Before and after pics: 190-157lbs.
Every once in a while I jump back in here to post when I hit a milestone. I’ve been on this sub since 2011 or so, when I initially started my slow journey from 225 lbs to 185 lbs. I thought that was a pretty big step, but I stopped and stagnated there, maintaining that weight and shape for years. Here’s some insight.
The first picture is right at the beginning of my most current process. I started roughly 2 years ago with the intent of simply getting healthy. That’s it. Just wanted to tune the engine up under the hood. I signed up with a personal trainer and started learning what to do in order to feel better. More on this in a bit.
The second photo “before” is a few years prior to the first. I did this to show how I basically stayed in that 185-190 lbs zone for a long while. A more accurate representation of my “normal” body.
The last one is my overall shift. My peak was 225 lbs in 2008-9 and back then I had done P90X to lose the initial weight. No gym. Just P90X, cycling, and calorie management. The “after” was just a day ago or so.
What is the milestone now? Well, I’ve started pursuing personal training. I can’t really believe it, but not only have I fallen in love with fitness, it has radiated out and the people around me have started asking me to train them as well. Hell, after a while, it’s all people want to talk to you about. It seems almost magical and your results speak volumes about the process.
How did I get here? Well, like I said, I hesitantly signed up with a trainer for the technique and, more importantly, the accountability. I just started so I could feel better. I wanted to remember what it felt like when I was a kid and had all that energy and strength. I wanted to make sure I could stay healthy as I got older before it was too late to start. Turns out it’s never too late.
At first I went 2-3 times a week. Just acclimating. Learning to use my body and the gym properly. Results were slow at first but they eventually came. My diet was just about portion control. I still ate poorly but I just ate less when I did. I tried to watch my calories and stay around 1500 a day. Nothing extreme or crazy, just good ol’ CICO. When I worked out though, I really pushed. I focused. I learned.
The diet should’ve been better. It was effective enough to get the job done, but I wasn’t doing myself any favors and I would’ve had abs a LOT sooner had I just meal prepped or made wiser, less sugary, decisions. I have a volatile relationship with fast food.
3 days turned into 4 a week. 2 with a trainer and 2 on my own. It was starting to become my hobby and I was looking and feeling so much better. I find it almost criminal that physical results are always represented as the sole reason to pursue fitness when the mental benefits far far far outweigh everything else. Mental clarity, recollection, memory... all vastly improved. Morning fog, gone. Confidence goes through the roof as you start feeling ownership of your own life. The chemical rush is incredible too.
I could no longer justify the cost of a trainer. If I couldn’t apply what he had taught me, I’d fail at what I started for. Fortunately for me, I had become quite close to my dude and we became very good friends. I had progressed to the point that when I quit as a client, started as a training buddy since I was about 80% of his capacity. We moved to 5-6 days a week and that’s when the real training started. I thought I was good before but this was the next level.
I found the gym to be the center of my life and it grounded me. It was the one thing I controlled and did for myself. No one told me to go. No financial gain. I went because I liked not only feeling good, but because amidst all the chaos in my life, on social media, with my career, there was a consistent center to it all and I called the shots there.
I was also getting really good at it. I saw it as a game and every day I’d get slightly better than the day before. I went from barely being able to do 1.5 sloppy pull-ups on day one, to now being able to rep 15 L-sit pull-ups and do muscle-up sets. Getting off the couch had me feeling like a gymnast. Squatting to pet my dog felt like sturdy stretch instead of an impossible feat. Climbing my stairs made my legs feel explosive. The progress became quantifiable through physical accomplishments instead of pounds.
Oh yeah, as for my diet, it’s still pretty garbage. I effectively outwork my diet. I’m trying to gain weight now, attempting to eat 2500 - 3000 calories a day. Controlled gaining is very hard. I lift heavy so I need fuel, but I don’t eat enough or properly. That’s my next step. There is always a next step.
So here I am. Sharing my headspace in case one of you is looking for some sort of inspiration or clarity on the process. I’m currently getting my NASM physical training certification and I’ve already started working with a few clients. It’s wild to learn about the process I went through from the other side and then teach another person how to go through it themselves. There’s a lot of bonding in the process, as many of you know, and I love it. It’s so empowering to take control of your own state of mind and prove to yourself that a little discipline goes a very long way.
Anyway, hope this was interesting. AMA if you want.
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