On May 17, 2021 I decided enough was enough and that I needed to take better care of my health. I wanted to get back to the comfortable weight that I was in late 2013 which was around 200 pounds and pretty damn fit since I was an active powerlifter. I was at 295, very unhappy, and I felt like shit. Basic human things were becoming cumbersome. Putting my socks on sucked, bending over to pick something up sucked, hell.... even wiping my ass sucked. Sorry TMI. My doctor of course was worried about what the next 10 years might look like had I continued on my current path. My blood pressure was creeping into the medication territory, I had fatty liver from being overweight, and whatever other health risks that come with being morbidly obese. I've been overweight most of my life, had it under control only once which was back in 2013. I went from 251 to 200 in about 8ish months, but it was short lived as I ended up having some medical issues (non gym related) that made me lose my good routine I had going. So as the title said, enough was enough.
I decided to fire up some personal training to hold myself accountable. I know that if I did some other half assed approach that I would just fall off as there would be no consequences. So I started to pay a trainer $350~ bucks a month for life coaching and fitness services. It was all remote and nothing was being done in person. He personalized workouts for me and a nutrition plan that I would try and follow. The price to value was pretty meh, as I already knew most of what I needed from my previous weight loss, but I needed to pay the money to have something that kept me on track as I did not want to light $350 a month on fire. I did this for 5 months and it finished back in November.
The nutrition was pretty straightforward. Just a good old fashioned calorie deficit. When I started 7 months ago I was on a 2300 calorie plan and adjusting as the weight came down. Currently my daily intake is closer to 2000 and i normally burn 3-400 per workout, if not more. I use My Fitness Pal to count my calories. I was never overly concerned with my macros as anything nutrition change would have been enough for me to lose weight. My body was begging for it. I cut out sodas, chips, snacks, candies etc. For breakfast I was and am eating some form of eggs, a healthy carb and a piece of fruit everyday. Lunch I do a pre bottled protein shake, I found an amazing brand called Fairlife and it has 2g sugar, with almost no carbs and 30g protein for 150 calories. I'll also have a protein granola bar or some fruit. If I'm really hungry I can do a little tuna salad or grilled chicken as well. For dinner I stick some large portion of protein whether it is fish, chicken or lean steak. A solid portion of veggies and a healthy carb. Sometimes I'll do a 3-4 ounce serving of whole wheat pasta or some sweet potatoes. I bought a scale to measure and weigh all my foods so that I can track my calories the best I can.
The workouts for the first 5 months I was training were a combination of cardio (boring) and some resistance training. I bought some kettlebells, resistance bands, medicine balls, and a couple other fitness tools and put them in a spare room that we had in our basement. I also have a Bowflex Max Trainer M3 which is a stair climbing elliptical machine. The thing crushes calories so it's great and I had an old but functional treadmill which I mostly do power walking on. Not a huge fan of running as the padding is back so it's pretty high impact on my joints whereas the Bowflex is much lower impact. From November moving forward I decided that I wanted to start doing some power lifting again. I love golf and golf is one of the things that really made me want to get fit again. So I figured packing on some muscle and working on my flexibility would net me some yards when the season comes back in the Spring. I bought a squat rack and an adjustable bench. So now I'm able to do squats, deadlifts, rows, flat/incline bench press, overhead press, cleans, and all the other fun strength movements. I was decently strong back in 2013 for someone who only did it for fun and not competitively. I don't have a goal to get as strong as I previously was, but I enjoy lifting and it's a great supplement to my weight loss since losing fat and muscle happens together during weight loss. Now I can minimize/negate the muscle loss and shape my body nicely as well. The challenge also really stimulates me. I've been doing my own programming and it's going great. Down 7 pounds this month since Dec 1st. My end of year goal was 250 pounds. As of today I am down to 241 with 8 days left in the year. I will definitely hit 240 and break my goal by 10 pounds. My overall goal is to get to 200 again, but this time I'm thinking 190 is going to be my stretch goal, just to do something I haven't done in my adult life.
All in all its been a hell of a ride. It has required a lot of discipline and self sacrifice, but the amount of change I have made in 7 months compared to the years and years of abuse to my body has been amazing. I'm hoping to keep this is a lifestyle change. Being pretty fit again has made massive improvements on my quality of life. My confidence is improving and I'm just happier. Thanks for sticking with me if you read this whole thing. Please feel free to comment your personal stories and keep my motivation high. If you every find yourself slacking and need a boost I am also happy to be that friend! Also, if you are interested in my workouts or my food plan, I am happy to share that as well. I'm not a trainer or an expert. I've lost over 50 pounds twice and this time My goal is to get closer to 100 pounds off, so I can only offer advice for what has worked for me.
TL;DR - Started working out May 17, 2021 and I weighed 295. After about 7 months I weigh 241. End of year goal was 250. Overall goal is 200 but I'm going to push for 190.
This picture is two days before I started working out versus one week ago.
I decided to fire up some personal training to hold myself accountable. I know that if I did some other half assed approach that I would just fall off as there would be no consequences. So I started to pay a trainer $350~ bucks a month for life coaching and fitness services. It was all remote and nothing was being done in person. He personalized workouts for me and a nutrition plan that I would try and follow. The price to value was pretty meh, as I already knew most of what I needed from my previous weight loss, but I needed to pay the money to have something that kept me on track as I did not want to light $350 a month on fire. I did this for 5 months and it finished back in November.
The nutrition was pretty straightforward. Just a good old fashioned calorie deficit. When I started 7 months ago I was on a 2300 calorie plan and adjusting as the weight came down. Currently my daily intake is closer to 2000 and i normally burn 3-400 per workout, if not more. I use My Fitness Pal to count my calories. I was never overly concerned with my macros as anything nutrition change would have been enough for me to lose weight. My body was begging for it. I cut out sodas, chips, snacks, candies etc. For breakfast I was and am eating some form of eggs, a healthy carb and a piece of fruit everyday. Lunch I do a pre bottled protein shake, I found an amazing brand called Fairlife and it has 2g sugar, with almost no carbs and 30g protein for 150 calories. I'll also have a protein granola bar or some fruit. If I'm really hungry I can do a little tuna salad or grilled chicken as well. For dinner I stick some large portion of protein whether it is fish, chicken or lean steak. A solid portion of veggies and a healthy carb. Sometimes I'll do a 3-4 ounce serving of whole wheat pasta or some sweet potatoes. I bought a scale to measure and weigh all my foods so that I can track my calories the best I can.
The workouts for the first 5 months I was training were a combination of cardio (boring) and some resistance training. I bought some kettlebells, resistance bands, medicine balls, and a couple other fitness tools and put them in a spare room that we had in our basement. I also have a Bowflex Max Trainer M3 which is a stair climbing elliptical machine. The thing crushes calories so it's great and I had an old but functional treadmill which I mostly do power walking on. Not a huge fan of running as the padding is back so it's pretty high impact on my joints whereas the Bowflex is much lower impact. From November moving forward I decided that I wanted to start doing some power lifting again. I love golf and golf is one of the things that really made me want to get fit again. So I figured packing on some muscle and working on my flexibility would net me some yards when the season comes back in the Spring. I bought a squat rack and an adjustable bench. So now I'm able to do squats, deadlifts, rows, flat/incline bench press, overhead press, cleans, and all the other fun strength movements. I was decently strong back in 2013 for someone who only did it for fun and not competitively. I don't have a goal to get as strong as I previously was, but I enjoy lifting and it's a great supplement to my weight loss since losing fat and muscle happens together during weight loss. Now I can minimize/negate the muscle loss and shape my body nicely as well. The challenge also really stimulates me. I've been doing my own programming and it's going great. Down 7 pounds this month since Dec 1st. My end of year goal was 250 pounds. As of today I am down to 241 with 8 days left in the year. I will definitely hit 240 and break my goal by 10 pounds. My overall goal is to get to 200 again, but this time I'm thinking 190 is going to be my stretch goal, just to do something I haven't done in my adult life.
All in all its been a hell of a ride. It has required a lot of discipline and self sacrifice, but the amount of change I have made in 7 months compared to the years and years of abuse to my body has been amazing. I'm hoping to keep this is a lifestyle change. Being pretty fit again has made massive improvements on my quality of life. My confidence is improving and I'm just happier. Thanks for sticking with me if you read this whole thing. Please feel free to comment your personal stories and keep my motivation high. If you every find yourself slacking and need a boost I am also happy to be that friend! Also, if you are interested in my workouts or my food plan, I am happy to share that as well. I'm not a trainer or an expert. I've lost over 50 pounds twice and this time My goal is to get closer to 100 pounds off, so I can only offer advice for what has worked for me.
TL;DR - Started working out May 17, 2021 and I weighed 295. After about 7 months I weigh 241. End of year goal was 250. Overall goal is 200 but I'm going to push for 190.
This picture is two days before I started working out versus one week ago.