December 5, 2023

Binary Blogger

Are you a 1 or a 0? News, Thoughts and Reviews

Binary Blogger Weight Loss Journey – Success From Focus

4 min read

This is a blog of technology, reviews, and such but occasionally I write about myself. Bring a little humanity to the author and maintainer of this fine blog of knowledge and insights.

Over the past year I have focused on my own health and fitness making a hard pressed effort to change. Not a quick fix but a lifestyle change, an integration into my own daily routine. I can say today I have succeeded. There is still room to go and the challenge of maintenance but how far I have come I know the rest will not be as big of a challenge as it was when I started.

Let’s go back a year, early March of 2012. I switched companies and that life changing event was a good point to put the stake in the ground to mark it as Day 1. One year ago, March 3, 2012 I tipped the scales at 245lbs. Whoa. Years of neglect, mainly working in a career that has very little movement sitting behind monitors and servers. That excuse is no more for me.

I began mountain biking on a regular basis, posting my trips using the iOS app MapMyRide. Being an IT freak, social media is in my blood, so I thought it would be a good motivator to post all my workouts. Turns out that was a good motivator. It was also a huge help to track every workout because over time I could see physical progress as I was going farther distances, faster. I was also shedding weight.

Over the year I started going back to the gym and integrating running and some weights. Running then, and still is, my most hated exercise. Mainly I never really did it before and it killed me when I tried. But I worked on it and over time 1 mile turned into 2 then to 3 and last week I ran for 5 miles straight inside an hour. Not bad for not being a runner.

I am also able to get 20 miles on the stationary bike inside an hour as well.

Like most I got stagnant with my workouts and wasn’t losing the obvious fat I was still hanging on to. Then the holidays hit and didn’t fight it and let the workout schedule lapse a bit. 2013 came around and I got frustrated with myself and accepted that if I wanted to get where I needed to be I needed assistance. So I hired a Personal Trainer for 3 months to get me over the hump.

The first day I started he put me through an assessment that consisted of a full body scan and a series of exercises to baseline my performance. Then once a month we re-did the assessment and here is the data from Feb 12, 2013 to April 18, 2013.

Feb. 12, 2013
Body Fat: 22.5%
Weight:    214.9 lbs.
Waist:      36.5 in.
Hip:         43.6 in

Exercises – 1 minute to see how many reps can be done 
Standing Cable Squat Rows:   45 reps with 47.5 lbs.
Chest Pushups:    23 reps
Ab Crunches:      25 reps
Body Squats:       34 reps
Lat Pulldowns:    20 reps with 80 lbs.
Back Extensions: 25

===========
March 13, 2013
Body Fat: 20%
Weight:    206 lbs.
Waist:      34.5 in.
Hip:         43.1 in.

Exercises – 1 minute to see how many reps can be done 

Standing Cable Squat Rows:   47 reps with 47.5 lbs.

Chest Pushups:    33 reps
Ab Crunches:      36 reps
Body Squats:       44 reps
Lat Pulldowns:    22 reps with 80 lbs.
Back Extensions: 46

===========
April 18, 2013
Body Fat: 17.5%
Weight:    201 lbs.
Waist:      33.5 in.
Hip:         43 in.

Exercises – 1 minute to see how many reps can be done 

Standing Cable Squat Rows:   51 reps with 57.5 lbs. (added 10 pounds)

Chest Pushups:    40 reps
Ab Crunches:      60 reps
Body Squats:       28 reps (added two 30 lb. Dbells in each hand)
Lat Pulldowns:    30 reps with 80 lbs.
Back Extensions: 47 (added 25 lb. plate)

==========

The data doesn’t lie. Progress was made. Success was had and value was fully received. Now you may say I cheated by hiring a PT. But 1 hour a week training session did not do this. It educated me to be more focused about how I work out, all the muscles not just the legs, diet, habits, snacks, proteins, water intake. Slowly but surely my lifestyle changed not in a diet mode but as an adoption mode to weave these as a regular part of my life.

It worked. I have reaped many other benefits medically, physically, mentally, and every other positive outcome from this personal achievement. At the end of the day I proved to myself it could be done.

I am going to round up but losing 45 pounds feel pretty, pretty good. When I can say I lost 55, that will feel a little better.

People change for one of two reasons:
    1) They are motivated
    2) They are desperate

When it comes to your health and well being, don’t change because of #2.

End of Line.
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Binary Blogger
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