I have set down new goals for the next phase of my transformation!
Three months to Christmas (a holiday which I celebrate) and three months is considered the standard for a fitness cycle.
Currently:
224.4 pounds
15.80% BF
6' 6" tall
Destination: Lean!
1. I am giving myself a six-pack and less than 8% bodyfat for Christmas 2006!
At 1.5 pounds burned per week I will be at 7.79% on December 24th.
This does not take into account any lean mass built.
2. I am burning 2 pounds of fat from my body this week!
At 2 pounds per week I will reach 4.77% bodyfat on December 24th.
3. I am hitting bull's-eyes in all four focus areas today!
Nutrition
Cardio
Weights
Rest
DRAT - I missed my goals. Somehow, I just have no motivation. Very frustrating!
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Tom Venuto, author of Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle invited me to be the moderator of the '100 Pound Club' at his new web community, www.burnthefatinnercircle.com.
This community is amazing - so many wonderful people and many amazing stories. It is very humbling and an honor to share their journey with them.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Weird and Wonderful things About Becoming Leaner
Below are a few things that have caused me to pause along this journey...
I can’t believe that creation and/or evolution resulted in humans having such an uncomfortable butt bone. No longer carrying my own cushion around has forced me to adapt how I sit in a lot of chairs.
My bed is a lot more comfortable. No longer does it turn into a bowl when I lay down on it. I used to wake with an occasional backache - not anymore!
If I lay on my back to read, I now have to put the book on a pillow on my stomach to avoid straining my neck.
If I lay on my side, I have to rearrange my legs or put a pillow between my knees.
Also about laying on my side - no longer is my elbow supported if I lay my top arm along my side and my hip bone is rather hard...
Walking - Feeling my muscles move under my belt really feels strange, I’m growing to like it. Not having my arms rub against my sides feels great!
Walking - My thighs don’t rub together!
Having a bad knee / leg, I don’t run that often. I got caught in the rain the other day and had to run to my car. I no longer had this big, sloshing mass of blubber to contend with and for the first time in my life, I could see how running could be enjoyable.
Shoulder belts in the back seats of cars no longer feel like they are trying to slice into my neck.
Speaking of cars, I found myself stretching to look into my mirrors and reach the steering wheel. I actually had to adjust all my mirrors! I guess it’s been so gradual that I haven’t really noticed. I sit lower and farther back in my seat now by a few inches which means more head and leg room!
I get colder a lot more easily than I used to.
My sleeves seem longer! I may be able to get away with tall sizes instead of extra tall.
I was in an elevator and leaned flat against the wall - strange having my shoulder blades be the only thing touch the wall.
I wear my phone on my belt and it is harder to feel it vibrate because my skin no longer touches it!
Below are a few things that have caused me to pause along this journey...
I can’t believe that creation and/or evolution resulted in humans having such an uncomfortable butt bone. No longer carrying my own cushion around has forced me to adapt how I sit in a lot of chairs.
My bed is a lot more comfortable. No longer does it turn into a bowl when I lay down on it. I used to wake with an occasional backache - not anymore!
If I lay on my back to read, I now have to put the book on a pillow on my stomach to avoid straining my neck.
If I lay on my side, I have to rearrange my legs or put a pillow between my knees.
Also about laying on my side - no longer is my elbow supported if I lay my top arm along my side and my hip bone is rather hard...
Walking - Feeling my muscles move under my belt really feels strange, I’m growing to like it. Not having my arms rub against my sides feels great!
Walking - My thighs don’t rub together!
Having a bad knee / leg, I don’t run that often. I got caught in the rain the other day and had to run to my car. I no longer had this big, sloshing mass of blubber to contend with and for the first time in my life, I could see how running could be enjoyable.
Shoulder belts in the back seats of cars no longer feel like they are trying to slice into my neck.
Speaking of cars, I found myself stretching to look into my mirrors and reach the steering wheel. I actually had to adjust all my mirrors! I guess it’s been so gradual that I haven’t really noticed. I sit lower and farther back in my seat now by a few inches which means more head and leg room!
I get colder a lot more easily than I used to.
My sleeves seem longer! I may be able to get away with tall sizes instead of extra tall.
I was in an elevator and leaned flat against the wall - strange having my shoulder blades be the only thing touch the wall.
I wear my phone on my belt and it is harder to feel it vibrate because my skin no longer touches it!
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Friday, July 28, 2006
The Story So Far...
I have been fat my entire life and many members of my family are also heavy. Long ago, I accepted the fact that I would always be fat. So, what made me finally decide to get lean? A random act of violence.
In November of 2003, I was robbed at gunpoint in my apartment. Two men broke in and one held a visiting friend and me face down on the floor, grinding his gun into the back of our heads while the other completely ransacked the place for nearly thirty minutes. They were so angry and violent that I am actually surprised neither of us was killed. Thankfully, neither of us was physically hurt. I immediately moved into my parent’s basement and went through a serious bout of depression. I don’t care about the physical things they took from me. The most valuable things they took from me were my sense of security and my perceived control of my life. I was 35 years old and felt as though my life was over. I did not have a good night’s sleep for many months and would spend most of my time lying on the couch eating Cheez-Its (yes, that big box from Costco in one weekend) and watching television.
In January of 2005 something in me snapped. I felt that I had to either regain control of my entire life or commit myself to an institution. I decided that if I could control my weight, I could get back control of every aspect of my life. The following month I moved into a duplex with a friend (just a few blocks from my parents). Being raised Catholic and with Lent approaching, I decided to go onto the Atkins Diet for Lent. I hated it! My digestive tract could not decide if it was going to be on pause or fast-forward. I suffered through it and was never so happy to see Lent end.
Frustrated with Atkins, but happy with my slightly smaller waist, I progressed to the South Beach Diet. I was hungry the entire time and this only lasted a few weeks. I then spent some time doing research and trying different things. Then in June of 2005, I stumbled upon Tom Venuto’s Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle program at www.burnthefat.com. I decided to give the program a try...
Last July (2005) I set goals, re-engineered my nutrition and bought a recumbent bike, smith machine, dumbbells and free-weights. I transformed my basement into a gym and began the program.
I am very visually oriented so I made six-foot tall goal posters. I made a cube out of cardboard the size of one pound of fat and placed it on top of the refrigerator to remind me to get healthy snacks. I put a TV and DVD player in front of the bike and a sign on the TV upstairs that said “Get Off Your Ass, Get On The Bike!” Even slow, steady pedaling is better than no pedaling. I made custom wallpapers and screensavers so my computer at work and even my cell phone would remind me of my goals. Most importantly, I enlisted a few friends to randomly call me once a week to encourage me.
I created Excel spreadsheets to calculate my TDEE, create a diet from it and to track my progress. I not only met my initial goals, I exceeded them!
A few months ago, I hit a plateau, could not get my body to burn any more fat, and became extremely frustrated. CardioCoach.com workouts have helped me to re-focus my efforts and reach the 100 pounds of fat lost milestone! I wish I had discovered this site months ago!
I am 6 foot 6 and fifteen months ago I weighed over 312 pounds and was wearing pants with a 50-inch waist – with my gut hanging over. I am now under 220 pounds and wearing a very comfortable 36-inch pant – 34s are in my sights! I am nearly 17 gallons smaller than I was a year ago and leaner than I ever remember being! In the past fifteen months I have added ten pounds of lean mass and burned over one hundred pounds of fat!
Most importantly, I have a confidence I never believed I could have. I am happier than I’ve ever been in my life. I have never been more spiritually at peace. I can barely hold back the tears while I write this. I feel as though my life is mine again - and more. I feel at least twenty years younger. Yes, I feel younger than I did in college!
People who haven’t seen me in a while don’t recognize me. Sometimes I don’t even recognize me. That is not entirely true – I recognize the person who had been hidden under all that fat: physically, emotionally and spiritually. That is the true Rob. I see old pictures of myself and wonder who that person is.
Shortly after the robbery, a good friend at work gave me a little card with a quote from Maya Angelou on it. I have kept it tacked to the corner of my PC monitor ever since. It reads “Surviving is important. Thriving is elegant.” How very true it is.
Leaner,
Rob
I have been fat my entire life and many members of my family are also heavy. Long ago, I accepted the fact that I would always be fat. So, what made me finally decide to get lean? A random act of violence.
In November of 2003, I was robbed at gunpoint in my apartment. Two men broke in and one held a visiting friend and me face down on the floor, grinding his gun into the back of our heads while the other completely ransacked the place for nearly thirty minutes. They were so angry and violent that I am actually surprised neither of us was killed. Thankfully, neither of us was physically hurt. I immediately moved into my parent’s basement and went through a serious bout of depression. I don’t care about the physical things they took from me. The most valuable things they took from me were my sense of security and my perceived control of my life. I was 35 years old and felt as though my life was over. I did not have a good night’s sleep for many months and would spend most of my time lying on the couch eating Cheez-Its (yes, that big box from Costco in one weekend) and watching television.
In January of 2005 something in me snapped. I felt that I had to either regain control of my entire life or commit myself to an institution. I decided that if I could control my weight, I could get back control of every aspect of my life. The following month I moved into a duplex with a friend (just a few blocks from my parents). Being raised Catholic and with Lent approaching, I decided to go onto the Atkins Diet for Lent. I hated it! My digestive tract could not decide if it was going to be on pause or fast-forward. I suffered through it and was never so happy to see Lent end.
Frustrated with Atkins, but happy with my slightly smaller waist, I progressed to the South Beach Diet. I was hungry the entire time and this only lasted a few weeks. I then spent some time doing research and trying different things. Then in June of 2005, I stumbled upon Tom Venuto’s Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle program at www.burnthefat.com. I decided to give the program a try...
Last July (2005) I set goals, re-engineered my nutrition and bought a recumbent bike, smith machine, dumbbells and free-weights. I transformed my basement into a gym and began the program.
I am very visually oriented so I made six-foot tall goal posters. I made a cube out of cardboard the size of one pound of fat and placed it on top of the refrigerator to remind me to get healthy snacks. I put a TV and DVD player in front of the bike and a sign on the TV upstairs that said “Get Off Your Ass, Get On The Bike!” Even slow, steady pedaling is better than no pedaling. I made custom wallpapers and screensavers so my computer at work and even my cell phone would remind me of my goals. Most importantly, I enlisted a few friends to randomly call me once a week to encourage me.
I created Excel spreadsheets to calculate my TDEE, create a diet from it and to track my progress. I not only met my initial goals, I exceeded them!
A few months ago, I hit a plateau, could not get my body to burn any more fat, and became extremely frustrated. CardioCoach.com workouts have helped me to re-focus my efforts and reach the 100 pounds of fat lost milestone! I wish I had discovered this site months ago!
I am 6 foot 6 and fifteen months ago I weighed over 312 pounds and was wearing pants with a 50-inch waist – with my gut hanging over. I am now under 220 pounds and wearing a very comfortable 36-inch pant – 34s are in my sights! I am nearly 17 gallons smaller than I was a year ago and leaner than I ever remember being! In the past fifteen months I have added ten pounds of lean mass and burned over one hundred pounds of fat!
Most importantly, I have a confidence I never believed I could have. I am happier than I’ve ever been in my life. I have never been more spiritually at peace. I can barely hold back the tears while I write this. I feel as though my life is mine again - and more. I feel at least twenty years younger. Yes, I feel younger than I did in college!
People who haven’t seen me in a while don’t recognize me. Sometimes I don’t even recognize me. That is not entirely true – I recognize the person who had been hidden under all that fat: physically, emotionally and spiritually. That is the true Rob. I see old pictures of myself and wonder who that person is.
Shortly after the robbery, a good friend at work gave me a little card with a quote from Maya Angelou on it. I have kept it tacked to the corner of my PC monitor ever since. It reads “Surviving is important. Thriving is elegant.” How very true it is.
Leaner,
Rob
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