Five Months of Fitness

It’s September 1, Modern Philosophers, which means it has been five months since I started on my new health and fitness journey.

On April 1, this fool got his lazy, overweight butt up off the couch, and decided it was time to do something to improve his life.

I went for my first three mile run that day, in the snow, and it feels like I haven’t stopped running ever since.

According to the scale this morning, I’ve lost 54 lbs!  That’s 11 lbs a month and 18% of my previous body weight.

I don’t write these fitness posts to brag, but because I want to inspire others.  There was no way, back in April, that I thought I’d be feeling this good about myself in September.  In a short period of time, I’ve completely changed my life and want you to know that you can do the same thing.

You don’t need to buy a book, join a club, or start a special diet.  Just go for a walk.  Be smarter about what you eat.  Set some simple goals for yourself.

That’s all I did.

Yes, it did help to get a fitness tracker.  Having that little beast on my wrist gave me the extra push I needed.  There was no way I was ever going to miss my daily step goal, and once I got in the habit of doing that, it wasn’t a huge leap to collecting 20,000 steps a day.

So what have I been doing over the last five months?

I’ve worked myself up to running five days and at least twenty miles a week.  On top of that, I walk every day and try to get to 20,000 steps.

On my non-running days, I don’t think myself a failure if I don’t hit 20,000.  I make sure I get at least 15,000, but I try not to settle for less than 17,000.

I’ve cut a lot of the sugar out of my diet, but haven’t completely deprived myself. I’d be a zombie without my Snapple!

I was thrilled to discover Halo Top, the magic ice cream with very few calories.  I still indulge in the occasional whoopie pie or cookie, but I’m not devouring them in large quantities every night like I had been doing.

I’m just eating smarter.

Yesterday, I celebrated surviving my annual physical by having Chinese food for lunch.  I love Chinese food, but hadn’t had it in ages.  It was time to finally give in to the craving, but when I did, I walked the three-quarters of a mile in each direction to pick up my food.

I also only added one packet of soy sauce, rather than the usual four or five.

Today, strawberries were on sale.  I bought a box of those, picked up a container of fat free cool whip, and found a packet a shortcakes.  Now I’ll be having that somewhat healthy dessert this weekend.

It hasn’t always been easy to get up at 5:30 to run before work, but I’ve yet to miss a day in five months.  My friends rib me about how many steps I collect, but that just spurs me to get even more the next day.

It feels great when people tell me how skinny I look.  I love making room for my thinner guy wardrobe, and ditching my fay boy clothes.

Aside from being healthier, the best thing about this transformation has been the increase in my self-confidence.  I feel better about myself, I’m not worrying what people think about me, and I’m able to chat up members of the opposite sex more confidently.

No, I haven’t found a girlfriend yet, but let me orchestrate one miracle at a time.

That was a joke.

Sort of.

I’ve made sure to maintain my program over my vacation.  In fact, I’ve actually run an extra day this week.  No slacking off for me.  Not when I still have another 21 lbs to go before I hit the goal I set for myself on April 1.

I truly feel like an entirely different person.  I’m writing more, which I believe is linked to my increase in self-confidence.  I flirt with Mormon missionaries way more than I ever have in my life.

Five months isn’t very much, Modern Philosophers, but changes made over that time can be substantial.  If you want to get back into shape, I encourage you to start right now.  No more excuses.  Just do something active and make this day one of your new health and fitness routine.

If you need any advice or encouragement, feel free to reach out to me.  I’m happy to help.

Remember, you can’t wish away the weight or daydream yourself to a better life.  There needs to be some action.  You can do it.  Just take that first step.

The other 19,999 a day will just fall into place naturally…