Okay, not really…

Just a month ago I posted on Facebook how I was able to finally fit into a pair of jeans that I hadn’t been able to wear for almost a year. They were tight, but I didn’t have much of a choice at the time and I managed to make it through the day without losing feeling in my legs.

Yesterday I found myself once again needing to wear those jeans. I was a bit worried because they were pretty tight last time, but since I didn’t have a choice, I pulled them on.

And found that they were really loose. Like ‘I need a belt to keep them up’ loose. Saying I was shocked would be an understatement.

Now, I know I’ve lost a few pounds in the past month, but it was only a few; about 4 – 5. To have pants go from being really tight to being really loose is just another way to show that the scale isn’t the ‘be-all, end-all’ to monitoring progress. Heck, even looking in the mirror can be a bit deceiving, because while I can see a small difference in my body composition between now and four weeks ago, I wasn’t aware of how much of a change there had been.

So, I say to all you fine folks out there thinking that the scale it against you, hang in there. While the numbers may be slow to change, your body is making wonderful, positive changes. Perhaps even ones that you can’t see or are even aware of until something like this happens.

Have a great – and safe – weekend!

Stay motivated, my friends!

Since my 6Months2 program has come to an end, I’m wondering what I should do next. While I do have long-term goals, I would like to have something to aim for, some milestone along the journey to mark the passage between here and there. With the 6Months2, although it was a start date, end date and target weight, it was also an ‘experiment’ in that I wanted to find out the answer to something.

So what I can do next?

Because while training and being healthy is all well and good in and of itself, it’s easy to lose your way if you’re not focused on something. Plus, I really enjoyed posting the weekly updates. Granted, I can still do them, but I would like to be discovering something in the process. Maybe even inspiring others to adopt a healthier lifestyle or try something new.

I suppose I could post updates, just because. Health, fitness and weight training have become an integral part of my life and I can’t see why I shouldn’t. I can post routines, weekly goals, weekly progress, measurements and photos, much like I was doing before. It’s something to think about.

There’s still four weeks left in the Summer Shred contest, but I know there’s no chance of me winning that. Still, I want to see it through to the end. And I do still have three weeks left in my current training routine. So that, combined with a week of much-needed rest, will be a perfect time to start a new program of some kind.

Drop set routines? Superset routines? See if I can reach a new weight goal? Maybe break it down into small 6 – 8 week chunks, set some goals and see how well I do?

Guess I have a few weeks to decide.

In the meantime, I’ll keep posting the weekly updates as the end of the Summer Shred draws to a close.

Thanks for reading!

The final weigh-in!

Measurements:

Total inches lost: 28.5

And this week’s photo: 6Months Photos

So here it is. The end of the six month ‘experiment’. 26 weeks of progress in the books and all to answer a fairly simple question.

But first, I do want to say “Thank you” to everyone that gave me encouragement and support during this. Some posted comments here, some came up to me in person and told me how they thought what I was doing was great. Those comments really helped me stay motivated throughout this process just to find an answer.

Because that’s all it was meant to be when this whole thing started: to answer a question. I wanted to know if it was possible to get healthy and in shape, even with all of the excuses we all come up with as to why we can’t. It was inspired by Drew Manning’s Fit2Fat2Fit experiment, but I wanted to see what a regular person (i.e. middle-age, not a personal trainer and someone’s that been out of shape most of their life) could do. Could I get in shape with all of the things going on in my life – family, work and social commitments – without joining a gym or spending hours everyday exercising?

The answer, obviously, is YES!

We make all kinds of excuses – no time, can’t afford it, too out of shape – to talk ourselves out of actually doing the things needed to get healthy. I just proved that it can be done, even with all of those excuses.

Up until about six weeks ago, I spent about 20 – 30 minutes a day exercising. In the beginning, it wasn’t even weight lifting; it was stretching and cardio. Sure, it took time to make it a habit, but I did get there eventually.

As far as eating, I didn’t go on a diet. All I did was start cutting back on the portions of the junk food I was already eating and slowly made changes to incorporate healthy alternatives. It’s now reached the point where I actually crave the healthier foods!

I didn’t spend a fortune to do it, either. No gym membership, no ‘named’ diet (Atkins, Weight Watchers, etc), no expensive equipment. Okay, granted, I did spend money on a new weight bar and weights, but that’s only because over the weeks and months my goals and mindset shifted to something far more long-term than just this 6Months2. I didn’t have to get those things; the weight set I already had would have sufficed until the end of this.

Yes, it’s been hard and there have been days and weeks where I struggled. There were times when I thought about giving up because progress was sooooo slow. However, I kept at it because I knew that the changes would happen. I knew that it was worth it.

And here I am now, almost 36 pounds lighter and feeling better than I have in a long time. And this was just six months. Imagine what could be done in a year, especially with what I know now.

Okay, so I didn’t make my goal. That’s my fault. However, I learned a lot from this process and here’s just a couple of pointers:

1) Be patient

Whenever a person decides to get healthy or go on a diet or what-have-you, they often get frustrated at the lack of progress. It’s something I experienced more than once and, as I said, I thought about giving up. But sticking with it, even when it seems like nothing is happening, will eventually yield visible results. While we would probably love to see instant results, chances are it’ll take some time.

2) Make a plan and stick with it

I had drawn up a plan, complete with workout routines, for the whole 26 weeks. I didn’t really stick with it beyond the third week. Part of it was because I wasn’t being patient and wanted to try anything I could find that might help get rid of the fat faster. Even though changing a routine now and then is a good thing, changing it every week isn’t. So sit down, write out a plan and then follow through with it, even when you’re tempted to try something else.

Those are probably the two biggest things I learned. Granted, I learned a lot of other things, like macro-nutrient ratios and the importance of micro-nutrients and too many others to list or even get into.

The bottom line is this: even with a busy life and limited funds, you can lose weight, get in shape and feel much better. The excuses are just a way to convince yourself that you can’t possibly get healthy and in shape, even though you really want to.

So stop talking yourself out of it and get to it!

Thanks for reading!

As I go through this last week of my 6Months2 program, my mind keeps going over all of the things that I’ve done for the past 25 weeks. Mostly, it’s thinking about the missteps and mistakes – and believe me, there were plenty of them – that kept me from reaching my goal of 220 pounds. It’s not really regret; just wondering how much closer I would be.

While these thoughts were running laps in my head (yes, even my brainwaves exercise), I had a sudden realization. My weight this past Sunday (5/12/13) was 233.2; isn’t that close to where I was when I started this the first time back in 2011? I was pretty sure my weight was in the 230′s somewhere. Since I keep logs of all of this, I went back and checked.

Sure enough, my starting weight on November 6, 2011 was 234.2. Exactly one pound heavier. So I had spent all this time working to get back to where I started the first time. However, as I thought about it, it seemed like I felt better and, oddly enough, leaner than I had back then. So I found those old photos. Talk about a difference!

I’ll post a link to the photo, because maybe you don’t want to see it – and that’s fine. If you don’t want to take a look, just keep reading and I’ll explain.

Body weight vs. Body composition

In the 2011 photo, I’m obviously very overweight. I have a generous…ness to my frame. There isn’t any muscle definition. It’s all basically just a blob.

In the 2013 photo, however, I’m leaner. There are hints here and there of muscle definition starting to form. Looking at the two photos side-by-side, one could think that the more recent picture is a much lighter weight than the older one, even though it’s only a single pound. Heck, even comparing the photos from when I stopped the first time (at around 220 pounds) to this recent one, I still look better now; I look healthier.

What all of this means is that when a person is eating healthy and exercising, they may not see a lot of weight loss, but the composition of their body could be changing.

So even though I missed my goal, I’m already in much better shape than I was back then. I’m working smarter and focusing on being healthy, not thin. Yes, I want my weight to go down and I’m sure it will, given time. But as long as my body keeps making positive changes like this, as long as the body fat drops and the muscle builds up, then I’ll be perfectly happy, even if I don’t drop below 230.

Thanks for reading!

One week to go!

Measurements:

Total inches lost: 26.25

And this week’s photo: 6Months Photos

After a really bad nutrition day last week, I managed to get right back into the swing of things and undo that damage to make some progress this week. Sure, it’s only a pound and a half, but it’s still progress and I’ll definitely take it.

So…final week ahead. Honestly, I don’t see any reason to change anything as this winds down. Okay, so I’m going to miss the goal by over ten pounds. Heck, even making it to 229 is out of the question because I refuse to sit here and starve myself just to get to a particular number.

I suppose some people out there are breathing a sigh of relief that this is about over; that I’ll finally stop talking about health and nutrition and weight lifting and all of that.

Yeah, like that’s going to happen.

I’ve given a lot of thought about whether I should continue posting here or not as it seems people don’t really want to hear me droning on and on about health and fitness; and I do see that point of view. I don’t read blogs about bronies* because I really don’t care about them. (*bronies: adult men that are fans of My Little Pony. No; really.) So people probably don’t want to hear me going on about my latest lifting program or my nutrition or any of that.

But this is something that I’m very passionate about and it’s not going away any time soon. I’ve discovered something that I really, truly enjoy and the only benchmarks that I need to reach are the ones I set for myself. I’m not measured against anyone else because we’re all different; our goals are different. I’m not going to look like Arnold or Lou Ferrigno or Larry Scott; and no one expects me to – including me.

All I can do is push myself to be the best I can and see how far I can go physically.

And I fully intend to do just that.

Because I have goals and I will reach them. And one of those goals, I’ve decided, is to one day step on to a stage in some kind of physique competition. Yes, as in an actual bodybuilding one, complete with fake tan and poses and all that. I still haven’t decided which class to go for – there are several different ones – but I have a long ways to go before I get to that point so I have some time to choose.

Laugh if you want, but I want to at least say that I did it one time.

So, because of that, I’ll keep posting about fitness and health and weight lifting, along with whatever else I happen to think to talk about. And I’ll still post lifting routines and progress photos.

If just one person out there sees what I’m doing and is inspired by it to get healthy, then it’s all totally worth it.

Thanks for reading!