Alright guys, I posted this in the
The Power an amazing physique has over women thread (not because I have an amazing physique yet but because just the mild changes I've made have had a significant affect on how people have viewed me) and I wanted to post over here in the Fitness section as well. This seems like the most appropriate thread even though I haven't really begun lifting (very minor bodyweight exercises) as I plan to add that in slowly.
I've have been encouraged by some of the members whe lift who are my friends off forum and I look forward to getting a quarter of their gains. Long post inbound:
A little over a year ago I'd gained a good bit of weight due to injury and not being motivated to do any significant exercise. I also let my eating habits get worse and worse over time (they were never super strict but it's easy to add way too many sugary foods and too much carbs, etc...).
Had some challenges in life and watched someone close to me lose a ton of weight by turning their diet around nearly 100% (but still maintaining a very sedentary lifestyle). It has been inspiring watching them lose weight and at some point I decided I was going to improve my weight/body. In the past I've tried going full bore/cold turkey (like this person did diet-wise) but usually I'd slip and end up back where I started (a common diet/exercise issue for many people) but this time I decided I was going to stick to it by making minimal/incremental changes, make them a habit, and try to slowly ramp them up instead of making any drastic changes.
I started out really slow, so the changes were fairly minimal, but I was slowing down on sugar intake, SLOWLY drinking less, and starting to change the foods I'd order out as well as how much of them I'd eat. This made a big difference and I lost nearly 5% of my starting body weight (mostly in extra fat). I started out slow on the exercise end, throwing in a random bike ride or 2 sets of 10-15 pushups (I'm really weak) or a few sets of situps. I started running around on the sand again and throwing in a random bodysurfing session.
As my sand legs came back, I was able to start going harder and playing more games. I slowly was able to jump a little as muscles grew slightly and fat started lessening. I still wasn't doing much if any body-weight exercises but did throw them in here and there. I started freediving a little bit and felt like I could get decent at that again.
I'd go out with friends and instead of 2+ huge discounted beers I'd order 1. I'd tell the waitress "no" and do a karate chop down my front-side indicating that 1 is all I get in order to shrink the belly. I'd order only the healthier items on the mostly fattening/sugary menus and when they'd come I'd eat slowly and save half or close to it for later.
I avoided a lot of sweets. I had moments where I'd slip up, but the slow and steadily increasing change worked far better for me. Instead of drinking a lot, I drank a lot of water. The weight readout on the scale slowly inched it's way down (when I bothered to check it), but more importantly I felt better and this motivated me to do longer exercise and start intermittent fasting in time periods where I was sedentary while working.
There's a lot of "I" in what I've written above. There's been a lot of encouragement from others once they could see a big change, but that big change came from checking myself. Checking in with a group of friends from time to time (and more as the weight started to really come off), but mostly just trying to control myself, really free myself to be who I want to be and keeping myself accountable. Being happy taking small steps and sticking with them even though results were slow to materialize.
Now most people who haven't seen me in a while (or even in a month) comment on how skinny I look (how much lighter I look). It's not embarrassing anymore to have my shirt off even next to the most jacked/ripped of dudes on the beach because I know I'm so much better than where I was, that I'm better than average, and that I'm still improving.
I don't have a static 6-pack but I have a start to that definition when I flex. My chest isn't full but it no longer droops dad-bod style. My love handles are far smaller, and that V that forms at the bottom of your stomach down actually exists again. Women touch my stomach and chest far more than ever before. Many people are amazed and ask, "how did you do it?" and don't quite believe it when I tell them the incremental changes I've made. Spending time outdoors has given me a nice tan which reflects the weight loss even more.
The scale reads ~12% lighter from my starting body weight and a large part of that has come off in a period of less than 6 months without any real weight training, mostly cardio-based exercise and slowly getting my food intake in a much better place. I've slipped recently in the last couple of weeks but am catching myself. Tonight I'll bulk buy a bunch of healthy food and get right back where I was.
I haven't been this light on a scale in a decade. I look forward to these incremental changes continuing into a physique I'll be even happier with. A body that will serve my interests best with the added benefit of it's effect on women I'd date, but also on people in general. Even a half decent physique that wouldn't land you a photo shoot or even an amazing Tinder profile picture will still turn heads, especially if they've seen you prior to the improvement.
