One year ago I was going down a dangerous path. I let a lot of bad habits develop over time and get away from me. This is my story of how I changed my life for the better.
This is what my life looked like then:
I smoked about a pack of cigarettes a day, every morning on my way to work I would get a pack of smokes, a Red Bull, a Mountain Dew, and some snacks. For lunch I would either go out for fast food or bring a bunch of snacks from the house, whatever we had at the time. Nothing healthy. For dinner I would eat whatever my wife made, but about 3 servings of it, and then whatever sweets I could find for dessert. I rarely drank water, and had a couple beers with dinner most nights.
My exercise regimen consisted of going to the gym for about a half hour once a month and getting winded from mowing the lawn or doing other simple tasks. My health problems were piling up. I was almost constantly bloated and constipated, had constant lower back pain, erectile dysfunction, depression, I felt tired and lethargic every day, did not sleep for more than 5 hours a night, I basically felt like crap all of the time. I had just turned 41 and weighed about 210 lbs, the heaviest I'd ever been. I hated myself every time I looked in the mirror, not only because of my weight but because I wasn't even trying anymore.
Finally something clicked inside my head and I decided it was time to make a change.
On my 41st birthday I decided to smoke my last cigarette. I talked to my doctor, he gave me some antidepressants and some good support. I fixed my diet and started working out daily.
This is what my life looks like now:
I haven't had even one hit off a cigarette since the day I quit, and never plan to again, ever. I completely cut out pop, Red Bull, and any other sugary beverages all together except for the rare occasion. I only drink a couple times a week, if we go out to eat I might have 2 drinks and at home maybe one beer. At work I drink a cup of coffee in the morning and then water the rest of the day. For lunch I bring some mixture of yogurt, fruit, peanuts, a ham or turkey sandwich, hummus, mostly stuff with protein and fiber. I have a normal dinner, but I try to limit it to one serving. For dessert I might grab a low calorie snack, but occasionally I treat myself.
For exercise I mainly run and then lift weights, 4-6 times a week. Occasionally I will do a yoga class or play tennis with my wife but for the most part I focus on cardio and strength exercises. During the summer I will try to be more active in my free time and on weekends, but it gets tougher in the winter. But I find myself needing to do something active instead of lounging around all weekend. I actually have energy!
My back feels better most of the time, and I don't have most of the other problems I had before. I lost about 20 lbs in the first 4-5 months, then maintained for a while, but have gradually gained about 3-4 lbs back. But I've put on some decent muscle, and improved some of my lifts by about 90 lbs (bench, squat, etc.).
There are things I still struggle with though.
I have been running 2-4 times a week for one year and I have not improved hardly at all. When I first started I could barely run one lap on my gym track, now I still can barely run a mile most days. I've tried 3 different pairs of shoes, C25k, running slower, running faster, adjusting my form, drinking more water, strengthening my leg muscles, more rest, less rest, stretching before, stretching after, foam rolling, etc. But still, no matter what I do my calves, quads, and/or hips will begin to burn and get tight after a couple laps. It gets very frustrating to keep trying at something for so long but see so little improvement. Perhaps if I really focused on running and spent more time every week it may help, but I only have so much time to work out and I try to get my strengthening and stretching in too.
I still can not sleep. I can fall asleep at the drop of a hat but generally wake up about 5-6 hours later needing to pee, and can't get back to sleep. Maybe it's a sign I'm drinking enough water but I really wish I could get my 7-8 hours of sleep.
Women are not throwing themselves at me. Not that I really expected that to happen but I think people get too focused on being more attractive to the opposite sex. But my wife seems to be a bit more touchy feely than she was before and that's all that really matters.
I still have not reached my ultimate goal weight. Still have about 10-15 lbs to go before I am at a normal BMI and lose more of my belly fat. I just cannot seem to put the fork down lately, and my weight has been going in the wrong direction.
What I've learned
Throughout everything I've still been able to maintain my workout routine and healthy eating habits. I've learned it takes a lot of perseverance and discipline, you can't always get hung up on instant gratification. Even when I don't see any progress I keep going. Sometimes I just have to change my plan or try some new things. It's not that I don't have a goal, I just do it because I know it's better than not doing it.
You have to make yourself a priority. There are a million excuses you can make, sometimes you just have to get them all out of your head. Instead of "I'm tired today, I just want to go home after work and chill" becomes "I'm tired today, I just want to go home after my workout and chill". You can find time and figure out how to live healthy if you really try.
Anyway, thanks for reading if you've somehow managed to make it this far. And happy holidays!
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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2PViqjg
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