Not kidding myself anymore

[Drakenator]

Hello,

My name is Chris. I am 38 about to turn 39 in a few weeks. I am currently 5 ft 10 and 217 lbs. Not sure what my body fat is yet but that will come next week as I have an appt with a trainer to measure it. I do have the love handles but really it is more of a spare tire. I am down 10.5 lbs in 4 weeks and 3.8 of that is since July 1st.

I am married with 2 young kids and I want to watch them grow up and be active in their life. I want to be their hero and role model. It's kind of hard to do with IT/DAD/BEER Gut. My BP and my blood work was not so great at my last health checkup a few months ago despite the workouts. It is time for major change...everlasting change.

What's my trick as of late? There is no trick to it. I just stopped lying to myself that this food or that food won't stick to me or it doesn't hurt to cheat 1 meal a day etc etc etc. I started eating a high protein diet but supplementing with fruits and veggies. Lots of salad, with every meal, lean meat and eggs. I cut down on BS carbs, grains, cheese, bread, cereal. You could say that up until last week I was eating pseudo Paleo. At least for the last 4 weeks anyway.

Well last week I spilled a gallon of milk in my Jeep and the resulting smell has totally turned me off of milk. I have been off Milk for about 7 days now and cheese intake has been very minimal since. I figured why not kick it up a few notches and roll with it?

After seeing the results that Saint achieved with being strict, having fun and being competitive, I am ready to take it to the next level. Starting today the only dairy I plan to intake is my whey protein powder. The rest will be strictly paleo.

I am now strength training and since I bought a Fitbit tracker on July 1st I have increased my cardio. I walk 32 flights of stairs twice daily and I use the elliptical for about 15-25 minutes a day at various paces and intensity. I used to get shin splints when I ran so I gave it up but after reading about barefoot running and the vibrams I think I am also ready to give that a shot too. I do question everything and I plan to do more research into the idea.

I hope I can become part of the community here and help inspire others who have lost hope or have given up on getting into shape. Over the last few years when my weight increased to 229-230 lbs, I had internal conflicts wondering if it was too late for me or if I just had bad genes. I wondered why my eating plan wasn't working for me. I would get spurts of inspiration only to fall off the wagon after a few months of training. I was still lying to myself about it all. Working out for 30-40 minutes 2 times a week with a semi pseudo diet wasn't cutting it.

Well I no longer feel that it is too late for me. I don't care what genes I was born with and the Jeans I wear today are getting more loose each day. Today I left everything I had on the gym floor. It was epic to say the least. Today is a new day to a new me. No retreat! No surrender!

My Dr wants to see me get down to 175 but I feel more comfortable around 185-190 ripped! So that is the goal. Once I have more of an idea about what my body fat is I can get a better goal set for that and a better time line. But for now it is full speed ahead...and clean eating.

Sorry for the book, guys.

[Teh_Geer]

Welcome to the community. I'm also pretty new here, just joined last month. I noticed you mentioned vibrams in your post. I have a pair of vibram five-finger KSOs. I love them! I never run in anything else now. I bought them so that I could transition into barefoot running. I must worn you though, if you get a pair, work your way up to them. You'll really notice a difference. They have definitely helped on my mile time, but if you overdo it, you can hurt yourself. I'm at the point where I try to run 3 miles a day, three days a week in my vibrams. Sometimes I will get blisters on the tips of my toes, but nothing that calluses won't eventually cure. I even tried going on hikes in them, but you really feel every rock under your feet...which does help strengthen your feet, but you don't want to overdo it and injure yourself.

Good luck to your fitness!

[Kain]

Awesome story and we are similar weight/height ratios.

I like this quote "The only person who believes your excuses is yourself".

As soon as you hold yourself accountable, miracles can happen. I look forward to seeing your progress!

[Drakenator]

Teh_Geer. Thanks for the info on the vibrams. I have a line on some local stores that carry them I just may have to go get fitted soon and see how they feel.

Kain, thanks for the quote. It is totally true. I don't like excuses. I don't like hearing them from people who cannot commit to a goal and I hated myself even more for making excuses to myself. So I am hoping with my awesome transformation that is in the works I can help inspire some of my friends and family who have a can't attitude and turn it into a CAN do attitude.

[Loren Wade]

Welcome to the Rebellion! Saint's story inspired me as well. You'll find lots of support here.

['Roos]

*waves from some other part of Missouri* I'm 98% new still, joining up about six weeks ago. It looks like you're really starting off well - good luck with continued progress! I had the "Stop kidding yourself" moment a few weeks ago, so I'm completely familiar with the feeling.

[Crooked]

Welcome to the Rebellion! Sounds like you have a really wonderful attitude to make some meaningful changes.

[Drakenator]

Thanks everyone. It's nice to find a forum where you feel you are not judged but encouraged.

Here is a pic from Friday July 8th. 10 lbs down.

And here is my Battle log.

http://nerdfitness.com/community/showthread.php?3524-To-Hell-and-Back-with-the-Drakenator!