't get the data entry job, and I end up having to move back in with my grandpa for a year... Best case, I get the data entry job, pay off all my debts, get a car and give myself a little more time to think and do research on trucking. I still think I'd really like it, I'm just not sure I'd like OTR as much as I originally thought I would. Again, not my final answer, just my current views.

Also sorry for not responding directly to anyone's previous posts, it's nearly bedtime and I still need to set my lunch out for tomorrow. I'll keep you guys updated, thanks for being patient with me!

- Chris

Howdy Everyone:

Whilst exploring employment opportunities, I came to this site for information on the trucking industry, and this particular thread, without a doubt, has been extremely eye-opening and insightful.

Without going into too many extraneous details, I found myself with several similarities to Christopher W.'s "situation." I am in the same age group, lack both a vehicle and a Class E Driver's License, overweight, etc. Heck, I'm even looking for a data entry position.

The one-year driver's license requirement will allow me to give trucking some serious thought. Unless the end of a year of license ownership is coming up and I am still considering a trucking career, it's likely that I will not be on this forum often (if at all); however, I would like to thank you all for the wealth of information (especially Brett for the founding of the site itself). At least now I have a place I can turn to for help and advice, as it regards to trucking. Until then, I shall continue my hunt for employment, and get my license.

The trucking lifestyle reminds me of what I would ultimately like to do which is living on a 30'-40' sailboat sailing the world. Both lifestyles have solitude, high stress situations, adventure, and a better respect for what and who make this world turn.

To be honest, I didn't have much appreciate for what truckers do for America before watching the "Big Rig" (2008) documentary and then coming here. I have since gained a great deal of respect for what you do.

Thanks,

Kiel Bath Aerospace Engineering Dropout

Kiel Bath Aerospace Engineering Dropout

Thanks for your kind words. Good luck in your endeavors!

Chris... good luck on your interview. I ran a data entry business for almost 8 years, and would probably still be doing it if the CEO and family hadn't been spending the profits faster than they were coming in. After that I went back into retail management for a few years, then finally on to trucking. There was some similarity in the two as they're both production based pay, and time sensitive. Hopefully you can get things worked out with your roommate.