Non gym goers, show me your results!

19.3 kg down in 3 month and 8 days. Lost 6" from waist.
Stationary biking and walk only.

I do everything in my basement though I did go to Curves for less than a year.
I have pics on my profile...

Here's pictures of me at different points in my life.

In the Army, sometime in 1995. Never used a gym. Pushups, situps, leg lifts, bicycles, squats, lunges, running, sprints .... working hard every day, etc. I weigh about 160 here, can run 2 miles in under 12 minutes and do 80 pushups and 80 situps each in 2 minutes.

On stage receiving an award last April. I weigh 218 and, as I found out shortly, I could barely run 1 mile without stopping and walking. I'm the one in the middle who can't button his suit jacket and my tie sticks out funny cause of my belly.


So, I saw that picture (plus some really bad doctor's visits where I was essentially told I was going to die young) and started making changes. I changed my nutrition to low carb. And I added exercise. Just running and walking first.

Here I am in Nov, 2012 after 4 months. I have lost 20 lbs and can now run 2 miles without stopping. I could button this jacket, but I hadn't cause it was still a bit tight. Notice that my face isn't puffy fat and and the tummy is going away.

Now, here I am yesterday, 2/12/2013. In late January I was able to run 2 miles in 18 minutes, 30 seconds ... that's 1 full minute faster than the minimum physical fitness standard of the Army for a man my age! And I was down to 191 lbs (a 27 lb loss, total). I started Tony Horton's Power90 (not P90X, that's next). I snapped this pic with my phone at work cause I suddenly realized I was buttoning this coat comfortably. I last was able to do that in 2006, as I recall.

sorry ladies, no pics without my shirt on. I have those, but they are for my personal motivation and to keep me from quitting.

I had two children in rapid succession in my late 30's. My youngest is 5, now and I saw a picture of myself at her birthday party in August and thought, "Wow. I'm a fat girl. If I were to describe me, I'd say the blond lady, kinda heavy-set." Never again.

I started MFP, made some friends and drafted a few more. By December, I'd lost 18 pounds. Here we are in February and I'm down 25! I am in slow loss mode. I'd like to lose 8 more by Summer. We have such a busy schedule that I simply don't have time to exercise in ernest (I used to be a training junkie), so this has been perfect. If I can find the pictures, I'll post them (I think I subconsciously destroyed them, however).

This has been an amazing experience. I am so grateful not to hate looking in the mirror!

Check my profile. Mainly suspension training, good nutritional habits, and jump rope for cardio.

The top three decisions I've made regarding my fitness:

1) Beginning exercise.

2) Joining a gym.

3) Quitting the gym.

Joining the gym was great. I was exposed to a variety of exercise and machines that I wouldn't have done otherwise. I got to try out the elliptical (hated it), stationary bike (hurt my bum), recumbent bike (much more *kitten*-friendly), arc-trainer (form of torture), and treadmill (good at the time). It's what got my started on heavy strength training, even if I was only using machines at the time.

It's what gave me the confidence to say, "I'd rather buy free weights for home and do all my running outside."

I quit the gym in July 2012.

Here's my progress photos, after getting a little below my goal weight in July of 2011 (only doing cardio and very light strength training), after a year of strength training on machines, and after just four months of lifting at home with free weights.



If I could have afforded a better gym (than Planet Fitness) that had free weights, and was more conveniently located, I would have stuck with it. And maybe if I were more sociable and liked exercising with people, a gym would be a better choice. But I'm a hermit by nature and like my alone-time. Having a home gym completely eliminated my excuses for not exercising. There's ALWAYS time to go outside for a quick run or upstairs to lift weights. And I don't need to shower or shave my legs or comb my hair first.

Wow! You are so inspiring! I hate the gym and machines and do cardio and light weights at home and I was wondering if that was enough. But you've prooved me that its enough!!

Thanks for sharing!

You misunderstand. She doesn't do light weights. She does heavy lifting. As in 100+ lbs of weight for some exercises.

no lifting , so I'm all skinny now, and for some reason my belly is fatter in this pic. Might be the wine.

I started on 02/24/12 at 247 pounds, with a BMI of 38.8. I was unable to stand up straight or walk the entire length of my house. It wasn't just the weight I had gained, I also have/had arthritis in my lower back, as well as asthma. I started out doing light exercise at home, along with eating properly. I couldn't even walk 2 minutes, at first, but I kept pushing myself harder, as the days went by. Before I knew it, I had built myself up to 5 minutes, 7 minutes, 15, 30, 60, 90. Now, almost a year later, I hike and snowshoe all over beautiful Washington state. I can't recall the last time I needed my inhaler and my back only bothers me if I really overdo it now. Also, I have managed to lose 92 pounds and my BMI is down to 24.4. I'm 5' 7" tall and I'll be 56 years old in a couple months.

Not one time did I set foot in a gym, until 2 weeks ago. I have decided that I want to build more muscle than I can attain with my home equipment. So, now I go to the gym 5 times a week and I absolutely love it. The picture shows me on day 1 (Crappy cell phone photo) and last week.

If I can do it, anyone can. The most important thing for me has been my mindset. I can do anything that I think I can do. I can't do anything that I think I can't do. I think I can do anything I want, so I do. The mind is a powerful thing. You have to believe in yourself or you set yourself up to fail. Good luck to you! :happy:

Very Inspiring Thread. The only thing is the ratio of pics to non pics posts made me wonder if there is some correlation between people who do not join gyms and people who do not post pics. This thread was definitely light on the pic's. Wonder why?

I hate getting my picture taken- when I was fat I REALLY didnt want my picture taken so I dont really have many "before" pictures. I am a very private person so I dont post my pictures all over the internet either. Being a private person is probably the reason that I dont like gyms either.

Nice work, lookin' good!!!

Age:33
Height: 5'4
SW:221
CW:168
GW: 140

I don't own a gym membership and only paid for the YMCA here twice in 9 months (wanted to use their indoor track because it was raining). I lost 53 pounds with sticking to my daily calories on MFP and walking 3 to 5 miles at least 4 days a week. I do Leslie Sansone Walk-At-Home DVDs now that it's snowing and have recently started lifting heavy with free weights. I love working out at home! :drinker:

No gym here. I have 2 young kids, so I had to figure out an alternative.
I do all my strength training at home! I have a barbell & free weights . Recently just purchased a bench so I have somewhere to place my barbell, it also has a leg developer & preacher curl pad.
I'd much rather get what I need and do my workout routine in the comfort of my home

And I don't need to shower or shave my legs or comb my hair first.

Haha good point!! XD

This is me at 183 and size 14. My highest was 190 but no pics. I did 30 Day Shred, Insanity, P90X, and currently Body Beast. I'm also training for my first half marathon.



Me at 149 and size 8

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Taken before beginning 30DS.