Can you tell us a little about yourself (name, age, occupation, and hobbies)?
Hi folks. My name is Eli Sapharti aka FAT Boy FIT Man, I’ll be 44 years old Aug. 2014. I am a motivational speaker and weight loss coach. I LOVE what I do. I also love many things related to fitness and spend most of my days weight training, running or doing some other physical activity.
What sparked your interest in training?
I got interested in training while on my “journey” to get healthier and lose weight. In 2008 at the age of 38, I was obese and weighed almost 300 lbs @ 6′. 40%+ Body Fat. VERY unhealthy! I didn’t start training right away though. I simply started walking 15 minutes everyday and slowly adjusted what I ate weekly. As I lost weight and gained more confidence (and could actually breathe a little better) I started incorporating some weight training that I was learning from books and magazines. It wasnt until years later that I hired a professional bodybuilder as my trainer. I trained with him for only 2 months, but what I learned was invaluable.
How would you describe your lifestyle before you began training?
Simply stated, my lifestyle before training was sedentary, sickly, obese and unhappy. 
Please describe a “typical” day for you? What is your daily routine like?
My days are pretty “typical”. I wake up around 7am. Eat breakfast, head to the office, eat, eat, eat, work until 6 pm, workout, eat some more, work and/or relax, sleep. 🙂
What is your currently weekly training routine?
In a nutshell, Mondays: Legs (UGH!) Tuesday: Arms/Abs Wed: Chest/Shoulders Thurs: Back/Calves/Abs Friday: Arms/Abs
Do you do cardio? If so, how often and what is your cardio of choice?
I do cardio on every training day for 30 minutes. I alternate between High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and steady state cardio. For HIIT, I do it on the Step mill and on the treadmill for steady state I set it to an incline of 5% and speed between 3.5 and 4.0.
Do you have a favorite body part to train? What exercise do you like to use for it?
My favorite body part to train is definitely arms. I love the pump and seeing the muscles grow right before my eyes. I do many different exercises for this, but i guess my favorite would have to be dumbbell curls.
What does your diet consist of on a daily basis?
Currently I eat a VERY clean diet because I am preparing and training for my first men’s physique competition. So my diet presently is quite strict. It is not what I recommend to most people though. I eat ONLY whole grains, LEAN meats, veggies, berries, Sweet potatoes, fat free PLAIN Greek yogurt.
Do you have a favorite healthy meal/food? Do you have a favorite cheat meal/food? What are they?
My favorite healthy food is Oatmeal with Protein powder mixed in. I LIVE for breakfast! As far as a cheat meal goes, I have many favorites, but burger and fries and forzen yogurt are at the top of my list.
What tips do you have for sticking to your nutrition plan? 
This is a tricky question, because I have different tips depending on who I am speaking to. For instance, if I am speaking to someone that is training and dieting to compete it would be very different than if I was speaking to someone just starting on their journey to get healthy and lose weight. In my published book “From Fat Boy to Fit Man-‘A One Step at a Time’-Story of Success” I speak mostly to those folks that are very overweight/obese like I was just 5 years ago, but my “One Step at a Time” approach can be tailored to reach ANY fitness goal. So to answer your question, the best tip I can give is to take it “One Step at a Time”.
What is your favorite workout song?
I have 3 awesome kids. 2 teenagers and a pre-teen that LOVE music and they keep me up to speed on the latest grooves. I just came across a song/mix by Avicii titled “Wake Me Up”. It makes me want to FLY!
What, supplements do you take?
I supplement with both Whey and casein proteins. Whey is my go to protein between meals and post work out and casein I take right before going to sleep since it metabolizes much slower. I also take CLA (Conjugated linoleic acid), Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, Glucosamine and an Amino Acid blend in the form of a pill.
Have you thought about competing?
I HAVE! As I mentioned previously, I am currently training for my first Physique competition. My coach, Jeremy Reid, wants to prepare me to hit the stage in March of 2014. I have some muscle size to put on in orser to have a chance to place in the top 5, so there is still a long road ahead, but I will get there. Just 5 years ago when I was pre-diabetic, suffered with high blood pressure, could barely walk a flight of stairs without getting winded and wearing XXL shirts and size 44 waist pants, I only DREAMED of being able to do something like this.
What keeps you motivated on tough days?
A few things keep me motivated. For starters, thinking about XXL vs M Shirts, 44″ pants vs 32″ pants! But what mostly keeps me motivated in not making excuses is that throughout this journey I have become an example to so many people that count on me to keep them inspired and look to me as a role model. I can’t EVER let them down. Especially my children!
What are you most proud of?
That’s easy. My 3 wonderful children. I am proud of THEM for who they are. The accomplishment I am most proud of personally is having been able to share my experiences, challenges and triumphs with the masses through my book.
What tips do you have for a beginner just starting out in fitness?
ALL of us are beginners at some point. The mistake most, if not ALL overweight folks make when wanting to get healthier is thinking that its an ALL or NOTHING process. Either we go to the gym EVERYDAY for 1 hour or 2, or we just stay home. We either go on a strict diet that makes us feel hungry, deprived and moody or we eat EVERYTHING in sight. In other words, we seem to think that there is no happy medium. Again, my mantra and best tip I can give to anyone trying to accomplish something that seems overwhelming at the moment is to take the seemingly impossible and break it down into possibilities and take it “One Step at a Time”!
From your male perspective, what words of encouragement can you offer to women who are nervous about building muscle or getting “bulky”?
I have been fortunate to make some great friendships in the fitness industry. Some of my best friends are females and many of them are AMAZING athletes who lift HEAVY, work out like a “guy”, eat A LOT (good stuff though), and they have the most AMAZING physiques around. There is a myth that women will get HUGE and BULKY if they lift weights. This is simply a myth! The TRUTH is that strictly doing cardio and lifting little light 5 lbs weights can make women lose weight, but it will do NOTHING to tone their bodies. The problem I think lies in that many women hear “Lift heavy” and they think it means to lift lthe weight of the biggest guy in the gym. “Heavy” simply means what’s heavy to YOU personally. When I first started lifting, doing bicep curls of 15 lbs dumbells for 12 reps was heavy for me. Today I can do that same exercise with 40 lbs. For some guys, 40 lbs is “light”. This is all relative to YOU! Bottom line ladies, weight training heavy will tone your body, not make you bulky.
What is next for you? What goals do you have in mind?
The remainder of this year I will be focusing on promoting my message of “One Step at a Time” through book signings and speaking engagements along with continuing to build programs to help folks beat obesity. By the way, you can find my book on Amazon
How can people find you? Are you on social media?
You can reach out to me on my very active Facebook page, or on Instagram or on my website. 
It’s been a pleasure! Do you have any final words or a favorite quote to share with the readers of NaFiMo?
Thank you so much fo allowing to share a little bit about me and my message of hope with your readers. I’d like to end with this quote by the philosopher Lao Tzu. “The journey of a thousand miles, starts with the first step.” When will YOU start YOUR journey?