My fitness journey - One step at a time

[RStephens1]

Greetings from North Central Texas.

 

My journey toward physical fitness began about 3 years ago. I am a 5. ft 9 in. male and my weight had gone over 200 lbs. for the first time in my life. It was starting to cause all sorts of problems for me: chronic acid reflux, snoring, sleep apnea, constant fatigue, etc. So I started making some changes. I cut my soda intake from about 8-12 cans per day to maybe 1 bottle every week or two today. I switched from sugar in my iced tea (the liquid I drink most) to artificial sweetner. I picked up a treadmill at my neighbors garage sale and started using it regularly.

 

I did pretty good for awhile. My weight dropped to about 180 lbs. My sleep apnea and acid reflux stopped. I had more energy. I was able to take a couple of really good vacations with my wife; hiking in Costa Rica, the Grand Canyon, and Rocky Mountain National Park. I love hiking. 

 

Unfortunately, my exercising was eventually derailed. The treadmill broke and instead of replacing it we decided to go with a gym membership that I promptly never used. My own inherent laziness took over and I became less and less active. It doesn't help that I have a very sedentary office job and my favorite daily recreation activity is playing computer and video games with my wife. Eventually my weight started creeping back up before eventually plateauing at about 195 lbs. for the past year. The good news is that the changes I'd made to reduce liquid calories stuck, so my weight didn't go back over 200 lbs. again. I haven't had to deal with the acid reflux and sleep apnea. The bad news is that I am in possibly the worst fitness shape of my life. Even light housework can leave me winded and hiking is out of the question. My asthma is less controlled than it was when I was in better shape and probably most concerning my blood pressure has been creeping up. It now spends most of its time around 135/95 and my resting heart rate is above 90.

 

Finally something happened that motivated me to overcome the inertia of doing nothing. My first child, a daughter, was born at the end of December. I realized I wanted to be able to do things as she grows up: get down on the floor and play with her, go outside and play with her, take her hiking. Things I couldn't do right now.

 

So at age 33 I am respawning. I am now a person who exercises and thinks about the things they eat and drink. I've bought a treadmill and have used it for at least 20 minutes every day since we put it together. I've ordered a workout bench and set of adjustable dumbbells to begin strength training. While I am waiting for their arrival of been doing the recruit bodyweight workout. I am making improvement. When I tried it the first time on Monday I was only able to complete the warm-up, 1 set, and the cool down. And I hurt. A lot. For 2 days. I almost didn't try it again on Wednesday, but I did. And I managed to complete 2 whole sets this time. I was exhausted and wanted to vomit, but it didn't actually hurt as much as the 1 set I'd done 2 days earlier. And today, Thursday, I feel pretty good. Even if my dumbbells come in first, I think I'll stick with the recruit workout until I can complete it in its entirety without it completely killing me.

 

If this is what the "easy" recruit workout does to me, I don't even want to think about what the actual bodyweight or dumbbell workouts are like. But I'll keep at it and eventually I'll level up. At the same time I'm going to keep at the cardio and try to improve my stamina. I enjoy hiking and I'd like to be in good enough shape to do it. I'd even like to try running in a 5k someday, but that will probably take quite a few more levels.

 

I'm also starting to log what I eat and think about it. I doubt I'll ever go full paleo or even mostly (I both love food and am an incredibly picky eater), but I will make a conscious decision about what I eat or when. I will watch my portions sizes and reduce the "junk" foods I eat.

 

Thank you for listening to how my journey began. I look forward to getting to know my fellow nerds better.

 

"How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."

[Jett]

Hey there. I'm new the the rebellion, too!

 

Your story sounds a lot like my husband's - he had to cut down soda and switch to artificial sweeteners as a first step, too. And he also suffers from sleep apnea, acid reflux, snoring, etc. Unfortunately, he's a lot heavier than you were, so it will probably take a lot longer before he sees the improvements you did. But at least, it's nice to know that someone who suffered from the same things was able to see improvement by losing weight. I was afraid that the acid reflux and apnea were a permanent thing that would never go away...

 

Good on you for starting the bodyweight training and sticking with it despite the pain! (Um, actually, could you post a link to the workout you're using? I'm having a little trouble adjusting to the layout of NF and finding useful things that are at my beginner's level. EDIT: Nevermind, I found it! My phone wasn't notifying me of Steve's emails for some reason, so I missed that link before. All good now.)

 

I like your elephant quote. I've been feeling a little overwhelmed by the enormity of all the things I need to change, and it's good to keep the perspective on one day at a time.

[Sam Ashen]

Hello.  I am also new here.  I discovered this site last night while surfing for stuff - and drawn to this site because it is full of great stories!  I think you can navigate the site, but here is one straight from the front page.

 

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/01/18/10-months-128-pounds-lost/

 

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

[RStephens1]

JMitch,

 

Sorry for the delay in replying. I'm glad you were able to find the workout. If you've got the cash to spare, I definitely recommend joining the academy. It is very well laid out and I've found it to be a good source of motivation and information. Plus, if you're cheap like me, spending money on something makes you more likely to use it. 

 

And yes, at least with me, the sleep apnea and acid reflux/heart burn tends to go away when I drop below a certain weight. For me I start noticing it a little when I go above about 195 lbs and it get much worse if I go above 200 lbs. The snoring, on the other hand........it gets better when my weight goes down, but I had that problem even before I got out of shape.

[Mr_Willes]

If this is what the "easy" recruit workout does to me, I don't even want to think about what the actual bodyweight or dumbbell workouts are like. But I'll keep at it and eventually I'll level up.

 

 

You already leveled up: not only did you went from 1 set to 2 sets. But the 2 sets were easier, i say major accomplishment! Usually the biggest gains are at the start, but let them motivate you in keep going. Even if its just one rep more than the last time, or a little bit faster, that's another accomplishment. And even if you have an off day and did only half the things you wanted to, it's more than you would have done nothing. And you're a little further to your goal.

 

Speaking of which i myself really got hyped when i sat my goals and made me a little battle plan. Look for the 6 week challenges. The next one starts in 2 weeks!

 

Good luck!