rustypants speaks

or, Goals and Reflections

this is the final post (for now) that started with Part I, Part II, and Part III. check those out for the history.

at this point, 11 weeks into this lifestyle change, i’ve:

• lost 21lbs
• gained crazy muscle mass
• started drinking mass water
• dumped junk food and bad eating habits
• become jillian michaels’ circuit-training bitch
• been biking daily
• started weight training
• begun eating lots of fruit and veggies througout the day
• felt better than i have in 20+ years

i’ve still got a long way to go. i’m currently 264lbs, which, at 6′ tall, still puts me way out of healthy range. much of what i’ve read suggests having a target or a goal, but i’ve resisted this because i don’t want this to become something i HATE doing because i’ve not lost this or that amount of weight, etc.

what i WANT my motivation to be is to simply continue eating healthy, feeling healthy, using exercise and eating right to accomplish this.

if i were going to set a target weight, i’d probably shoot for 220lbs (in the back of my mind it sounds like a good, attainable, healthy number).

things i’m noticing

• i’m insanely aware of my body now – this never used to be the case.
• my skin is getting tight
• my feet are shrinking (took my birkenstocks in a notch last month, and having to do it again now!)
• my breathing is much more… full? easy?
• muscles are getting bigger and tighter (a strange sensation)
• my stomach is shrinking (but still has a lot more shrinking to do)
• my arms don’t jiggle
• my face has gotten lean (and the wrinkles that have been poofed out by all the fat – they’re shining through now, and i don’t care!)
• i’m very aware of the foods i’m eating, how MUCH food i’m eating, and the choices i’m making
• it’s taking a lot more work to get my heart rate up, pushing me to do longer and harder sprints on the bike, and add more weight to the barbells
• my clothes are getting too loose (can anyone contribute to my Scott Needs New Clothes Fund?)
• there’s almost a “high” that lasts for hours after a good workout – that alone is motivation to push it and work hard! but the increased stamina is also huge!

as i explained in Part I, this started out as a bet with my friend Tim. Tim has won both june and july, and i told him a few weeks ago: i feel so damn good, i’d rather lose the whole kit and kaboodle and continue this lifestyle beyond the contest rather than win and have gained nothing in a healthy lifestyle sense. i’m loving these changes!

now, in the interest of full disclosure, i need to admit that i started this journey during my summer off. being a high school teacher has been beneficial in the sense that i needed to work on getting these changes integrated when i was able to be incredibly flexible. school starts back next week, so the journey continues, but now under “real life(?)” circumstances. i’m going to be struggling with getting up early to get the first half of my workout done, then finishing up the second half after teaching high school juniors and seniors all day.

a final observation:

i’m very thankful that at age 40 and after 19 years of marriage, with some exercise and weight training, i can still make hott chicks swoon. here’s to the hottest chick in my life!