Introduction #2 - Where I am

It felt good to get started exercising & eating better, but I didn’t feel good about my game plan. I had done this twice before, saw results, and then had it all go bad. Both times I ended up more fat than when I started. So doing the same thing again seemed crazy to me, but I didn’t want to sit around and do nothing. I started checking around trying to learn everything that I could about fitness/nutrition. During one of these searches I came across Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto. This book has been a real eye opener for me, and it is the piece of the puzzle that was missing. I have answered why I have failed in the past, and know what I need to do to achieve my dream of being a role model for my children, and being around for them for a long time to come.

When I have exercised in the past my cardio of choice has been running. Well jogging is probably a better description of it J I don’t fit what you might consider a runner build, not even close. But when I run I feel like I really did something. I feel like I worked hard, and it gives me a sense of accomplishment. I did a few things wrong though. I pushed it way too hard too fast, which led me to being injured. Nothing major, but shin splints are not pleasant. I also had some knee problems in high school from a football injury, so running 5 times a week did not work for me. Both times when I stopped exercising because of these issues, I went right back to old eating habits. I found that I have an all or nothing mentality. If I’m not exercising then I can’t be perfect. If I can’t be perfect then why bother? Both times after I stopped exercising it took a single act of lost control to send me in a downward spiral. One time it was a bag of BBQ chips, the other was 2 mint brownies. I let a few hundred calories completely derail my progress. The first thing I realized is the all or nothing mentality had to be the first thing to work on. Nobody is perfect and I had to be able to overcome obstacles like injury or an unplanned cheat meal.

So, what do I need to do differently this time? First of all I still run, but I only run 2 times per week. I gradually increase my distances, and I run on a treadmill to take some of the impact. The other days I do lower impact cardio on the elliptical or the cycle. I also eat more this time around. Seems weird at first, but I know I am not going to screw up my metabolism, and it helps with the emotional eating. I’m still working on the all or nothing attitude; it is a work in progress. I have problems with emotional eating, so this piece is really important to me. If I eat something I did not plan, I try to get right back on track ASAP. I am relieved to say that I am not perfect. I have had a bad day or two, and even a bad week recently. The difference is that this time I REFUSE TO FAIL, I refuse to not be successful. I keep working at it and learning from my setbacks. Each time I have a setback, I really do learn something from it and then move on. I’ve lived with my head in the sand for too long, and I won’t do that anymore. I will analyze what is going on in my life, make adjustments, and move forward. Have you lost weight in the past but have gained it back? There is a reason why it did not work for you. Find out what it is, make your adjustments, and try again.

At my most recent weigh in I was at 266 lbs with around 34.8% body fat. So far I have lost 45.5 lbs and around 6% of my body fat. I have been implementing BFFM slowly over the past 4 months. I started by trying to eat more frequent meals while eating cleaner foods. Now I eat 6 meals a day and plan my meals ahead of time almost without thinking about it. I’ve progressed from not being able to run at all to running 4 miles in just over 40 minutes. I can now do 35 pushups. I wear size 40 pants (down from 46) and XL shirts (from XXXL). So that is where I am currently at, but I am excited for where I am going!