What a Difference 365 Days Can Make!

Taken from my blog at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/the_quadfather/view/what-a-difference-365-days-can-make-757538







Wow… Wow… WOW!!!!!

I began my lifelong journey of physical fitness exactly 365 days ago today. Today, as I type this out, I am 50 lbs. less of a man than I was 1 year ago!

Along the way, I’ve picked up some partners in phyiscal fitness… some who are beginning their own journey, and some who simply inspire me on mine, thanks to their level of commitment and accomplishment in their personal training. The partner I’m most happy about joining me is my wife! She has recently renewed her commitment, and has frankly been knocking the cover off the ball! I’m so proud of you baby!

I am so thankful for those who have encouraged me and joined me along the way. We all need accountability and encouragement. Especially me!

If you follow me on various social media accounts, you’ve probably grown weary of hashtags from me like #KeepPushing, #NextLevel, #Phase2 or other terms. These have been more for my own personal accountability to the journey than anything else. For those of you who are annoyed, well, I guess I’m sorry? For those of you who have been encouraged, believe me, many of you are an encouragement to me as well!

I have been in maintenance mode on my weight for several months now, and I’ve added strength training to my regimen. It started out as all cardio and food logging, and then I added the strength training once I was about 80% of my 50 lb. goal on weight loss. That’s when #Phase2 began, sometime in January.


From here on out, I’ll post about it less on social media, but now, #Phase3 begins, which is simply the ongoing commitment to personal fitness.

This is about taking care of the body God has given me, and it’s about setting a great example for my family.

Folks, if I can do this, I really mean it… anyone can!

You DON’T need a gym membership (although we have since joined one), and you DON’T need to buy into some supplemental company’s pyramid scheme from your friends on facebook and twitter. If those will help you, great. I’m sure some of the products out their are legit, but NOTHING, not a personal trainer, not a shake, not a diet plan, or anything else will work until YOU decide to make a DAILY COMMITMENT to YOUR health.

I’m a big believer that you have to log every single piece of food you eat, even if you do it on a pad of paper, and you have to log every single exercise you do… and you HAVE to do it EVERY DAY.

Even on the days when you exceed your calorie goal. Really, it’s okay. It’s just accountability. Whether you CHOOSE to exceed or it genuinely happens by accident, log every salad, every piece of chicken, every hot dog and ice cream sammich. Log it all… every time. That way, you know where you’re at.

Oh, and you have to be honest about how much you’ve eaten and exercised. If anything, overestimate how many calories you’ve eaten, and underestimate the calories you’ve burned, because it’s WAY easier than you think to do the exact opposite and completely torpedo all of your efforts.

I have not been on a diet. I’ve eaten anything I want, but by logging, it makes me aware of where I’m at during the day. Most days, I log as soon as I eat or exercise, so that I know what I have left for the day. And, there have certainly been days that I decided to go run another mile or so, because I knew what I was going to be having for dinner that night ;-)

I never have a “cheat day.” Rather, I just log what I eat, and stay accountable. Most days, I’m right around my calorie goal… some days, I’m not. I’m ok with it either way, and the accountability just keeps me on track.

In terms of exercise, folks, I literally started out with just walking. That’s it. I gradually added some jogging, cycling in the basement, and other things along the way. Walking will absolutely get the job done on calorie burn though… you just have to be willing to log several miles per week. The weight loss is really more about eating less calories than you expend, so if you’re willing to cut back on food enough, you can actually lose all the weight you want without ever taking a single, solitary step on exercise. The exercise just gives you some cushion on what you can eat, and will help accelerate your weight loss.

Your weight loss will not be linear. It may look, according to that screenshot above, that I always lost weight. NOT TRUE! I only logged my weight on the days that I actually DID LOSE weight. On the days I gained back a pound or two, I just didn’t log those (I still logged my food and exercise every day though.) And, although I did weigh myself daily (and still do probably 3-4 times per week) I didn’t really worry whether one day was up or down…

Rather, I trusted the process. Trust the process of burning more than you eat, and YOU WILL lose weight, too. It’s just a mathematical fact for probably 99% of the population. It’s not your age, gender, this fad or that… Trust the process, and don’t look for a shortcut.

I’ve tried shortcuts… believe me… I know how tempting it can be when you’re desperate and without hope. The fact is, there is hope… Day by day. Make the decision each day, and if you have a “bad” day (I’ve had PLENTY over the past year) just get back up again the next day and keep on logging. Every. Single. Day. Before you know it, 365 days will have passed, and you might see something like this. Check out a few before and afters:

Before:








And now, AFTER!!!!!!!!!!







Guys and gals, I’m not selling a single, solitary thing here, except hard work, and personal commitment. Find your “why” for doing it, set short-term, achievable and realistic goals, and just keep building. Don’t even focus on the long-term goals at the outset. Just day by day. After you establish a pattern and habit of making it happen, say 6 to 8 weeks in, then you can start setting some mid-range goals, and then after, say, 6 months, it’s time to look longer term.

And log EVERY SINGLE THING YOU EAT. EVERY. SINGLE DAY.

And, log EVERY. SINGLE. WORKOUT.

Keep Pushing, my friends. Just keep pushing!

Blessings,

the_quadfather