Arise Over 45 – My Personal Body Transformation Story
My Personal Body Transformation Story Begins…
I was fat, actually I was obese, as far as the BMI chart was concerned. And I would yo-yo between 225 and 265 pounds of fatness all my adult life.
But now was the time to get SERIOUS after a few pounds have returned during the 2015 holiday season.
Add on to that anxiety, constant sitting, and getting older, I knew it was time for change. In fact it was either time I changed or face serious health problems down the road.
In the last few months of 2015 I slowly tried to change the way I ate and dropped about 10 lbs. I dropped these pounds from October to December and I got down to below 255 lbs.
It was time to quit making excuses, playing the blame game, and starting resolutions that are never accomplished.
It was TIME to MAKE a PLAN for lasting health change…
I did not want to be a fat man (technically obese) over 45 anymore. It was causing me to die at a faster rate because of visceral fat in my midsection. I was tired, anxious, and a habitual sitter.
And I was losing my mental battle with anxiety. In addition my relationships are suffering. All because I refuse to be healthy instead choosing to wallow in a pit of terrible self-esteem.
The plan was to exercise daily and to change to a clean eating style, getting rid of all refined carbs, bad fats, and processed foods. It would be a slow change and not one I would do all at once.
My first goal will be to get into the 220 lb. weight range. Then my 2nd goal is to get down into the 205 lb. range. With a final goal of getting to about 176 lbs or the upper range of a healthy weight for my BMI.
I wanted to be a healthier man, truths is I needed to be a healthier man. But first I had to change my sedentary and eating habits. Studies show nutrition, and movement, can help you feel better about yourself.
And I wanted to feel better! Then I could start to work on my mind and spirit. It all starts with a healthy body. If the body is strong it can help the mind do miraculous things. A broken down body is a sure path to a broken down life.
Can I live up to my self imposed challenge to become a healthier person and finally achieve my goals? Is there something you can learn from my journey?
Well read on and we will find out together…
These are my starting stats beginning October 2015.
- Weight is 259 lbs (Start of 2016) to 265 lbs (October 2015).
- Height is 70 inches or 5’10” maybe a little over but not much.
- My BMI = 33.47 kg/m2 or (Obese Class I).
- Blood Pressure is normal but occasionally on the high side.
- Waist Size Tape Measurement is 44-48″ which depends on the day!
- Shirt Size is XXL – Pant Waist Size is 40 – Neck Size is 17 1/2″ to 18 1/2″ for comfort.
- Body Fat Percentage was around 38%.
I have broken down this challenge into overall goals that I will make a life-long change in.
My lifelong goals:
When I have my body goal working I decided to concentrate on these things:
- Overcome my anxiety and live with purpose.
- Explore my passions in life and strive to pursue them.
- Give back to the world by serving others, have more faith, show more gratitude, and exhibit more charity.
- and finally I want to become a lifelong student and learn all I can.
So here is my Arise over 45 – Life Reboot for 2016
I wanted to reboot my weight loss after a brief (well maybe longer than brief) absence in which I gained most of my weight back. But this time I wanted it to be permanent.
This is the struggle I have had many times which meant I was not really committed to a lifelong healthy lifestyle change. I was wishing for it, but not setting goals and actively pursuing it.
Serious in intent, but not dedicated in action. It was know time for permanent change to stay healthy, for life.
So I figured in order to make real, manageable, change I needed a goal (not a wish) and a strategic plan on getting there. And I had to be realistic and be held accountable.
So I sat down and wrote out everything I felt about my current health statistics.
Here is a summary;
After taking stock of my current health I wrote down a SMART GOAL. One in which I could get down to my first goal weight; below 220 lbs. and under 25% body fat.
And I want to share my personal body transformation with you, so please read on…
It was time to stop thinking about making a change and prepare to make that change. This where I got serious and made a change in my mental thinking. Where I got motivated to change.
And finally where I planned the change with a written plan filled with achievable goals. We will talk about this more in how to prepare to make a mental change.
Change your mindset, and you will change who you are…
This is arguably one of the hardest things you will have to do… to make up your mind to change for good. It will take more than willpower, commitment, and desire. It wont be easy.
But it can be done, and these tips, ideas, and methods can help. If you truly want to change your body, health, and life you need to change your mindset.
So WHY Should I Change? Give Me A Good Reason…
Obesity may soon be the number one preventable killer of us, overtaking smoking. Imagine that! We have no biological need for cigarettes, but we need food to live. Smoking rates have been steadily declining while obesity and overweight individuals are increasing.
Obese and Overweight Adults are over 70% of the adult population in the U.S.
If you have poor health habits as an adult chances are you are teaching, by example, these poor health habits to your children. Along with societal pressure, food marketing bombardment, and easy access to unhealthy foods it adds up so children don’t have much of a chance.
Changing your habits may encourage others as well.
We know that drugs, tobacco, alcohol, and pollution are bad for us. So why do we struggle with food? Don’t stress about it, we have been programmed from birth to connect emotions with food.
Remember breast feeding (probably not)? Reward of Candy for doing something good? Special birthday dinner?
Our brain is constantly being programmed to perceive unhealthy food as a pleasure. It is our thalamus that detects levels of hormones and sends messages to the other parts of the brain to interpret them as emotions and thoughts. And to often it is on autopilot saying “feed me pleasurable food”!
Here is a list of foods that are harmful and can cause preventable disease. But not all food will eventually kill us. If we change our attachment to these foods we can overcome our biological training and need for food as a coping mechanism. Then we can eat to live, rather than live to eat.
We can nourish our body and fulfill the requirement of “WHY WE SHOULD CHANGE“.
We are all struck by something that propels us to change. A photo of yourself looking obese, an unhealthy checkup, a disastrous disease, or a mental breakdown. Whatever the reason it still is not enough to propel you to change IF YOU WANT A SHORTCUT. Change needs to stem from a deep desire from within. It is this deep desire that will sustain the longevity of change.
Reducing weight to a healthy BMI, eating healthy nutritious whole foods, and avoiding harmful substances and risky behaviors will help us achieve a healthy lifestyle.
So WHO Should Be The One To Change?
You constantly fight with your inner dialogue or thoughts, and your actions follow. Your thoughts are always shifting, changing, coming and going. But they are just thoughts, random words without any substance.
Your actions give them life!
The one to change IS YOU, more specifically your inner being. Change the way you think and watch your life catch up. Our biggest obstacle is being hypocritical with ourselves. A good example of this is if you want to lose weight but you constantly are eating unhealthy foods.
Quit Lying to Yourself!
Remember our emotional attachments above? Well we need to change those attachments so they are in line with what is best for our life. Instead of constantly berating ourselves each time we fail at weight loss we need to ask ourselves;
“WHAT DO WE TRULY WANT”? and “IS WHAT I AM DOING HELPING ME TO GET WHAT I TRULY WANT”?
So who should change, the answer is YOU SHOULD CHANGE. I cannot change you, and you shouldn’t change for some external reason (reunion, wedding, or bathing suit season), nor for someone. You should change for you and because you feel compassion and love for yourself and have a desire for true change.
What Can I Change To Make A Lasting Difference?
Change your movement habits. We are not talking about just exercise here but movement in addition to that. We should all get at least 30-60 minutes a day of moderate exercise. But you may still be at risk even if you exercise that much and are sedentary the rest of the time.
The key is to get up and move as often as you can.
Change your eating habits. Eat better foods and fuel your body and brain with nutritious whole foods and clean water. Stay away from processed foods. A properly fueled body can do magnificent things. More importantly learn the things that are causing you to overeat and overcome them.
Learn how to eat better, your body will thank you, and naturally stay leaner.
Say goodbye to tension in your life. Rid yourself of that unnecessary stress. Learn to be mindful, live in the present, and to relax away stress. Use techniques like meditation, prayer, and reflection. Get out in nature, make sure you get enough time for yourself to decompress and relax those tense muscles.
Get adequate Sleep. This is very important! Why? Because this is when the body does all of its restorative and repair work. You need about 6-9 hours of quality sleep each night. Don’t skimp on this, or oversleep, studies have shown adverse effects from both.
And finally change your mindset to allow the body to follow a purposeful path to wellness. Get rid of doubt and fear, and replace it with action and optimism. Remember what goes on in your brain comes out in life. So make it so good that your life will be amazing.
How Can I Change and Make it Lifelong?
By changing your belief structure. These are the principles that guide us through life. They give our life direction and meaning. A bunch of thoughts bundled together make up a belief. What happens if those thoughts are negative, or better yet positive?
Get a clear and concise purpose to guide your transformation. Why are you doing this? Is it to become healthier, to lose weight, to look better in clothes, to impress someone. Make sure that your purpose is sustainable and real. Sometimes losing weight is just a stop on the journey and the real purpose of life is much deeper.
Change your level of desire and commitment. Do this by setting goals for yourself. Make them achievable goals with a time frame. Drill down on each goal until you have one thing you can do each day to accomplish that goal. Those one days will turn into one week, then one month, then one year.
Execute the daily task perfectly each time and you will achieve your goal.
By decreasing fear and increasing faith, decreasing negative self-talk and improving positive self-talk. The opposite of fear is faith. Increase your faith in yourself and rid yourself of fear. Jettison negative talk from your mind, and replace it with positive affirmations. Believe in yourself, that you can change, will change, and watch yourself CHANGE!
When Should I Change?
When you have identified the underlying issues of why you have not changed up to this point. And when you have the desire to act on fixing that issue.
Until then, you may be able to use pure willpower to move through some positive change, but willpower will eventually decrease. And if the issues of why you live an unhealthy lifestyle are not addressed you will be right back where you started.
You should change when you have identified you are ready. and here are some tips;
You must do all you can to prepare for change. Here is where you need to be brutally honest with yourself.
Find the things that you need to change. This is where you need to identify those areas in your life that are holding you back and work on changing them.
Make small changes at first so you don’t overwhelm yourself. Set yourself up for success and then build upon it.
Let the new changes move in! Clear out some space in that brain of yours and let the changes you want to make move in. Move out the old, crappy stuff, and focus on setting up your new life of change.
Learn how to cope with change. In the beginning of your changes you may feel like slipping back into old habits. Here is where you need to learn new ways to deal with past issues to help prevent this.
And finally make the new positive changes a part of your life. Your bad habits may have gotten you to this point, but they did it over many repetitions, sometimes we have years and years of bad behavior. Don’t expect to fix it quickly it will take hundreds of times to make your new habits stick.
So when should you change? The question is easily answered as you start to change, execute the things you want to change perfectly, they will add up quickly and voila then when you should change, will be then NOW!
So you have started to change your mindset, now you need to work on Step 2, getting your support network ready.
So lets see what that is all about…
One important thing to consider is the support of those around you. You need to make sure there is no one around sabotaging your efforts. This is important for sustained success.
Find Support from those Around You…
You can do this alone, but a great Support Network can make all the difference in the world to achieving your goal.
What makes this hard, is that you are changing some things in your life that may not be in sync with others in your life.
While you are eating healthier, others may be eating food that is unhealthy and tempting to you to just give in to bad good choices.
While you are working out each day, others may be doing things that are funner than clanking the weights.
And finally when you are down, in a plateau, or unmotivated, others may not understand what you are trying to accomplish and encourage you to give up.
These are just things in your life you should avoid, but sometimes you cannot avoid these people in your life, so you need to explain to them your goals and get their support.
Feed off of Each Others Successes…
This probably was the most significant help to my belief system, going forward, for the changes I was making. It occurred when I moved in sync with my spouse and we both were on the same wave length in regards to our eating habits.
Before I would go to the gym only half the time and I didn’t really care about what I was eating. But my spouse wanted us to be healthier foods, lose excess fat, and to live a quality life.
She started to measure and track her food, eat only whole foods, increase protein intake, and eat every 2-3 hours.
When I saw her success and noticed her fast progress it motivated me to make those same changes. Now it is so much easier for us to feed off of each other for support and sometimes engage in some healthy competition with one another.
Also we help each other in supportive ways.
Now we eat the same foods, and make better choices when we go out to eat.
If needed we encourage each other when we are tired and don’t want to go the gym.
We rescue one another when we want to go off the deep end and binge on unhealthy foods or skip a workout.
Support Yourself in a Positive Way…
Now with the support network of others close to me, I needed to learn how to support myself and make sure I didn’t sabotage my own efforts. Self sabotage can lead you down a road that sometimes is hard to find your way back from.
Constant encouragement, good self-talk, and reasonable goal setting has helped me to stay on the right path and not give up.
I needed to have reasonable expectations. And not think that I could lose weight quickly or think that it would just melt away.
After all I put it on over several years to get to this weight on. But this time I wanted to take it off and be able to maintain it.
So it was important to make sure that my goal setting and expectations were both set to things I could achieve and then feed off of those successes along the way.
Learn From Others and use Tools to Support your Goals…
Finally, surround yourself with tools that can add to your success. And there are a lot of them out there. I realized that this was my body. And nothing I read would be geared directly to my body and what I needed.
I became a student of my body, and learned all that I could by this method;
First I tried it,if I didn’t like it,
I refined it, and when it worked,
I put into practice, and used what worked,
and I discarded what didn’t work.
So become a student, learn all that you can, and use it to apply to your body.
I use two apps on my phone that sync to my computer. They are Myfitnesspal.com to log my food, and Bodybuilding.com to log workouts and track measurements.
Both of these allow me to see my progress and easily track it daily.
I chose a gym that had great equipment and a positive workout vibe. This is very important that you choose the right gym. One that fits your lifestyle and does not limit you in your progress.
And I ask people how to do certain exercises, how they eat, and I read and read!
While you can do this on your own, it is a lot better if you have a good support network. Seek support from those who are close to you. Look within yourself for motivation, and great self-talk.
Learn all you can from others by becoming a student of your body. Then apply those things that work so you can achieve your goals of a fit, and healthy life.
In the beginning I wanted to take it slow with a, tiered, and realistic approach, to this lifestyle change. I wanted to learn about myself, my health habits, and how exercise and food affect my body.
If I just rushed out of the gate I felt I would fail, and maybe this time for good. I knew if I started slow and built a good foundation I would see success and I could build on that.
DON’T JUST JUMP IN – YOU WANT TO GO SLOWLY…
The best advice I can give you is to take things slowly and avoid a pedal to the metal approach. Because this approach will not serve you well. And in fact it may actually back fire and cause you to give up quickly.
Take it very slowly and work yourself into your new goals with a “slow and steady wins the race” mentality.
This is how I did it, and this advice is given to you as an example. So please remember before you start any exercise or nutritional program please consult your doctor.
Remember you did not put all this weight on in a couple of weeks. So you are not going to take it off that quickly either.
First things First, Decide How, When, and Where you are going to Exercise
Finding a place to work out can be a intimidating task. Do you work out at home? What about all the gyms out there? Which one is best? Would I do better to exercise outdoors?
All good questions and something you need to decide before you can begin your new healthy lifestyle.
Picking a Gym or Fitness Center to Exercise in
This is my personal choice. It allows me to leave my home and work in an environment that is motivating. I get out of the house, I am able to have the latest equipment at my disposal. All for only $10 a month. Not a bad deal. But this is not for everyone.
Some people get intimidated by the “fit” people in the gym.
But don’t be. Just visualize that one day you are going to be one of those people. And believe me when you get there your whole attitude will change. See how I chose the right gym for me to work out in.
Setting Up Your Home to Exercise in…
A lot of people don’t like to leave home when they are first starting to work out. They feel more comfortable in familiar surroundings with no one looking at them. If this is you, then you may want to set up a home gym. Nothing fancy, just a cardio type machine, some small weights or exercise bands and a yoga mat.
Or if you prefer you can use an exercise program on Video and work out that way. Just make sure you get enough exercise, you are building muscle, and elevating your heart rate.
Exercising in the Great Outdoors
Some people love nature. They get up and cannot wait to smell the scents of outside. If you are one of these types, then you may want to consider running, rowing, bicycling, or other outdoor activities.
When is the Best Time to Exercise
There is much debate over the “best” time to exercise. My suggestion is that you exercise when you can block out the time effectively each day. For me it is at 3:00 PM and I “pen” that time in each and every day (except my rest day) and keep it habitually. This is my time to unwind, get my sweat on, and feel the burn.
Just choose a time you can stick with, whether it is early in the morning or in the evening. What ever you will commit to doing each and every day.
How to Exercise – What I Think is the Best Way
My personal preference to get in the best shape the quickest is to use weights and cardio machines. It has been proven over time that weightlifting and gaining muscle is the best way to maintain get rid of fat and reset your metabolism. We are not talking huge ARNOLD type muscles. We are advocating replacing body fat with lean muscles.
This will allow you to burn more calories, even at rest. Have less aches and pains and better mobility. As you age it will help protect your bones, help your balance, and increase stamina.
Plus having a body that is muscular looks great, clothes fit better, and you are able to do much more than you could with a clunky chunky body.
Lets Get Busy and Start Sweating
So you found your gym and now its time to start exercising. For the first month or so you are going to take it slowly. Avoid going in and getting all of that fancy advice from trainers.
Just stick to the basic multi-joint exercises or variations thereof (bench press, shoulder press, dead lift, and squats). For the first week I suggest you go in and try each exercise with minimal weight.
Below is a sample plan of how to get started easily. Use light weights. You will be sore but you don’t want to be too sore that you cannot move. Remember to take it slowly.
Sample 5 Day Workout Plan
DAY ONE – CHEST | SHOULDERS | TRICEPS
Barbell Bench Press (medium grip), dumbbell bench press, or Machine Bench Press – 3 to 4 Sets of 10 Reps
Standing or Seated Barbell Military Press or Machine Shoulder Press – 3 to 4 Sets of 10 Reps
Machine Tricep Dips – 3 to 4 Sets of 10 Reps
20 Mins of Cardio on Treadmill, Elliptical, or Stationary Bike
Workout at Home
Bench Press with bands from a laying position.
Shoulder Press with bands standing.
Tricep Press Standing with bands.
Light Stretching, and 20 Mins of Cardio on Treadmill, Elliptical, or Stationary Bike
Workout Outside
Walking for 30 minutes, with a push up set to failure every 5-10 mins.
DAY TWO – REST DAY
Or Get Outside and do some Active Cardio – Walking, Biking, or anything fun outdoors,
or indoors do the Treadmill, Elliptical, or Stationary Bike
DAY THREE – BACK | TRAPS | BICEPS
Seated Row or Row Machine – 3 to 4 Sets of 10 Reps
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldowns or Machine Assisted Pullups – 3 to 4 Sets of 10 Reps
Barbell Curls – 3 to 4 Sets of 10 Reps
4 Sets of Dumbbell Shrugs (OPTIONAL)
20 Mins of Cardio on Treadmill, Elliptical, or Stationary Bike
Workout at Home
Back Row at standing position.
One arm row with bands bent over.
Bicep Curl Standing with bands.
Light Stretching, and 20 Mins of Cardio on Treadmill, Elliptical, or Stationary Bike
Workout Outside
Walking for 30 minutes, with a pull-up or bar row set to failure every 5-10 mins.
DAY FOUR – REST DAY
Or Get Outside and do some Active Cardio – Walking, Biking, or anything fun outdoors,
or indoors do the Treadmill, Elliptical, or Stationary Bike
DAY FIVE – QUADS | HAMSTRINGS | CALVES
Barbell Squats or Leg Press Machine – 3 to 4 Sets of 10 Reps
Seated Leg Curls or Lying Leg Curls – 3 to 4 Sets of 10 Reps
Standing or Seated Calf Raise – 3 to 4 Sets of 10 Reps
20 Mins of Cardio on Treadmill, Elliptical, or Stationary Bike
Workout at Home
Squat at standing position.
Hamstring Stretch laying on ground.
Calf Lift with bands either seated or standing.
Light Stretching, and 20 Mins of Cardio on Treadmill, Elliptical, or Stationary Bike
Workout Outside
Walking for 30 minutes, with lunge set to failure every 5-10 mins.
DAY SIX – REST OR OPTIONAL CARDIO
50 Mins of Cardio on Treadmill, Elliptical, or Stationary Bike,
or indoors do the Treadmill, Elliptical, or Stationary Bike
DAY SEVEN – TOTAL REST
Remember this is just a sample plan. Pick and choose what you feel you can do. Feel free to switch out with other exercises. Just make sure they are working the muscle intended.
For the first week go very light just to get into the swing of things. Then you can add more weight each week as you get stronger.
Pick One Thing to Focus on to Start Eating Better
In continuing our theme of taking it slowly, you should pick one thing you can focus on to eat healthier. First of all it could be to get rid of that morning Pop Tart. Or eating more fruits and vegetables. Maybe forgoing that bowl of ice cream every night.
Just start with one thing. For me, well I gave up french fries. And I ate them with every meal when we went out. Or cooked tater tots at home. But I learned to replace them with a salad or vegetable side.
Do you want some more ideas on what to get started with. Check out my article on how to Jump Start a Nutrition Plan.
Learn All you can About Fitness and Nutrition
One important thing you can do is continue learning to help make sure you keep your mind sharp. In addition learn all you can about fitness and nutrition.
Here are some good sites to review.
Bodybuilding.com – tips on fitness, exercise videos, and nutrition advice.
MyFitnessPal.com – nutrition and exercise tracking.
Become Accountable from Now On – Track your Fitness and Nutrition Goals
You will have a lot more satisfaction and achieve your goals if you are accountable and track them. Tracking allows you to see where you need improvement. Tracking your workouts you will know when you can lift heavier weights. It can alert you to reasons why you may be gaining weight.
Try and use one of these ways to hold yourself accountable:
- Weigh yourself daily, or weekly.
- Take measurements.
- Use a phone app like Bodybuilding.com or MyFitnessPal.com
- Get a Body Fat percentage done.
- Look in the mirror, notice the changes in how your clothes fit.
Evaluate Progress and Make Changes Where Needed and Keep Doing It
Well if you recall, this is how I did things. And this is what worked for me. The reason it did was because I eased into this change to make it last. And I did each thing with purpose and design.
Then I learned about exercising and eating correctly and did my best to make the changes that were correct for me.
I failed at some things, and succeeded at others. But each time I took what worked and kept doing it and discarded what did not. Because of this I encourage you to do the same. This is your body, given to you at birth.
As a result it is the only one you will get so you know it better than anyone else. So listen to it, study it, and do what you can to treat it right.
Evaluate your progress and make the necessary changes where it is best. And make sure you continue to do this. Also re-evaluate, and change where needed. So try and notice during this process that your body is constantly changing.
And it is in this change that your body will continue to grow. If you stop changing things your progress may stagnate. So Keep at it! And remember you can do it!
My plan is now in full swing and I hit my first goal about 7 months in. I was down to 220 lbs. and about 25% body fat. Not bad I thought. But now I knew I could do this so I pushed even harder. I can really do this! It’s time to get serious and achieve a new goal.
I was excited and that comes from seeing results. So when its time you make new goals and constantly strive to improve. You know how and we will discuss how to keep doing it…
Now is the time to get serious and ramp it UP…
So we have jumped into our new lifestyle. We have taken it slowly getting used to lifting weights and being on cardio machines. Now you are ready for the next step.
Here is where we get serious, where the work is done. Where you will see the most gains.
Don’t worry it, it wont be easy. In fact it will be hard, you will have to lift more, sweat a lot, and eat well.
But it will all be worth it as you become a thinner, healthier, and stronger you.
So lets talk about ramping up your program. Lets setup a reasonable goal that can be achieved in a specific time frame. We will then revamp our exercise and nutrition plans and make sure they are in line with our goals. And finally we will ramp up our intensity in our workouts and blast the fat away.
Lets go…its time to get serious, and attack that fat!
First lets make a goal. Remember to make your goal a SMART one. We all know the acronym, and if you cannot remember it then look it up. Once you have the goal break it down into easy manageable tasks. Until you get down to one thing you can do per day in order to meet that goal.
Here is an example of a goal I made for myself:
- Get Down to 200 lbs and below 17% Body Fat in 12 months.
- At 6 Months check in at 225 lbs and 25% Body Fat.
- Monthly, make an exercise plan, and nutrition plan and track them on a phone app.
- Weekly lose about 1 pound on average.
- Daily, eat my calories and do my workout.
See it is pretty simple, if you break it down into one thing you can do each day. Then it was up to me to do these things each day to make my goal a reality. And guess what, the magic is that it works! I did the daily work and the weight came off.
I hit my weekly goal of a pound of weight loss per week. The monthly goals were met. I hit my 6 month goal. And in the end I obliterated my original goal by about 12 pounds.
The beauty about hitting a goal is that is so satisfying. When you see the progress you have made you want more. The pounds are flying off, clothes are fitting better, people are starting to notice.
I remember several people stopping me in the gym saying what a difference I have made in my body. That fueled me even more.
So I made a new goal. I believe goals are important. They give you something to achieve and work for. You can track it and see your progress. And you can celebrate when you achieve it.
Then start a new one! Imagine if you become goal oriented, achieve them, and start more. You will become and achiever rather than some poor soul wishing things would change.
So here is the next goal I made for myself:
Get down to about 12% body fat which when combined with my LBM (lean body mass) will put me at about 176 lbs. in 6 months.
- At 3 months check in at 180-185lbs, at 15% body fat.
- Each month make an aggressive high intensity exercise plan and a low fat diet plan.
- Weekly lost about .5lbs. per week while not losing any muscle or very little muscle.
- Daily – stay withing or slightly below my calorie intake and eat cleaner. 2 a day workouts with intensity.
Now is the time that I ramp it up. The last bit of weight will be the hardest because it is the stubborn fat that wants to hold on. Like a child clinging to its mothers leg the first day of school.
But this is it, the last bit of fat. I can hardly contain my excitement because I am so close.
It is amazing how everything gets exponentially harder and you have to ramp everything up. Intensity, motivation, dedication, and willpower have to be at their peak.
Right now I have just started this goal, and I am in the midst of this challenge. It is very difficult and each pound seems to come off agonizingly slower than the last. I find myself doing everything I can to keep my attention focused on my goal.
Sometimes I wonder if I can go on, but I have made it this far so hey, whats a little farther. This goal crap works and I have complete faith in it.
So as I trudge through this muddy bog of my final body transforming I am encouraged by the progress so far. I know that if I keep at it I will achieve my goal. So after you have acclimated to your new lifestyle don’t be afraid to ramp it up and go for it.
Set a great goal, one that will stretch you and is achievable. The go for it, and achieve it, then set a new on. I hope you can do it, I know you can do it. I did it, and it was a lot of hard work.
Try and go further and set a new goal, or…
Learn how to flourish in a maintenance phase.
Live your different life to the fullest.
This is me before I went on my second phase of my new goal. I am at about 200 lbs, 20% body fat, and I wear a size Large shirt (I can fit in some medium). My waist is a size 34, and I FEEL GREAT!
I have more energy, my outlook was better. I had my anxiety under control with less medication. And my relationships were blossoming.
All because I got my physical health under control and was able to focus my energy working on other vital areas in my life.
Now it is time to go to the next phase of my body transformation, so check out what I am up to in maintenance!
EXTRA – PLANNING NUTRITION
Develop a way to eat that is healthy and hits my nutrition goals. View our Nutrition Articles Here.
Know about the top 10 foods you should avoid.
Understand meal planning. See a Sample Meal Plan. And make a custom meal plan.
View a supplement guide to help with supplements you should use.
Learn how to shop and prepare foods.
Understand your relationship with food and how to look at food differently.
Remember to not deprive yourself all the time. Sometimes its OK to cheat.
And finally; learn when to eat, portion sizes, and frequency.
EXTRA – PLANNING EXERCISE
Develop an exercise routine that fits in with your lifestyle.
Lift weights and do HIIT cardio.
Live actively. Get lots of rest. Hydrate.
EXTRA – BREAK THROUGH PLATEAUS
What to do if you stopped losing weight.
Or are gaining weight.
How to fight off the feelings of not being motivated.
