Committing to Change

ToBeAStrongerMan

Hello world.

I have been using the mobile version of MFP consistently for about 7 weeks, and as a diet tracker, and calorie counting tool, it has helped me a lot. Sooo, to try and give back to a community which has helped me so much, I have decided to try and start contributing back to the community and share a little bit about how I took my first step to a healthier life.

So here's my story...... I am 24 years of age, and for the larger part of my adult life, I have been overweight, and I have no one else to blame for it but myself. Looking back at my short time on earth, it has reduced the quality of my life, and have prevented me from pursuing a number of activities, whether it be due to fitness or being too self conscious about my body image. For me, losing the weight is about improving my quality of life, and becoming the best that I can be...

About 1 year ago, one of the supervisors at work asked me to commit to myself, and start taking my health seriously - he wanted me to join him on his 4am gym sessions..... At this stage I had just joined a gym, but went sparingly, and at best I joined so that I had another excuse to eat poorly and drink in excess. After multiple invitations, I finally gave in..... to be honest he didn't give me much room to back out either, beeping at my door at 3:50am sharp until I came out :P I didn't know it then, but looking back, that was the day where in light of all of the stresses of everyday life, I was starting to put my health first..... My poor diet and drinking habits continued, but I persisted with the gym routine, and although I wasn't losing any weight, I was getting stronger, and my perception of the gym change from being a drudgery to being a positive, rewarding experience.

I don't believe that as human beings, big changes can happen overnight. I do believe however, that small progressive changes can manifest into great and wonderful things, and for me, committing to that ridiculously early gym routine was my first step to a healthier life. I won't lie, there were some days that I was 50 minutes late to a 1 hour training session.... and others where I didn't show up at all... But overtime, I became more consistent, and I stuck to it.

Fast forward one year, and now I am a gym addict, and taking the next serious step in my health, my diet.

At my heaviest, I was 105kg (227lb) , and for the most part, my weight has fluctuated between 95kg (209lb) and 105kg (231lb). For someone at 174cm, that puts my BMI at 31 and in the obese category... Now I know that BMI can be inaccurate for athletes and the super fit and muscular, but for the majority of the populous it gives us a sound indication of what a healthy weight for us could be. 75kg (165lb) would just put me in the healthy weight range.

My first goal is to get to 85kg (187lb) , and I am currently at 92kg (203lb). Most of this weight loss has been down to diet, coupled with an aggressive exercise regime. Once I hit 85kg, I will reassess whether or not I need to drop a little more.... I am fairly muscular, and lucky in that I can almost put on muscle just looking at barbells :P
.
So there you have it, that's my little spill.

Would love to have some more people to follow :P so if ur OK with me stalking your food diary, and vice versa, send me a msg or post below I also heavily use fitocracy, so feel free to add me there as ManOnaMission.

All the best.
M