Before I write the article, I want to make a few things clear. One – this is NOT going to turn into a health blog. I’ve turned it into a freestyle blog where I can write about anything I want. This time, I’m writing about something personal. This is the one and only post I’ll write about how I lost this weight.
Two – there’s more than one way to do it. Just like doing art. People who think there’s only one way to do anything annoy me. This just happens to be how I did it.
And three – understand that results will vary. What works for me may not work for you and vice versa. I know this works for me because I did it.
I’m naturally thin. So 20 extra pounds on me made me skinny fat. Of all the body shapes, this is on of the worst for men. It is unattractive.
I’m not going to go into why I got like that. I was going thru too much and one day, looked in the mirror and didn’t like what I saw.
Luckily, I still had my finances in order. So rather than try to learn how to do everything myself, I paid someone else to coach me thru it.
I found the perfect coach. He had a degree in health and owned the gym I worked out at.
The secret to learning from a coach
Learning from a coach is easy. First, it’s up to you to find the right coach. You got to find someone who you’ll work well with. Second, once you’ve found that person, you need to shut up and listen.
It’s the second part that most people have the problem with. Too many people like to show off how smart they are.
If you’re so smart, then why did you hire a coach in the first place?
So that’s exactly what I did. Despite playing football, I acted like I knew nothing and absorbed every word he said.
Diet
You’ll reach an age where diet becomes more important than exercise. That year is different for everyone. Some folks, it’s 20. Some it’s 30. Some can even stretch it out to 40.
They can eat garbage and still look good.
Well guess what? That will all come to an end one year.
That’s exactly what happened to me. I was used to getting away with dietary murder. And suddenly, it caught up with me. And I looked and felt like shit.
So my coach asked all the necessarily questions. Do I have dietary restrictions? Blah blah blah.
Then, he recommended a semi-Paleo diet. I cut carbs way down. Cut processed foods out entirely. Upped the meats. Upped the veggies.
Cut out seed oils. Replaced them with butter and olive oil. Fried way less. Grilled, baked, and broiled more.
It was fun. I got good at cooking various meats in the process.
The biggest change though was intermittent fasting. I’d go 17-18 hours a day without eating.
It’s actually easy. Just skip either dinner or breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day? That’s an advertising slogan from the 40s. If you believe it, congratulations. You’ve been programmed well by cereal corporations.
Exercise
My coach owned a gym. So of course he’s going to recommend weightlifting.
Luckily for me, it’s my favorite exercise other than American football or soccer anyways. I love lifting weights.
He focused on the main six – squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, bench, dips, and overhead press. Yes, two of those are bodyweight exercises. Those are great. I don’t see why people don’t do more bodyweight exercises.
Cardio was secondary. Muscle building was primary.
And sure enough, the fat came off. Muscle started appearing where fat used to be.
I lost 20 pounds and was measurably stronger. I’ve always had strong legs but a weak ass chest. It took what seemed like forever to bench one plate. Now, that’s what I warm up with.
Stretching
My coach practiced stretching religiously. We always started off five minutes of stretching before lifting. We used regular stretches, the wall, and those stretching rope things.
Results
It took me a little over a year to lose that 20 pounds while still improving in strength. Some men want to be big. I don’t. I prefer being skinny strong. That’s just me though.
The thing is, if you’re not cheating yourself, you’ll get results.
I’ve seen so many people eating garbage, then lying to me that they didn’t eat anything. Why lie to me? I don’t control your body. You’re just looking like an idiot when you do that.
No snacking. That 17-18 hours means 17-18 hours where the only thing you get is water and black coffee. No sugar or cream or any processed garbage in the coffee either. So no Starbucks. Which I don’t miss anyways. I think their coffee is overrated crap.
So that’s it. This is a one time article. I won’t write it again.
If you want to lose weight, you need self-control more than anything else. I went off in my previous article about how this country is so fat. That’s not a good thing. All that extra weight is going to make you work that much harder to get from point a to point b, and also make your heart and liver work that much harder.
I feel much happier now. You’ll notice that that’s one of the first things you hear from people who lost weight. They feel happier. Make a mental note there.
There’s a reason for that and it’s not society or any other bullshit. It’s because that extra weight is putting strain on your body and getting rid of it is like freeing yourself from a ball and chain.
It was like having a daily burst of energy. I felt younger. Stronger. Happier. More alive.
Highly recommend shedding that extra weight. It may be the best thing you can do for yourself this year.
