365 Days | 52LBS Lost | 265 --> 213 | BOOYAH!

I really don't know how to put this out there without it sounding somewhat braggy, but I'm damned proud of where I am right now physically. I've lost a total of 52 pounds in a year. That's a pound a week for a full freakin' year. It's still sort of surreal, but the realization of what I've done and where I'm going is starting to set in. But now is not the time to get cocky.

TLDR Version of this post
- Lost 52 pounds in a year, from 265 --> 213lbs.
- I have 33 pounds to go and I'm still losing weight.
- I ate below my maintenance calorie numbers.
- I weighed and measured my food near religiously.
- I exercised both aerobically and anaerobically. (More heavy lifting than anything these days.)
- I got advice from successful people instead of those who were failing.
- I'm winning.

- I did not have perfect days every day.
- I did not completely give up for the day when I went over.
- I did not quit.

Now for everyone's favorite part: PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!

Here's the first comparison. This is the only pic I have of me at my heaviest, 265. And next to it, me in the same shirt and pants today at 213.



Now here's the SHIRTLESS before and afters of my program with SideSteel. (More on the SideSteel program later.) If shirtless fat guy pics bug you then don't look.

Front Unflexed 4/25/2013 - 8/30/2013


Side Unflexed 4/25/2013 - 8/30/2013


Back Unflexed 4/25/2013 - 8/30/2013


Front Flexed 4/25/2013 - 8/30/2013


Back Flexed 5/23/2013 - 8/30/2013


Random Personal Point of Selfish Pride:
BW: 213
Weight: 916 lbs
Wilks: 256.524

calculated/tested 1rm:
bench: 195 lbs
Squat: 251 lbs (Still working on form.)
Deadlift: 315 lbs
OHP: 155 lbs

wilks score 256.524 (916 @ 213)

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As if this wasn't long enough already, now this is the story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside down and I'd like to take a minute just sit right there. I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel-Air. In west Philadelphia born and raised. On the playground where I spent most of my days. Chilling out, maxing, relaxing all cool, and all shooting some b-ball outside of the school. When a couple of guys, they were up to no good, started making trouble in my neighborhood. I got in one little fight and my mom got scared, and said "You're moving with your auntie and uncle in Bel-air". I whistled for a cab and when it came near the license plate said "fresh" and had dice on the mirror. If anything I could say that this cab was rare, but I thought nah, forget it, yo homes to Bel-air! I pulled up to a house about seven or eight and I yelled to the cabby "Yo, homes smell you later!" I looked at my kingdom I was finally there to sit on my throne as the prince of Bel-Air. And that's probably the most important part of this entire post.

A year ago I started doing some simple cardio and registered with MFP. I logged every day. I did cardio three times a week for 30 minutes or more. Right out of the gate I started losing weight. Everything was going fine. I lost about 30-35 pounds in just a few months. Then Thanksgiving hit and I found remembered how delicious ham was. I stalled. I stalled hard. I mean brick freakin' wall hard. I'm talking cold fusion rocket surgery hard. But I kept on trying. I kept fighting myself. I blindly followed the MFP numbers and thought I tracking appropriately. I logged in every day and tracked my food and exercise every day. This went on for about five months. I was rather frustrated to say the least. Five months stalled.

Then, one day out of the blue, an MFP user that I'm friends with, Beatrixia, mentioned that some guy named SideSteel was going to try out some free online 12 week fitness program and I should probably apply. So, I applied, and because of my dashing good looks and boyish charm, I was graciously accepted to join his pilot program for online personal training. That's when I started taking the pictures. It's also where I kicked it into overdrive, started losing weight again and gained more control over my weight and fitness than I ever realized I had. After the 12 weeks were up I continued working with him and today is pretty much graduation day for me. So what happened to me physically in the time I've been working with him? Let me use his words:

Big Congrats to Jeremy (aakaakaak) on completing a full year of weight loss. I believe his total loss will clear 52lbs over a year which puts him at 1lb/week. That includes a stall that lasted 3-4 months if I recall correctly, as he was stuck around 235 when he and I started working together on this project. He's hovering around 213 as of now. Since he and I started together, he's gone from 235 to 213 with the following measurement changes: Waist: From 45" down to 40" for a 5 inch loss. Chest: From 43" to 41" for a two inch loss. Hips: 45" down to 42" for a 3 inch loss. He went from being "intimidated" by the weights section of the gym, to barbell squatting, deadlifting, bench pressing, and overhead pressing. He can do multiple bodyweight pullups. He's deadlifted over three-bills. He has this samurai hairdo that makes bishes swoon. It's been awesome working with Jeremy and I have no doubt that he's going to take this "fitness thing" as far as he wants. Congrats Jeremy, you really kicked some *kitten* sir.

Seeing it all like that gives me feels.

So what did he change with what I'd been doing? Not too horribly much to be honest....but it was a whole lot. He adjusted my intake and made me independent upon myself to know my own body instead of trusting an arbitrary site to spoon feed me information. He pointed out what was truth and what was crap related to dieting. He got my butt into the weight room and set up a progressive overload lifting plan outside of any specific program. Don't get me wrong, many of the programs out there are really good. We just went a different route. He taught me how to get around the gym, from the machines to barbell squats and deadlifts. We started out slowly with just a few machines, then added some reps, sets and weights. Then we moved to dumbbells and away from the machines and by the end of the second month I was almost hulking on him to let me do barbell lifts. Somewhere in the middle of the dumbbell work was where my mind just snapped from shy and reluctant in the gym to "YOU CAN'T STOP ME!" The fear broke down and learning proper form, fitting all the body parts in, and watching numbers go up took over. I started to like hitting the gym instead of seeing it as a chore I had to endure. It became mostly fun.

If you'd like to see my progress in lifting from start to finish you can view it here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ArWDeq36mQX6dDc2eEtZOFplRExyYnd6R28wS3dCRnc&usp=sharing

Just a note here: I don't want to sound like lifting heavy is the only way to get fit. It's not. It's the way I did it, and am still doing it. If you absolutely loathe the weight room, but have another way to do anaerobic exercise then do it to your heart's content.

Diet wise, he increased my protein intake and cut back my carb intake. It's not that he's some "low carb zealot. I was pretty low on protein and my muscles simply wouldn't have grown like they have if I didn't. Surprisingly, this wasn't as hard a transition as I thought it was going to be. I could probably fit more carbs in most days, but now that I've gotten used to it I sort of prefer less carbs. Alternatively, you can look at SideSteel or Sarauk2sf diaries and see pop tarts and ice cream on a fairly frequent basis. (Sara is currently cutting and I "think" Sidesteel is nearing the end of a bulk, but both can fit in their sweet tooth.) They fit it into their diary, just like I do, just like everyone else who succeeds does.

I know I've already made this an omnibus, but I could go on and on about the little pieces and parts that I've learned since meeting SideSteel. More than him simply telling me what's right or wrong he pointed me in the direction of figuring it out for myself and putting me back on the path to "lightenment" when I wasn't quite right. Taking control of yourself is really what this diet and exercise thing is all about. It's not a bunch of numbers. Its not about lifting heavy instead of marathon running. It's not about eating good foods over bad foods. It's not even about macronutrients or calories. Really, it's all about taking control of yourself. It's one of the most powerful feelings when you know that, over time, you can make your body do whatever you want it to do.

Thank you SideSteel. (And Sarauk2sf. She's been the woman behind the scenes and the one I try to out-lift every time I hit the gym.)