Progress Pictures: https://imgur.com/C9BxSTI
I make this post to help encourage others to get healthier, and to show you don't have to sacrifice everything to reach your goal.
TL;DR at the Bottom
So a bit to my story: About 3 years ago my dad had to have some of his heart valves replaced, and he made it through the procedure fine. However, I also found out that heart valve defect is considered genetic in my family. My dad always told me he kept extremely good care of himself when he was my age, where as for me I was the traditional gamer and college student. Sat around 95% of my time and never really got into sports or did any exercising because I always thought, "Meh, I don't feel bad so I don't ever need to worry." Once it kinda clicked that if I don't take care of myself now, I would be screwed when I hit my dad's age. So I set out to change that 2.5 years ago.
Now The one thing everyone had always said about trying to get health is that you cannot enjoy it, or that it is near impossible because you have to sacrifice everything you like. Well I was determined to prove that mindset wrong, and I have done so! The first thing I did was cut out sodas by about 95% of consumption and switch to water (buy one of those $10 Ozark 32oz. cups from Walmart, it will help). Then shortly after that I started trying to do light exercising at my apartment's gym:
- Dumbbells
- Cable machines
- Elliptic/Treadmill (walking)
So as you can see I did nothing really crazy starting off, which for me worked. About 6 months into it I lost about 10-15ish lbs, and was happy to at least start seeing some changes. The next thing I did after I got that down to somewhat of a routine was focus on my food.
Now disclaimer I am an avid baker and cook, especially cheesecakes and pizzas, I absolutely love them! And I am a fan of fast food because, I mean come on, it's quick and easy and sometimes is actually pretty damn tasty. So I did not really want to lose any of that so I thought of you to mediate what I ate. First thing I did was start counting and tracking calories. I CANNOT HIGHLY RECOMMEND DOING THIS ENOUGH! ABSOLUTELY TRACK YOUR CICO (Cal In/Cal Out)! I first aimed for cutting out 100 Cal a day, and continue doing my light gym stuff, then 150 Cal, then 200 Cal (Starting was 2,750-2,800ish Cal). However, I did not actually change what I ate. I still ate pizza, I still went out and had drinks with friends, got Taco Bell A LOT for study nights, and Chinese take out. I just changed how many calories I took in and still eating everything I loved.
Fast forward another 3-4 months and I am now back home no longer living or going to my college (that's another nightmare for a different time), and sitting at about 210 lbs. One of my friends (an avid gamer like me) was also wanting to get into better shape, his dad also had been going through medical problems because his dad DIDN'T take care of himself. So he and I started going to a local gym (Planet Fitness - sue me) and we started doing more exercising. After that I started getting more into the detailed stuff of excising:
- Dumbbell Curls/Lat lifts/etc. - 3 sets 12 reps
- Chest Press - 3-4 sets 8-12 reps
- Lat Pulldowns - 3-4 Sets 8-12 Reps
- Etc.
The one thing that helped me get smarter about getting in better shape was r/fitness and just asking people at the gym, "Hey I am still trying to figure this stuff out, can you give me any pointers or advice if I doing XYZ correctly?" That helped massively in trying to figure out what I needed to do to get in better shape, and what not to do to prevent injuries. During this I also started cutting out more calories out, now averaging about 2,250-2,350 calories a day, plus exercising about 3 times a week for at least 1 hour. I was starting to become healthier, and I noticed I was also starting to feel better physically and mentally. Still eating the same.
Fast forward to now 1.5 years ago, I was sitting around 195-205 lbs. I was becoming slightly defeated because I was not getting any closer to my goal, and I was also at a bad time in my life of not knowing what to do with my life. School had screwed me over with my degree, and in a very serious relationship (still am) trying to figure out what our future was even going to look like. I then got the opportunity to do IT work to see if I enjoyed it, and I did. But, once I started doing it I started noticing the aches I used to get from when I wasn't getting healthier started to come back. That gave me that extra kick I needed to get back into gear. So I got back into school (graduate this December with 3 degrees), and worked my ass off for 1 year straight going to the gym a minimum of 3 times a week, usually 4 days. I now sat at 190 lbs still eating the same.
4 months ago, my GF and I celebrated our 3rd year anniversary by going on a week long trip to visit old friends of mine, and go to Salem, MA. After the trip she also wanted to start getting in better shape but she wanted to do something more closer to a cleanse till Sep 28 (her bday).
Now this is where what I did to get my goal mattered, I had not given up deserts, pizza, or anything else that was oh so delicious. So we both agreed, 2 alcoholic drinks a week max (no carry overs), no desserts (ARGHHHHH), and no pizza (at least for me), and starting to exercise at least 3 times a week (for her). The major difference for me was that I decided to do a cut I had been saying I was going to do for....3-4 months prior, and never did it. So I figured since we were going to be doing a cleanse I'd finally pull the trigger on my cut. Now I technically still did not change what I ate. Here is what my daily food intake looks like:
- Breakfast: 2 Sausage Patties, 2 Eggo waffles with Peanut butter and Jelly, and mug of tea
- Lunch: Chicken and Fried Rice / Subway / Japanese & Chinese Food
- Dinner: Meat, Rice, Vegetables / Date night at restaurants (Chili's, Mugshots, etc.)
Doesn't look like I cut really right? Well actually I am hovering at about 1,800-1,900 Net Cal a day. What I did was is I worked out smarter, and I also ate smarter by tracking my macros (Protein/Fat/Carbs) . The Peanut butter on my waffles? Peanut Butter Powder that just needs water, and gives the same amount of serving size for 150 less calories. Subway? 6" Subs with Double meat and not a lot, or no condiments at all. Japanese and Chinese? Ordered dishes to have either less rice or replaced with vegetables. Date nights? I ordered either veggies or Onion Rings (200 cal less than fries usually) and then order dishes with a lot of meat (Wings, Steak, Salmon, etc.) So I was still eating the same stuff, but I was eating different amounts of what I was eating. More protein, less everything else usually. I would eat low cal food with high amounts of protein (chicken, tilapia, high protein-low cal protein powders) and that would leave me satisfied. I am eating at least 2-3 lbs of meat daily, averaging around 170-180 grams of Protein a day.
So today marks day 97 of this last push to reach my goal, and I have achieved it! I have worked like crazy to get where I wanted, and I feel extremely accomplished and want to encourage others! 59 lbs and 2.5 years later, and I could not be happier with myself!
If you have read this far, thank you for reading.
TL;DR - Regardless of how hard it feels like its going to be, because there are days where its going to be a pain. Don't give up! Take a step back and take a look to see how you can be smarter in getting healthier. Don't just blindly jump in and say, "I am going to do this because this is the popular thing!" (Looking at you trend diets) Find what works for you, both health wise and financially. Make the entire experience as enjoyable as you can, do not treat your diet or goal as way to punish yourself. ALWAYS treat it as a way to REWARD yourself! In the end it will all be worth it no matter how large or how small your goal.
So don't just go to your goal harder, be smart in how you approach it. Find what works for you, and ride that wave until you hit your goal!
Good luck to everyone in reaching your goals and never forget, you are not alone in this!
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