The Big Push: Six Months In —
As per previous entries, I have been going to a gym and generally trying to improve myself physically, to make up for a 16 year slackfest that may have actually turned me into human Silly Putty were I not to have tried and stop the slide.
So here we are, nearly six months in. I made reference to being a sexy little pineapple by this point, all things being equal.
Well, I’m likely not a sexy little pineapple by most standards, but compared to how I was, things are a lot better. Drugs have brought my blood pressure from the “hypertensive” level to deep into “normal”. My acidity level of my blood is way down, and in fact I’m seeing a specialist about my kidneys so I avoid spending too many more “screaming at the moon” evenings in my future.
Weight is steady, strangely, although I definitely have significantly more muscle mass. Crap doesn’t just snap into a new shape so parts of me have something obviously muscular going on underneath Not So Muscular.
But what has definitely happened is I feel better. I feel healthier and I feel stronger. I added weight training to my regimen, and this past week, I added the Elliptical trainer into the mix. I couldn’t have imagined being able to lift, run, or move the way I can now, say, a year ago. Improvement has happened.
I am not going to fill this entry with endless details of my techniques, thoughts and theories. All I can say is that in five months, I’ve made something that wasn’t so good into something good. I will try to soon make it something great. The single most important thing has been making a decision and sticking with it.
So hurrah.
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Congrats! You’ve easily past the biggest hurdle and now it seems like you’ll be at it for much longer (technically, it should be a lifestyle really). I was in the same boat, really – getting older, gaining weight, new job, kid, etc. I needed to do something and soon! It was worth it in the end and I’m glad I stuck through it (even during the lulls where I swear nothing changed for months).
I previously used an 8 week weight training/cardio regimen from a professional trainer at http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1140463 (The Waterbury Summer Project). It was amazing, if a bit daunting at first. I highly recommend it once you’re comfortable with using weights. Someone created PDFs of the workout schedule (they’re on the last page of the discussion/comments) – very useful.
Take care and I’m glad it’s working out! Hurrah indeed.
FYI: I’ve found that diet has a much greater effect on weight change than exercise.
I agree completely with beoba, if the diet isn’t there, then nothing will change… Not that I’m saying T-Nation is the greatest of websites (definitely has a certain attitude), but there are some good articles:
There is a two part article on the “computer guy”, but basically anyone who sits a lot. Great articles.
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1546556
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1561783
But for diet specifically, there is the “The Metabolism Repair Plan” at http://www.musclewithattitude.com/readTopicMwa.do?id=1584213 In essence, it shows that it’s best to eat most carbs in the morning and most fats in the evening (and protein all around, of course) to avoid crazy insulin levels that causes fat storage. Definitely seems like a good idea, the way the article is written out. Also, basically says avoiding any processed carbs and starches (in boxes or in cellophane bags) will help in losing weight a lot… which I’ve always known but sucked at 😉 The second page lists 10 “tenets” of eating (one of which is buy T-Nation products, which is in every article…)
My wife and I plan have been doing the repair plan for a few weeks now, and so far it’s wonderful. Cutting pop and the like was hard, but from the studies of diet pops (1. harms mitochondria in cells, 2. fools body into thinking it’s getting sugar and thus raises insulin levels), it was worth it.
Anyway, this isn’t a fitness website, so I’ll shut up and go pop in the BBS Doc into the player again! Take care.
If you’ve been exercising a lot then it’s not surprising that you haven’t actually lost much weight, nor is it a bad thing that you haven’t. You’re building muscle at the same time that you’re losing fat — your total weight might be hovering around the same number but the make-up of that number has definitely been changing.
Taking measurements, or just noticing how your clothes fit, will show you how things have changed. A pound of fat is larger than a pound of muscle so you’re likely smaller even if you don’t weigh any less.
And the bottom line is that if you feel better then you’re doing well. How you feel is what it’s all about — numbers on a scale are one way of keeping score but only as indicators. It sounds to me like you’re doing great and should keep on the way you’ve been going. 😀
Angie
Drugs are bad, mmmkay?
hey – nice work!
xo