I am the biggest loser

This is the point where I’d have to tell a few people in person to hush, because I’m not talking about my social status, I’m talking about weight loss.

First, let me say that I don’t think I’m fat, or obese (technically my BMI calculation puts me at “overweight”) – I think that I’m out of shape. Well, I know that I’m out of shape—both in terms of cardio and physique

Putting it into perspective

I’ve known for a while that I’m out of shape, and have half-heartedly attempted to fix that at different times, but I knew it was time to take action when I stepped on the scale and saw 190. Sure, 190 pounds isn’t that much, but at 5’8″ that becomes a lot to fit on my frame.

Despite eating approximately six times a day in the Philippines, I actually lost seven pounds. Of course, two months later I shot up to 190, so there has been a 12-13 pound weight gain just in the last two months alone. Now, I did miss American food and being able to choose what I wanted to eat, but that is ridiculous.

Ever since puberty I’ve been stocky and muscular, but definitely on the skinny side. My weight steadily increased throughout college to the point that I’ve been hovering around 185 lbs. for quite some time now.

The best shape I’ve ever been, was my second summer of lifeguarding at the good ol’ Hays Aquatic Park. Working with your shirt off all day is a good motivating factor to get into prime shape. My schedule also facilitated working out much easier, and was built into my day. At the end of that summer I weighed about 145 lbs., and was down to less than 7% body fat. I was definitely in shape, but it was a point beyond where I wanted to be (I couldn’t even keep my wallet in my back pocket because it hurt my ass too much.)

Once the motivation factor of working shirtless wore off, and the copious amounts of beer kicked in, the rest of my college-aged physique took a downturn to my current situation.

Plan of attack

Well, the plan of attack is a real simple, two-pronged approach: eat less and workout more. Simple enough—at least in theory.

A big part of my downfall is fast food. It’s available, it’s easy, and I’m lazy – that’s the combination that has been getting me into trouble. While I don’t have any specific dietary plan in place, limiting my fast food consumption is going to be a major part of it.

Just looking back at last month’s credit card statement, it’s ridiculous to see how much I’ve eaten out (and how much I’ve spent on it.)

The real problem with working out is finding time in the day to do it. Sure, taking an hour everyday seems like nothing, but it’s hard to find the motivation after spending eight hours at work. Having a workout built into my day really helped me progress before, so hopefully I can pick a schedule and stick to it.

I think it’s important to have a couple of cheat days, so I’m not going to be frantic about following set schedules, but I am going to try and be more disciplined.

Really, this post serves as a public shaming of myself for that needed ass-kick into doing something about it. I’ll develop a more detailed plan as I progress, and roll with the punches along the way.