My Weight Loss Journey

So, I had MULTIPLE people asking similar questions about what I did to lose weight in https://imgur.com/gallery/joC1S. I thought I'd make a separate post showing my journey and to give some advice about what kept me on track.

I'll start off by saying I wasn't always depressed, and I already had a build from playing football and running track in high school (I'm 162 pounds in the photo above). The weight gain didn't last but maybe 2-3 years. This explains why my stretch marks were red- my weight gain was very fast, but it also explains why my stretch marks aren't very apparent in the pictures that I have now. I didn't do anything to get rid of them, and I still have them all over- anywhere from my arms to my upper thighs. Being smaller and having muscle mass from prior fitness also helped me lose the weight. The weight loss photos above are only 7 months apart (February to August). I've lost a bit more since then, but I haven't been as strict since August. I will be starting a new weight-loss and bulk next week!

Firstly, remember that you need to be doing this for you, and no one else. If you worry about what other people think during this process it WILL psych you out. This is a very personal journey, and you learn a lot about what you can push yourself to do. It's not just about what you're doing in the gym- it's about staying active and doing things you don't normally do. New things are scary, but I promise the reward is worth it.

I know that there were also big concerns with extra skin and what happened with my half sleeve (Currently in the process of making it a full sleeve!). I lost about 80 pounds, but I didn't have any loose skin. Most weight loss photos that show extra skin are EXTREMELY fast weight loss photos. I'm not an expert when it comes to these things, but I've heard that if you do what I did (Lifting along with cardio while you're losing weight) it lessens the amount of loose skin due to muscle filling in. My arms didn't really change size.

Dieting is the most important aspect of losing weight, but you have to be careful when doing them (AKA, DO YOUR RESEARCH, your body is different than mine and the next person's). Fad diets (Like Keto) aren't recommended by me. Some people have huge success with these, but it's really easy to get burnt out after a week of eating strict diets. Not only that, but I know Keto in general is not recommended for people who have low blood sugar because of the steep drop of carbs. I had a lot of questions about what diet I did during this process and...well...I didn't have one. We know what we need to eat, and what not to eat. Drink water, tea, and black coffee- not coke's. We know these things, and I know they taste so much better, but you'll FEEL better with the other selections. I didn't eat chips and stayed away from bread. If I had bread, I ate whole wheat. Fruits are great energy boosters. Veggies are great carbs to keep in your diet. I read that a lot of people were skipping meals and not eating their protein- this is just about as bad as eating unhealthily. It sets your metabolism to slow down the processing of food to energy which turns it into fat instead. I had a cheat meal every now and then, but if you're just starting out, ease your way into this. Eat healthy food and get your palate accustomed to the food, and then make a meal plan. I ate at 1800 calories when I began.

I stated above that I recommend lifting along with cardio. It was explained to be like this- think of your muscles as an engine, and your fat as fuel. A 4-Cylinder will not burn as much fuel throughout its time in use than a Hemi 440.

Now for the fun part! My workout program came from a guy named Kris Gethin (Above) on Bodybuilding.com. I did his 12 week trainer to a key and lost 40 pounds in 3 months. Bodybuilding.com has since locked their work out programs behind buying their products, so its up to you if you want to pay for it. I know Kris is starting a new 8-week program starting January 8th, and he's doing it completely free with updates directly from him (I will be doing this program too).
https://www.kagedmuscle.com/blogs/trainers/8-week-hardcore-trainer-2018-reboot
After the 12 week trainer was done, I started to do my own workouts (I can do a separate post for my personal workout if there's enough interest, but this post is to help people get a starting point). I like Kris because his workouts are very unique. It shocks your body, and that's how to lose weight and gain muscle the fastest.

Here's my #cattax -Pickle dressed up as a pickle.