Welcome dear reader to the 2nd installation of my blog. I struggled a bit with how to introduce this segment, and just what to write. The 1st segment is always the easiest. Here I am, this is who I am blah blah. Considering this will be, so far at least, mostly about fitness, workouts, nutrition, I didn’t know if I should throw in a recipe or what. Then I thought well any journey has a beginning, so let’s obviously start from the beginning.
I started my weight loss journey summer of 2014. I was 60 lbs overweight. I was “slender” in high school, then during university I ballooned up with no checks on my eating and no interest in exercise. I drank and I ate. I had no idea how to eat for performance, no idea what performance even meant, much less what my goals were. For at least 10 yrs. I struggled with my weight and trying to lose it. I was fat. No ifs, buts, or ways around it. I wasn’t big boned, I didn’t and still don’t have a thyroid issue. My metabolism was fine then as it is now. The only reason I weighed as much as I did was because I simply obeyed the laws of thermodynamics and ate too much for the amount of movement I was doing. That’s right boys and girls…I was not in a caloric deficit. You name it, I tried it. Weight watchers, paleo, intermittent fasting. I would go to the local Good Life, attempt to go on the treadmill and hated every minute of it. I had no idea how to lift weights even after I spent a stupid amount of money on a trainer.
November 2006 Mexico. And much heavier
Then during that summer, I had one childhood friend who suffered from a massive stroke. I don’t know all the ins and outs of it, but there were definitely lots of contributors that stemmed from an unchecked, and unhealthy lifestyle. Another guy I knew since kindergarten passed away. I saw the vultures circling and I knew I needed to change. Yet I still struggled.
So Sept 15th 2014 I started weight watchers. I labeled everything in my pantry and fridge. I came up with weekly meal plans for an average of 4 meals a day. I had tried WW before and failed. But this time, it worked. I dropped almost 40 lbs in 4 ½ months. I stuck to it. I no longer follow that method, but it was right for me at that time. I was already at this point working out regularly at a local all-women’s boutique gym in downtown Calgary. I loved it, the girls were great, I never felt out of place, and I met some wonderful trainers that eventually got me into weight lifting. More on that later.
And that’s the start of weight loss or any fitness journey. You need to be ready. No matter if it’s weight loss, weight gain, or wanting to be stronger. You just need to be ready. If not, there is no use in beating yourself up over it. I could say well you know…your health, do it for your family, and do it for your friends, your kids. No, fuck that. I’m sorry, you may love all those people and things, but you won’t do it for them, or you wouldn’t be overweight now…if you are. It will have to be for yourself. I was just ready, and I can’t even really tell you why. Was it the above mentioned health scares, maybe? But I know that’s not all of it.
My point really, is that you have to be ready for this. And you have to do it for yourself. No one is responsible for kicking your ass, and stopping you from stuffing your face with the nearest bag of cookies. Don’t you go and tell your spouse, partner, bff, fwb to stop you. That is unfair pressure you are putting on them, in my opinion. You alone are responsible for your failures and your success. Yes, you will have both and people will either support you or knock you down. And at first you will have motivation, as the scale dips down and the body changes happen. But after a while, those changes are harder to see. Again, more on that later. Now comes the hard part…now it’s not about motivation, it’s about discipline. And if you don’t have that…good luck to you. As I sit here and finish this blog in my pajamas at 7:30pm on a Saturday night, no there’s not a lot of motivation to go out and chase those popping delts. But guess what, I went and did a shit ton of burpees and kettlebells swings because I am disciplined now, ready now, to chase those dreams. Whatever they may be.
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March 2015 Earth Ring Ceremony. And about 35 lbs lighter. The journey continues.