Hello everyone, I've been on my weight loss journey for a few years now, with ups and downs and I intend on sharing it with you. I hope I'll make the reading epic enough for you to be entertained !
DISCLAIMER
I am in now way a nutritionist nor a sport expert. I'll share my own experience and my advices are not holy words whatsoever.
I also am a fairly healthy person, with no prior medical condition, no known metabolical disorder of any sort.
Therefore, if you have specific medical conditions, always check with your doctor first. Don't overdo yourself because I told you I could do it.
On a genetical and metabolical point of view, we have our own pros and cons, so be aware of your own health etc.
The boring part being done let's go !
My story
I've been overweight for almost as long as I can remember. I was the typical smart kid with glasses, too much weight and not enough friends. It took me 24 years, and hitting 273 pounds (124 kgs) to realize something needed to change.
Oh, short break: I hate the imperial system, but I love using pounds about the weight I've lost because it feels like I lost so much more it's motivating.
Anyway, when I realized I had to drop weight I was in college. And luckily, as in a lot of colleges, there was a gym I could go in the evening. So I started going, four times a week. I had been given a few years ago a work out program, working all muscle groups. It lasted for a few months, but then I had an internship to do, in another city.
I was having lunch with my colleagues, in restaurants 5 days a week. And it was messy, al LOT... Desserts, sauce, fats and other useless extras I was taking, and you can bet I stored this freakin' weight. I stepped on the scale, and oh boi.
Down the road we go. So I started watching motivational videos. Watching people having lost so much weight, discovering their stories... Thinking "I would love to lose that much wiehgt too !". But here is the twist: I never thought "I COULD do that too." Until one day, wandering around the internets looking for motivation, and I found it !!!
It was a post, written by some dude who took on running after being adviced so by a hooker he was seeing.
Pretty unlikely you'd think, but hey. I identified myself in the story told by this man (except for the hooker part).
And I bought running shoes. Quite expensive one I must say, around 180€. The guy said, if you buy expensive shoes, you'll fell more guilty to leave them rotting in a drawer. May not be 100% effective, but if you tell yourself that, maybe you too will catch on.
On saturday 27/07/2013 I was buying my first pair of running shoes. The next monday I started my first willingful jogging ever. It sucked, I suffered and barely ran 11 minutes. But those were MY 11 minutes. I DID them. I freakin' dropped sweat, tears and pain but they were mine. And for 5 days a week I would go running. The guy that inspired me was saying that he'd run 5 days a week, eat clean and then on week end would eat a ton of food, desserts and so on.
I couldn't do that. Because I would ruin my efforts of the week. Beside running I was eating clean. We finally had a special company restaurant where I could have healthy options and where I wouldn't take mayonese, ketchup and where I could have salad and fish.
I know eating healthy is difficult when you're not in a stable environment, but doing your truly is best is better than doing nothing at all.
Once back in college, I kept on running. I don't recall much of my eating habits, but I can tell you for sure, I was eating waaaaaay better than in my junior year.
At the end of my last year of college, I moved abroad for a last internship. And I didn't stop excercising.
But I was lucky, it was in asia and I had decent healthy food options and cheap, in addition to that.
During that time, I would either run on a treadmill or go to the swimming pool. I was getting bored of running.
Flash forward to me starting a new job, end 2014. It was at that time I was told about a particular workout program: INSANITY.
Simply put, INSANITY is a video program, hosted by Shaun T a muscular and lean man screaming at you and his crew while doing crazy workouts. Hence the name for sure. So I started that, and here I was, jumping, crawling around, giving my full self into these workouts. Unfortunately, it was so extreme I had some sort of periostitis, an inflammation in the leg tissue.
I needed a backup plan, and may the gods be praised, Shaun T had one. Insanity MAX 30 ! A workout program that would be only 30 minutes long, with a modifier version to be no impact and preserve my fragile body parts.
And I kept on going, the full program is two months long. And do you know how much weight I lost ? 15 pounds. I was finally under 100kgs (220 pounds). My dream ! I was finally not a three digits number on the damn scale !
That was a damn achievement. This happened the 8th of March 2015. Two years into working out.
I took on other programs, such as P90X3, similar to MAX 30 but with more weight lifting.
From there, things went a bit downhill for me personnaly. I lost my girlfriend then my dad, and I had quit smoking at the same time. To be fair, quitting smoking has been undecently easy but I believe I suffered some metabolical backlash afterwards.
Anyway, from there I regained all the weight I had lost, because all the bad habits I got rid of came back, and because my metabolism is a bitch. I will not drag on the years where my weight came back, there is nothing much notable to be said.
I have one exception to make, on the year 2017 I ran one semi marathon (2h39 minutes) and did a Mud Day, an obstacle run with a lot of challenges.
I will fast forward to 2019 where, after gaining back so much weight I decided to get back very seriously at working out and eating healthy.
Here is the end of my personnal story, I will now give you my advices and points of view on how to start and keep living healthy.
Please note that I am a single person no childs around and I am giving these advice not accounting for the problems you may have and I haven't. Therefore, not being able to reach the same objectives or milestones as I did is in no way a shame or a failure.
Live by these rules
NO SPORT NO EATING
Working out must become part of your life. The same way you shower every day, you eat every day and go the toilet every day, sport is not an option. I've had days where it was 9 pm, and I didn't eat before I was done with my damn work out.
GREEN TEA IS YOUR NEW COFFEE
Everything is in the title. You should drink a LOT of green tea so you can enjoy draining effects and other anty oxidant and stuff. I drink it so I don't stock too much water. I personnaly drink around 1.5L of green tea everyday. I add to this water during work outs and at my office. I drink my tea at home. And obviously NO SUGAR in the tea.
DISCIPLINE > MOTIVATION
Following what I previously said, once you have acknowledged that sport is now a part of your life, you will not need any motivation to do what you want to do. You will do it because you HAVE to do it, not because you WANT to do it.
FOOD IS NOT A REWARD
You've been in a good strike, losing weight continuously, so you feel like you deserve a small treat.
WRONG. The only consequence of this is the weight you will gain back because you felt like an all-you-can-eat buffet was deserved after dropping 10 pounds.
Depending on the program you'll be following, if you have one, some people will say you will have to have not extras during the program. And this is socially difficult. Because you have restaurants with coworkers, you have a birthday to celebrate, and so on, and so forth.
I unfortunately do not have a good answer to this one myself, as I am in the same dilemna you are.
I would recommend to find an healthy option you can eat but that tastes better, or is a bit more unusual compared to what you have regularly so you can have this feeling of variety and freshness as you eat something you don't have often.
However, KFC or Burger King should not be invited to the party.
GOOD BYE JUNK FOOD
One of the worst bummers, especially when sugar is your thing. It seems to be that sugar has a way worse impact on weight loss than fat. Simply put, from what I understand, high sugar presence in your blood will make your body more prone to store fats. Therefore, cookies, pastries, sodas and all sorts of sweet stuff must go.
EATING HEALTHY IS NOT BEING ON A DIET
Changing your way of eating is not being on a diet. I don't believe in diet at all, and as far as I'm concerned I say fook off to paleo, low carbs, full prot, unicorn based protein and whatever gibberish you may be interested in selling.
In my opinion, eating healthy, diversified and junk food free meals is the best way for a sustainable weight loss.
Being on a diet means it will had to end at some point. And therefore, all the foods that were previously forbidden will come back. And you know what else will come back. THE FREAKIN WEIGHT you cried and sweated to lose.
And this is a no. I'm not yoyoing the shit out of my metabolism just because some maniac sold me a diet based on fairy powder and minotaur's flesh. Again, you people are perfectly free to do whatever you want with your eating habits. Just know I'm not doing that.
FIND A WORKOUT PROGRAM YOU LIKE
As I said earlier, sport is a compulsory part of your day. No discussion.
However, when going to the gym, I would get bored as hell if I was rowing for 45 minutes.
Realize that working out doesn't have to take long, and it doesn't always have to happen in a gym.
Some of the programs existing out there do not require equipment, and the extra fat you carry will serve as dumbells in a way.
I enjoy video programs because they keep me company while I'm cursing at the damn trainer telling me to keep going.
Moreover, you get to see how much time is left for the day. And you'll realize that you've already reach the first quarter, then half, the last quarter, and THEN the last excercize of the day.
WORKING OUT IS NOT TIME CONSUMING
I didn't point out much in my story how much of a geek I was, and still damn am.
I realized when I starting running that it would cost me only half an hour of sports. (Not including shower anyway).
Half an hour of running would be around one game of LOL. So I was like "If I play one less game of LOL I will be able to get the body I have dreamed of my entire life ? Sign me in bitches !"
Again, I don't know what the life of a parent is, so I'm not judging if you can't find the 30 minutes AND the energy to work out.
But I believe I'm setting requirements that can be met by A LOT of persons. A LOT.
DON'T HURT YOURSELF WHILE WORKING OUT
There is no point in losing weight if you're scrapping your joints so much they won't last for the next 10 years.
If you're too overweight, or naturally heavy because you're tall (and overweight), don't jump. Don't do full burpees that will ruin you in no time.
You want to be healthy AND not overweight, not only the half of that.
WEIGHT LOSS AND SELF CONFIDENCE
I will now talk about what some of us feel, and why they want to lose weight.
I'm a man, so I'll speak from my point of view but I believe that some girls may find my personnal experience relevant as well.
I've always wanted to lose weight because I felt it was that that was stopping me from getting a girlfriend.
Being fat, feeling ugly, and basically not feeling any good reason why people would be attracted in me has always been a concern.
The truth is, as you will lose weight, you will accept more and more the fat you still have, and you will start to realize that fat isn't the one holding you back.
I fairly believe that look and fashion are what make a first impression but I also believe that it's what will come out of your mouth and the general "aura" you give to people that will make people attracted in you.
I have to admit, it was when I was doing good with my weight loss that I could get girlfriends.
But then, when I was gaining up weight I would still be able to interest people and to flirt.
Maybe you will more free once you've dropped the pounds that always hindered you, but at some point you will realize that you are much more than a number on a weighting scale.
Where am I now ?
As I'm writing these lines, Im 112.5 kgs (247 pounds) and I'm planning on going under 100 kgs again.
I am trying some nutriotionnal supplements now, namely guarana, caffeine etc.
It seems to have a good impact on me, but again, check with your doctor. You can't overdose yourself of caffeine just to drop pounds.
I'm currently doing a second round of 21 Day Fix Extreme, and since my birthday is in March I'll try to start a longer workout program after my BDay. I hate breaks in the middle of a program, feels like I'm failing.
Conclusion
I wrote everything in one shot. I've been wanting to do that for so long, now I've given you my view of life and my experience and I truly hope that at least someone today will make the first step towards a healthier and happier lifestyle.
If I spent more than an hour to write that and if only one person takes on this journey. Then I'll already be successful.
Remember people, your weight loss journey starts with you, and nothing else.
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