Pumping It Up

Some time way back when I first made the decision to transform myself from the Pillsbury Doughboy to something a little less soft and fatty, I probably thought about joining a gym. That was back in the beginning and mostly at the back of my mind because at the start of this journey I was strictly focused on shedding pounds and not lifting them.

Last November after I’d dropped over 150 pounds of disgusting fat and was feeling much more energetic I finally decided to join a gym. At the time I was mostly thinking about being able to use the treadmill inside during the cold winter months with maybe some weight training thrown in for good measure. But that quickly changed as I did some research and got a taste for the rush of building muscle.

Cardio was my main activity for weight loss up until this point. Walking outside had helped to transform and shape the new version of me; sort of a “Mark version 4.0” if you will. I will always tell any obese or over weight person looking to start shedding pounds that walking was the key for me.

Taking a break at the gym.

Sure, cutting back on my calorie intake was a big factor as well but I had to burn calories as well and as a big guy I couldn’t run or jog, so I relied on walking...a lot. Almost every day for an entire year I would get out and do some amount of walking. I’d go anywhere from 3km to sometimes as much as 12km in one outing and I truly believe it saved my life.

After doing all that walking I was ready to branch off. I didn’t want to give up the walks all together and I’ve even added some cardio on the elliptical machine now as well. But the next logical step was to add weight lifting to my routine.

Lifting weights burns fat and in many cases you’ll replace a pound of fat with a pound of muscle. The numbers on the scale won’t change which can be frustrating for someone so focussed on dropping the pounds for so long but a pound of muscle takes up less space than the fat. So while you’re weight might not change, you will see changes to your body shape.

Aside from the weight loss and body shrinking, the other obvious benefit of weight lifting is the building of muscle and improvement in strength. I am in the best shape of my life and a lot of that is thanks to grabbing the dumbbells and pumping iron.

People ask me, “What changes have you noticed the most with your weight loss?”

There are too many to mention here but a few obvious changes include the shrinking body, dropping from size 60 pants to size 42 currently. I can actually feel my ribs now. My biceps, shoulders, back, arms, calves, hamstrings and pretty much every other muscle group I lift weights to strengthen have all grown and become much stronger and more noticeable. My aches and pains associated with being obese have all disappeared. They’ve been replaced by pains associated with muscle growth and hard work.

Now, when I go to the gym I see other guys lifting weights and doing exercises that I don’t currently do. I’ve set a routine for myself that gives me a good overall body workout five days a week. I’m not looking to become the Incredible Hulk. I just want to continue to improve my strength, grow muscle and burn fat.

For those who might be interested, this is my weekly routine. I’ll leave the actual weight amounts out but each exercise is done with 3 sets of 10-12 reps.

Monday (Upper Body)

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell), Triceps Extension overhead (Cable), Triceps Push Down (Cable), Side Bends (Dumbbell), Chest Press (Machine), Pull Down (Cable), Arm Front Raise (Dumbbell) and Bent-over Row (Dumbbell)

Tuesday & Thursday (Leg Day)

Leg Press (Machine), Calf Extension (Machine), Leg Curl (Machine), Leg Extension (Machine), Dead Lift (Barbell), Squats (Dumbbell) and Abdominal Crunch (Machine)

Wednesday (Upper Body)

Bicep Curl (Barbell), Lateral Raise (Double Cable), Shoulder Shrug (Dumbbell), Bent-over Row (Barbell), Seated Fly (Machine), Standing Fly (Double Cable) and Rear Delt Pull (Cable)

Friday (Upper Body)

Pull Down Triceps (Cable), Side Bends (Weight Plate), Upright Row (Barbell), Bicep Curl (Dumbbell), Bench Seated Shoulder Press (Dumbbells) and Lateral Raise (Double Cable)

And that’s it. Nothing too fancy or extreme but just enough to work most of the muscle groups I want to improve. I’m sure someone with a lot more experience would look at my routine and probably laugh at it for being so simple or missing something but I’m happy with the results so far. Some exercises I go for maximum reps and others I go for maximum weight to build big muscles. Well, I hope to build a few big muscles.

Now that summer is coming I might have to cut back to 3 days a week so I can golf more and take advantage of the nicer weather while it’s here. But I’ll try and increase my routines to include leg days on those days to make sure I still hit all of the muscle groups I need to each week.

So there you go. That’s what I do at the gym now that I’m moving from simply walking for my exercise to adding strength training. Of course my other favourite activity at the gym is to sneak the odd peek at the pretty ladies but just a peek only. I’m all business don’t you know.

Weight Loss Update: I now weigh 247.3 pounds and have lost a total of 171.5 pounds to date. So I'm still doing something right.

Making Up For Lost Time

Lets have some fun! I have a time machine and I want you to join me on a trip back to the mid-80’s to mid-90’s.

Those were amazing times, I was in my teens and early 20’s. I was graduating high school and going to college. The music of that time has stuck with me and is more or less the soundtrack to my entire life. I was young with no big worries except what time my next football, rugby or baseball game was. I had a core group of close friends who I did everything with. My life revolved around them, from sports, to patties, to camping and lots of drinking and eating.

I would go so far as to say that these were the best years of my life so far. And they were also the most difficult and emotional as well.

During this time I was a big lad who could hit a baseball a ton and could lay the body on opposing players. I was always up for a good time out on the weekends which always started on Wednesday night I think. I loved my friends and would do anything for them. But it wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns.

I was pretty sad back then. While I'm not gay I certainly felt like the gay friend at times. At the very least I was the third wheel. I was the guy all the girls could talk to and confide in. I was the guy who could make people laugh and smile. I wasn’t the guy that the girls wanted to date or have a relationship with.

Click to see larger.

It wasn’t because I wouldn’t treat women right. I loved women and would do anything to make them happy. No, it was obviously because I wasn’t a good looking muscular sexy hunk of man meat. I was smart and funny but no matter what a woman tells you, the only thing that really matters is how good you look as a couple and no women wanted to have me on their arm. This isn't about feeling sorry for myself, these are just the facts as I interpreted them then and perhaps even now to some extent.

Now I was able to live with that. It sucked, and still sucks today but I made the most of it and tried my best to find relationships and romance but it just never happened. “I like you as a friend” became the phrase that made my heart bleed over and over again.

Eventually I just kinda gave up. What was the point? No amount of flowers or chocolates or romantic gestures could hide the fact I was over weight and unattractive.

So when I started my weight loss journey my main goal was to get healthy and improve my life expectancy. But I won’t lie. A part of me wants to get thin, muscular and in shape to not only improve my chances at finding that which has eluded me all these years but to maybe have those girls who shunned my romantic advances all those years ago look at me and think, “gee, had he looked like that back then, I might have dated him.”

Of course I’m still not where I want to be or need to be but it is nice to get noticed now for being thinner and healthier rather than people pointing and laughing at the big fat obese mess I used to be. Every day I go out I seem to run into someone who can’t believe how much I’ve changed my appearance and it sure is nice to hear. Maybe I’m being a little vain but that’s one thing I’ve never been before.

As far as the ladies go, I’ve actually been on a couple of dates recently. All very nice ladies and it’s fun to feel like someone might actually be attracted to me. I feel like a teenager again. I guess that’s because most teens go through this at that age and here I am well past my teens feeling things I’d never felt before and it’s kinda nice for a change.

As for my progress, I’m happy to report that my new low weight is 248.8 pounds which means I’ve lost a total of 170 pounds so far. It fluctuates daily but it I keep it within a few pounds and get it back down. And the other new milestone of sorts, I tried on a pair of size 40 waist jeans the other day and actually got them done up. They're still a little snug but that wasn't going to happen when I was wearing size 60 waist jeans. So my weight isn't changing much but my body is still making gains.

Naked Jog Approaching

Way back when I started my weight loss journey at nearly 420 pounds, I jokingly passed the comment that if I reach my goal weight of 250 pounds I’d jog naked up the street. At the time knowing how many times I’d failed to stick to past diets and my history of valuing fatty foods over a healthier and trimmer body, there was no way I honestly expected to ever come close to reaching that goal. Therefore, I had no fear of ever having to strip off my clothes and take a quick run.

I’m reminded of one night in September at a Men’s League Golf Party when after our round we were sitting in the clubhouse eating our meal and drinking our free booze watching the World Hockey Championships. Canada was losing late in the game and one of the guys, clearly having had too many wobbly pops, made the bold statement, “if Canada wins this game I’ll streak naked up the number one fairway.” No sooner had Canada come from behind and won the game, he was up and out the door tearing off his clothes as he went and sure enough he was streaking up the fairway as promised. It’s an image I can’t erase from my mind.

So back to my dilemma; as of today, my current weight is 253.6 pounds. Yup, you guessed it, I’m just 3.6 pounds from reaching that lofty goal I set for myself a little over a year ago and have lost a total of 165.2 pounds. Now I realize I’m not compelled to do anything I’m not comfortable with. And I can guarantee I would never do it when there are children around.

If I do finally reach my goal I’ll decide then if I’ll do it. I never said at what time of day it would happen but should I find the courage to get naked and take a stroll in my birthday suit to celebrate the accomplishment, I’m pretty sure it would happen after dark late at night.

So then people will question whether I actually did it or not. If It does come to pass that I find some hidden courage to put myself out there like never before, I’ll be sure to video it and take photos which I will carefully edit for public consumption.

But of course, regardless of what actually happens and whether I really go through with it, the feeling of accomplishment and knowing that I successfully attained my goal will be reward enough for me. I can’t speak to how the ladies will feel.

Weight Isn't Everything

As I continue to work towards improving my health I’ve been learning a few things along the way. Probably the most important thing I’ve learned is to not focus on the results when I step on the scale.

I think for those of us in my generation and older, we focus too much on weight and dropping those numbers. That isn’t to say that losing weight isn’t a big deal. In fact it’s a huge deal for many people suffering from obesity. But there’s more to achieving a healthier lifestyle than dropping pounds.

When I started on this road to increase my chances of living a longer life I was solely focused on the numbers that I saw when I stepped on my scale. My success or failure was based on seeing those numbers drop. The more the number decreased the happier I was and the more successful I felt about what I was trying to do.

There isn’t anything wrong with that…up to a point. Once I stopped just reducing my calories and walking and began making regular visits to the gym to lift weights and build muscle, my weight loss stalled. What the heck was happening?

I was still eating as I’d planned and I was exercising by walking, jogging on the treadmill and had recently started burning more calories by getting my heart rate up on the elliptical, which is my new favourite form of cardio at the gym. It’s tiring but easier on the joints and I think I actually burn more calories with a 35 minute workout.

So why wasn’t my weight still dropping. The fact of the matter is, by lifting weights five days a week I was adding muscle which weighs as much or more than fat. Building muscle burns fat as well. So even though my weight was maintaining at a steady number, my body was still making positive changes.
My waist, thighs, wrists, arms, neck, legs and butt among other fatty areas were still shrinking and in fact are still shrinking. My weight hadn’t changed a bit but my body shape is still transforming and improving. My new jeans I got for Christmas are already getting loose on me. My boxers that used to be really snug are fitting much better. The 2X T-shirts I bought that were a tad snug around the belly are now loose and hanging much better now. 
Lifting weights, building muscle and toning the body is just as important as a healthy diet. It took me some time to learn this but now I can’t imagine not lifting weights at least a few times during the week. I’ll slow down a bit in the summer months just because I’m more active then but during the colder seasons and currently I find myself at the gym working with weights a minimum of five days a week.

I still step on the scale and get a little disappointed when I don’t see my numbers dropping, mainly because I set a goal for myself when I started this journey and want to reach that number. But I’m trying to change my mindset to not focus on the weight but rather the results and my appearance.

I'm working at it!

Two people at 250 pounds can look entirely different in their body types. One could be obese with a huge belly and flabby limbs while another will look much thinner and more toned. They weigh the same but their overall health is completely different.

So I’m trying to learn that weight isn’t everything but that won’t stop me from working towards getting to my original goal of 250 pounds. That would mean I’ve dropped the needed 168.8 pounds to attain this goal I set for myself when I started.

And where am I currently in this endeavour? As of today I weigh 258.2 pounds for a total of 160.6 pounds lost. This leaves me a total of 8.2 pounds away from my goal which in all honesty, I doubted I’d ever have a hope in hell of reaching. But now even this king of all pessimists has to admit it can be done.