I’ll get it out in the open now: I fell off the wagon. I worked out for the first two weeks as the program described, 3 days of weight training, 3 days of aerobic exercise, one day off. The third week I stumbled a few times, missing a day here, a day there, for one reason or another. And then, I just quit. Missing one day led to missing two days, which led to.. well, you see the pattern. It’s easy to do this with anything, but I was really hoping to not do it with this program.

I emailed James and politely asked him to give me a kick in the ass, which he did. Last Monday, April 30th, I “reset the clock” and started over on the program. Since then, I’ve not missed a day. I’m still struggling / experimenting with the Body for Life diet, but that’s not due to lack of willpower: I can’t afford the diet. Hopefully I can come up with a cheaper eating plan that is as good for me.

The results I’ve seen from the exercise routine are great. I haven’t lost much weight, perhaps a few pounds, but I can tell a difference in my body nonetheless. Clothes fit a bit more comfortably, and both my upper and lower body are getting some muscle tone to them (as opposed to the flubber that has covered them for years now). I know my muscles are getting more accustomed to the strenuous workouts, because I don’t wake up the next day aching now.

I’d say I’m going to end up like James, and adopt this “12 week challenge” as a life habit. I’m still figuring it all out, but I’m already seeing big changes in how I feel. I’m working out harder than I ever have in my life (I’m not exaggerating about that in the least), and it’s paying off. I certainly don’t look or feel like a million bucks yet, but I can certainly feel my value rising with each exercise session.

Dear Josh,

We, the United Muscles of Your Lower Body, are concerned. We received news from the Dominion of Your Upper Body three days ago, which stated that you have started a new exercise and dieting regime, called Body for Life. The news from Monday stated furthermore that, on that day, you exercised the Muscles of the Dominion of Your Upper Body strenuously, causing discomfort, achiness, and stiffness. Being members of the United Muscles of Your Lower Body, this did not concern us a great deal. What you do to the members of the Dominion has little impact on us.

However, yesterday, you did something that does concern us. You forced us to work. You made us work hard, doing movements which you haven’t had us do in years. We are not happy with this development. In particular, Hamstrings is extremely upset, stating that you have mostly let him sit on his (proverbial) ass for many years now, and that it is unfair to ask him to work so hard now. He is extremely sore, and is in mild to medium pain everytime you bend your knee. Abdominals is also irate at your new activities, stating that he was perfectly content to hide, mostly unused, under your massive gut.

We want to make it clear: if you continue with such activities, we will continue to issue complaints. We don’t like being sore.

Best,
The United Muscles of Your Lower Body

(I know, I know. Starting a new “life change” program while simultaneously playing around with NationStates brings about some really odd blog posts.)

Having said that, I was a bit surprised when I weighed myself this morning, and instead of being a pound or two lighter, I was nine pounds heavier. The scales report that I now weigh 282 pounds. What’s that about? Is that normal? I’m certianly not going to let it persuade me to quit what I’m doing; if anything, I’m just kind of laughing at the occurrence. For so long, I had been eating whatever I wanted, and in quantities far too large. I was putting on weight, but it was being packed on slowly. I then spend a couple of weeks writing down everything I eat, keeping precise track of nutritional information, and… I gain nearly 10 pounds! At that rate, I’d be better off (weight wise) to return to my former habits! Can anyone comment on this? James, did you experience anything like this when you started your program?

Regarding what I said about me being hesitant to call this a “diet”: I don’t think it’s a diet. “Going on a diet” implies that you’re changing your eating habits until you lose weight. I don’t intend on reverting to my previous eating habits, even when I eventually lose the weight I want to. If I did revert, I’d just balloon back up to my former size, and I don’t want to do that. Losing all of this blubber once is going to be hard enough. So, “lifestyle change” it is…

I want to lose weight for a variety of reasons, some fairly common and some not so common. I want to lose weight so it will be easier to find clothes that fit; so I can do more physical activities without being worn out so quickly; and for my health. Considering my family history, me being overweight is a Bad Thing (TM). My dad had congestive heart failure, along with diabetes; my grandpa on my mom’s side died of a heart attack.

I also want to lose weight because of my recent “devotion”, if you will, to Buddhism. The Buddha called his way “The Middle Way”, because he felt that people should avoid the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification (ascetism). I have certainly not erred on the side of self-mortification, but I do believe my weight and my eating habits are a testament to the fact that I have gone down the path of self-indulgence. I’ve let my body “slide” for too long, and it’s time to fix that. My body, while impermanent just like everything else, is what I have to use to do for myself, my family, and others, at least for this lifetime. It’s also what I have to use to meditate and to further understand myself and the world. Letting it go just isn’t something I can live with any longer.

A few people inspired me to start this “diet”, or lifestyle change: Marcel, my longtime German friend, who has recently lost quite a bit of weight by dieting and exercising regularly, and James, of leihu.com, who is also a fellow 9Rules member. (He’s also, coincidentally, a fellow Buddhist.) James also had a weight problem, and he has dealt with it marvelously. Check out those pictures, and give the man a congratulations; he’s earned them!

Along with the dieting, I’ve started exercising regularly, doing a variety of things: using my elliptical trainer, lifting weights, and doing various exercises on my exercise ball. I have, of course, not seen any weight change as of yet (it’s only been three days!), but I’m already feeling a bit better about myself, if for no other reason than I’m putting forth some effort to fix this problem.

As a humorous aside, I gave the book I’m using to keep track of my eating habits a title: The Fat Book. It’s in big, bold letters on the front page. I figure that will serve as a good reminder to stick with this…