My transformation w/pics (168 lbs gone)

I thought I would share with you my story of a lifestyle change/makeover. If you have spent any time on these kinds of sites you have read your share of stories and it becomes sort of cliché or redundant but the simple truth is, the recipe for success is pretty cut and dry and works every time its tried if a person is consistent and committed so I suppose I am no different. The short version is I was fat and in poor health and now I am fit and leaner and in the best health of my adult life.

Now the long version. In June of last year (2012) there was a trailer/display setup in the parking lot at the office where I work at so I walked over to see what the fuss was about. It turns out they were pricking fingers to check for diabetes. Like most work places ours is on a wellness kick and offers these awareness opportunities. Having no recollection of the last time I had been tested and since I was there, I offered them my finger and then watched a diabetes awareness video while I waited for the results. An A1C test result of 5% means you are not at risk of diabetes, a result of 7% or more means you are diabetic. Sadly mine came back at 6.7%.

I was on the doorstep of type 2 Diabetes and having older relatives with type 2, I knew I wanted nothing to do with that. The folks in the truck told me the local YMCA and my employer were jointly offering a 17 week diabetes awareness/action class at no charge, on site and during my work day. They made it so easy I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. The class was to begin in 3 months.

On Sept 20th, I attended the first class and was greeted with a scale. The results were grim. I weighed 365 pounds (165 Kg) and I had a 50 inch waist size. The focus was of course on healthy eating, exercise and a goal of losing 7% of your current body weight as that has shown to reduce the onset of type 2 diabetes. That meant losing 25 pounds but I knew my personal goal was to lose much more. I set as a goal to lose 165 pounds to get down to 200 Lbs.

My starting stats were

Age: 48
Weight: 365 pounds (166 Kg)
Height: 5 foot 11
BMI: 51
Body fat percent: 51%
Waist size: 50 inches
Shirt size: 4 XL
Bad knees (bone spurs and arthritis in both)



I did the right thing and checked with my doctor and told him my plans and had a health check including blood work. My employer provides a fitness center (also on site) that I planned to use to help me drop the weight and get fit. I didn’t have a time frame for reaching my goal weight and knew such folly is ripe with disappointment so I resisted setting myself up for failure with a date I couldn’t possibly guess at. It took years to get this out of shape so I couldn’t expect to get fit in a speedy fashion. One day and one step at a time became the motto backed up with “no bull**** excuses” and using the “ELMM” diet which stands for Eat Less Move More.

I visited the fitness center 5 days a week after work and reduced my calorie intake considerably. Not surprisingly, it worked, I took in less calories than I used in a day and began dropping weight through lots of cardio. My goal was to start strength training/weight lifting but the Doc said to drop 100 pounds before getting underneath a barbell. I didn’t care for this prescription but I obliged and daily used the treadmill and the stationary bike and ate less while eating better quality food than I had been eating in the past. I was losing fat and I know I was losing lean tissue as well.

It was tough at first but we all know a road with no obstacles probably doesn’t lead anywhere. Wisconsin winters are long and cold but daily I worked out at the indoor facility and during Oct, Nov, Dec, January and Feb I watched the snow fly through the big windows of the fitness center from the belt of the treadmill. During that time I used a website called my fitness pal to track everything I ate and all the workouts I did. I was very conscious of my nutrition macros and every 3 months I had blood work done to ensure I was getting proper nutrition and I shopped and cooked some great food because I am not a rice cake and celery guy. If this is to be a habit forming lifestyle commitment that I am to sustain I have to eat foods I like. Everything is on the table (literally) because I know denial leads to withdrawal and cheating and failure. The same is true of working out. Consistency is key. Not skipping workouts is key.

During this process I gave up only one thing and that was Soda, (pop) including diet sodas. My dentist thanked me as well. Everything else was fair game but in moderation. Exactly 5 months later (late Feb), I had meet the doctors requirement of losing 100 pounds (45.3 Kg) before I could start lifting weights. Sadly when we lose weight we don’t just lose fat, we lose muscle and other important things and since I was not doing any strength training that’s exactly what happened. I was lighter (but still fat) but I was far weaker than I cared to be. At nearly 50 years old I was already losing muscle just because of my age so my weight loss and no strength training only compounded my loss of strength and condition. I was just plan weak.

As I approached the 100 pound weight loss mark I began building my home gym. I had months to assemble a home gym. I got a couple of Olympic barbells and 700 Lbs of cast iron plates and built a lifting cage and a few cable machines so I could work out at home. The plan was to lift weights on Mon, Weds, Friday and Sunday and use the fitness center for cardio on Tues and Thurs. While I was building the gym waiting to reach the goal weight to starting weight training I searched for a weight lifting program for an old, out-of-shape and weak 50 year old with no real knowledge of how to properly lift weights without injuring my old, weak self. I needed a beginner program so I didn’t end up hurting myself by lifting wrong or starting with too much weight.

I discovered stronglifts 5x5. 5 x 5 in a linier progressive strength training for beginners and since I hadn’t touched a barbell in about 30 years, I qualified as a beginner. The 5 x 5 program centers around 5 lifts, Squat, Dead lift, Bench press, Overhead press and bent over barbell rows. In short, you start with an empty bar (which weighs 45 Lbs) and every time you lift you add 5 pounds. The goal is to lift light as you learn to lift right and because I was weak as hell, starting light was a good move. As I lifted through March, April, May and June I continued to lose weight and I kept adding weight to the bar as the lifts increased. From a weight loss standpoint, at no time did I stall or plateau or gain any weight. Every week was a steady weight loss. My strength was returning but not as fast as I would hope but that’s understandable since I was on a caloric deficit. Even though I was taking in lots of protein, in terms of my progression in lifting weights, I was trying to both lose weight while gaining strength which runs counter to one another.

When I started lifting I wanted to at least establish how much I could bench press. (it’s a guy thing) Sadly I could only bench 125 Lbs (57 Kg). I had never squatted before and really struggled. I recall how sore I was after squatting the empty bar 25 times. I was sore for a week. The other lifts were not a problem except for my lack of strength.

My beginning stats after losing 100 pounds and starting the 5x5 program

Weight: 265 pounds (120.2 Kg)
Height: 5 foot 11
BMI: 37
Body fat percent: 38%
Waist size: 42 inches
Shirt size: 2XL

Squat: 0 Lbs
Bench: 125 Lbs
Row: 0 Lbs
Deadlift: 0
Overhead press: 0

I began lifting and was sore as hell but stuck with it. I was still focused on weight loss so my daily calorie goal was 1,400. This is low and not conducive to making strength gains but my primary goal was fat loss and my secondary goal was strength gains so I stuck with the caloric deficit and slowly built up my strength. A few months in I increased my calorie intake to 1600 daily. Now as I write this, 6 months have elapsed.

My stats after 6 months on the 5x5 program

Weight: 197 pounds (89.3 Kg)
Height: 5 foot 11
BMI: 27
Body fat percent: 17%
Waist size: 34 inches
Shirt size: Medium


Squat: 220 Lbs
Bench: 180 Lbs
Row: 140 Lbs
Deadlift: 310 Lbs
Overhead press: 115 Lbs

During this time I increased my calorie intake to 1600 because I was working out 10 hours a week. The fat was still coming off and the strength was increasing steadily. When I reached my original goal body weight of 200 Lbs. (91 Kg) I reevaluated and changed my goal body weight to 190 Lbs. (86.2 Kg). I don’t know what my new caloric intake will be when I reach my goal weight and have to eat more to stop losing weight. That will take a bit of trial and error to find a maintenance caloric intake. Im hoping this will aid me in lifting more and increased strength during workouts.












Its clear the strength training is paying off in multiple ways. I was losing weight and gaining strength. I was NOT putting on tens pounds of muscle (although that would have been nice) But at nearly 50 years old and eating light I am happy not to be losing the 3% of muscle a year that older folks tend to lose. I credit lifting with my lack of loose skin. I still have some loose skin but suspect I would have had more loose skin and lack of muscle tone had I not lifted weights. I look forward to the changes I will see over the next 6 months and the 6 months after that.

Don’t give up. Let the success of others motivate you. If I can do it you can too.