Putting Myself Out There

I've made mistakes.  No one's perfect.  As a matter of fact for the longest time, I was thinking about writing a book called "How Not to Succeed." Probably wouldn't sell much.  My point is, that I had to hit a low period in my life before I figured out I hadn't liked the path I was on.  Blessing in disguise, deep disguise.

If you're reading this right now and you aren't completely happy with your life, change it.  Take care of yourself first, then everything else will fall into place.  Obviously I don't mean stop caring about anyone and everyone who isn't you, but focus on yourself maybe a little more than you're used to.  I do my best to take care of myself, my family, and my friends.  The only truly important things in life.

This is my second attempt at this week's blog entry.  The first one, as my friends on Facebook know, got a little too real.  I started talking about a few too many things incredibly close to my heart, and I didn't want to put myself out there like that.  Call it a self-preservation mechanism or what have you, but I stopped before I got too far in.

So, on a different note, you know when you're getting old when you think, "Sure, I could go on that date, or I could go to bed early."  Yep, I'm at that point, or I'm avoiding a date because I'm afraid I'll mess up my diet completely in one meal. I realize it's silly, but hey, I'm a silly guy.

Now an update on the diet\exercise.  I've lost weight.  A lot of weight.  I've gained muscle, a good amount of muscle.  Things are going well and people are starting to take notice.  I've been asked I don't know how many times now how I'm doing it.  To make things easier I've shortened my answer to "Diet, Exercise, and Self-Discipline."  You would be amazed at how many people stop listening after the word diet.  I've found that the majority of people do sincerely want to lose weight, but they also sincerely don't want to give up the foods they love.  I empathize completely, I was at that same point.  I'm not joking when I say that the diet\exercise thing is a life change, not a temporary thing.  Somewhere in time the word diet was redefined as a temporary change in eating habits to lose weight.  That's not the definition though. A diet is simply, what you eat.  You can change your diet, but you can't really go 'on' a diet.  I hope that makes sense.

Reader Question of the Week:  I've heard that the endorphins from working out make you better happier, is this true?

I love this question.  The short answer, yes.  The truth is that's only the beginning.  Let illustrate with a little story.  There was a guy who was severely depressed, overweight, had no self esteem (to speak of) and couldn't get to sleep a night without medication.  One day he decided he had enough.  Something had to change.  He changed his diet.  He felt better.  He studied the mechanics of exercises, emphasizing weight lifting.  He made a plan.  He started the plan.  It was rough at first, the exercise wasn't new to him, but not exactly familiar either.  After he had been doing it for some time, he started to feel more confident in himself as a whole.  That confidence went far beyond the gym.  He continued to work out, pushing himself harder and harder, and although there were times of pain or fatigue, he pushed through.  He felt better.  A lot better.  He found that his general sense of well-being was at an all-time high. He was able to sleep without medication,  he was able to start seeing the man who he wanted to be in the mirror.  So yes, it does do that - and so much more.


Until next time dear readers...

Oh, it's happening, sweetheart

Well, a lot of my goals are being met.  Not just with the diet\exercise lifestyle change, but with life in general.  Things are lining up quite nicely.  Finally, right?  It's taken me this long to get to a point in my life where I am happy.  Happy with myself.  There is a lot of growing to do, but I'm happy about where I am on my journey and who I'm on it with.  Having great support is key to anything, but especially when making major life changes.

I've been asked what motivates me to go on, even though I've encountered some extreme setbacks.  It's a good question.  Mainly it's my self-image.  What I picture myself being in a perfect world.  I'm getting closer.  I have a good saying I repeat to myself - "Kindness, compassion, and consistency." When I'm not feeling like doing something, I ask myself "Should I do this?" It's not a question of whether or not I can do it, but should I?  If I find myself torn, then it's a no.  Living by that mantra has changed my life significantly.  Everything isn't sunshine and rainbows, but it's getting there.  I was told recently that I'm too "happy" all the time.  I take that as a compliment, because that's something that hasn't always been true.

So, to keep with my word, I said I would answer a question from a reader, well here is this weeks: What is your body fat percentage now, and what is your goal?  I said before that I didn't really want to post numbers, but I will I guess.  I'm at 22.1%.  My goal is 10 now.  I had been thinking around 15, but If I'm going to go for it, I might as well go for the gold.  Body builders have like 5-6%, but that's not the look I'm going for.  I figure I can reach this in 6-8 months, but as long as I'm making progress (and I am), then I am happy (see - there's that word again).

This week's fitness tip:  Protein. Get ya some.  Seriously, to increase muscle mass, you need to eat a lot of protein.  I'm at like 200g or more a day (a lot of articles I've read say one gram per pound of body weight, but I go over that. 192.3 lbs by the way).  Cut down on carbs (I said cut down, not out), and eat healthy, unsaturated fats - your body does need fats.

That's it for this episode, tune in next week (more or less) for another adventure.

Until next time dear readers...