As I have gotten older over the years my work shirts have gotten smaller and smaller, and as they got to tight to wear(button security ya know) they have naturally filtered into size order from left-to-right in my closet as I bought more to fit. From X-large to 2X to 3X. About 16 months ago the 3X were getting pretty tight, plus some other things, gave me the kick in the ass to really do something about it.
I threw away my scale, because in the past the number inexplicably moving the wrong way has killed all motivation, and wrecked the effort. So this time I just focused on doing what I needed to do without detailed tracking. (Other than my belt hole moving and replacing with a new belt).
But today, while doing some closet cleaning, I decided to check. And most of the XL even fit fine now. Only the three smallest while buttoned are taut but not strained.
Sorry, but I had to brag a bit to someone ;),It’s a great feeling to know there has been real progress since it’s hard to have perspective on yourself when every day you get out of the shower noticing how much there still is to get rid of.
I saw a woman at the gym this morning that I hadn’t seen in maybe six months.
I went over to talk to her, and she spread her arms wide to indicate my shoulders and said “HUGE muscles!” (they’re not, but I have put on some size/definition over the last few months) it felt good to have it noticed!
Not much movement on the scales but the walking is definitely having an impact on fitness. We went to the Royal Horse Show at Windsor Castle in the weekend and stayed at the next town over. I found myself suggesting that we walk to the show (about a one hour walk) which we did - both there and back! That alone was 7.2 miles and I’m sure we covered at least another mile at the show itself. Not only that, but I had done 25,000 steps the day before and usually I’d need a day “off” walking to recover but it was no problem at all.
The one annoyance was that I forgot to put my fitbit on so no idea how many steps it was!
Finding comfortable shoes has made a big difference, I think. I wear Sketchers Go Walk slip-ons and they are just amazingly comfortable. My walking used to be limited by when I became footsore but now I find it’s my leg muscles that give up before my feet.
I finally got a membership in the neighborhood gym and have started going. I still have to force myself to go over there, but always feel better when I come out. Jeans have gotten snug, so I have to get back on the food wagon.
I’m doing a pre-contest diet with my gf. Im not actually competing but she really wanted to try it, so im doing it with her. Its been just over a week now and I’m fucking tired. The first week is always the worst.
Way to go, wolfman! I know exactly how great that feels.
I had to do a health assessment in January - vitals, measurement around the waist, blood pressure. The official result, in cool medicalese terminology, was “Fatty boom-batty. A real blubbernaut, yo.” If I wanted to keep my Health Credit, I had to join Weight Watchers.
So I did, and amazingly, it has worked. I’m down from 243 to 209 - just nine pounds to go to hit my goal weight. Best of all, since I am so incredibly vain, I’m down one pants size and three holes in the belt. Boy, that’s a great feeling, innit?
I’m 38 years old, and I sort of figure that I have a “last gasp” of getting in really good shape before I turn 40 (and it all goes to hell…:D). I started working out when I was 16, and was really into bodybuilding for 5 years. The next 3 were pretty wayward, and I’ve been off and on since.
I joined a local gym April 5th, and I’ve been going consistently, 4 times a week, ever since. I know how to work my muscles, and I focus on basic barbell and dumbbell exercises. I’m also eating really well (6 meals a day, nutrient dense, no junk - right now, I’m munching on 3 scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast with all natural peanut butter, and an apple; I’m be eating quinoa and chicken in a few hours…).
The results are really showing; muscles have memory. My arms and legs get big fast, so I’m enjoying it (if I knew how to post a pic, I would).
The hardest part is how incredibly weak I am. I was never all that strong (weak joints), and I am trying to really focus on form to ward off injury (I’ve done lots of that in my past), but benching 115 pounds is tough on the ole’ ego.
Everyone likes to move heavy weights, but you are much better off doing lighter weights with strict form and full range of motion than lots of weight sloppily.
I shake my head when I see some guys load up the incline leg press and then bounce it 2", hyperextending their knees each time. I feel like taking half the weights off, and then asking them if they want to do a set with me, full reps, with their quads touching their chest…
No, I meant I don’t know how to get a pic on my phone onto a website. It’s no biggie…I prefer the anonymity, anyway.
I was in on Saturday, and it was all I could do to not go up to a few people and say, “What are you trying to do? Cause that’s not how you do it.” But I mind my own business.
As of this morning, I’ve lost 15 lbs since March 19th. I’m also fitting into clothes which didn’t fit last summer, so I am very excited. I’m still planning to lose another 5-10 lbs, then maintain.
Congrats!
That’s a lot of weight to lose in four months.
I’m down 5 lbs or so since last month, and the scale says my B.F. is down 2% over the same timeframe. I’ve been doing these grueling workouts with my partner, and getting good results. Trying to eat more protein and fewer carbs. If I can continue on this trend, I’ll be very happy…
Thanks! I’ve done it by reducing my carbs and upping my protein, similar to you. My big hurdle right now is that I have been sidelined by a hip injury, so I haven’t been working out. I had a cortisone injection this week and hopefully that will put me back at the gym soon. I don’t even care so much about the number on the scale as I do about how I look and feel, and I definitely feel better with the heavy workouts you’re talking about.
OK. This was taken a few weeks ago.
It’s a workout pic that shows what kind of work my partner and I are doing.
We are getting a reputation as the “crazy abs guys” at the gym.
join gym: nope. The one I liked is in the other end of town, the ones nearby have “housewife” hours.
join archery club: yep. Need to go more often but hey, every time I go I spend a little less time remembering how to assemble the bow and a little longer shooting arrows.
eat right: yep. Benefits at the new job include “restaurant tickets” which are mostly going unused, but I reckon that eating right is more important than eating paid-by-my-employer We can use the tickets in any restaurant or bar that accepts them, on any day, and I can pay for more than one meal, so all the eating-out I do gets paid with them.
lose weight: yep! All the weight I’d gained in the last two years, some 10kg :smack: While I’d like to lose a little more, I’m now within my normal range. Given that the only negative thing doctors could tell me in my checkup back in January was “you may want to look into losing weight”, hey, now I count as the very image of health!
Hit my goal weight yesterday! At least, for a while - it was after a run, and before I’d eaten anything, but still, the scale said 199. In any case, I’m wearing a new pair of jeans that are three sizes lower than my old ones.
I was at 202 on my last weigh-in day, so I’m hoping to officially hit my goal on my next weigh-in this Friday. If I do, that will be 43 pounds since the beginning of February.
We can use the tickets in any restaurant or bar that accepts them, on any day, and I can pay for more than one meal, so all the eating-out I do gets paid with them.