R5D51 – Medium and Much Anticipated Photo Update

Medium day, the day when I feel like I can use the 70lb KB to do Clean and Press because I took it easy on Light Day. Medium day = sore back the next day. Either way, almost every person who claims to know anything about Kettlebell training says you are supposed to occasionally use a KB that is heavy for you and difficult to do anything with. That in mind, I tried some C&P with the 70 and almost killed myself in the process. However, I was able to do at least 1, 2 and 3 C&P with it during my 5th and final set. I woke up this morning still able to walk so it didn’t kill me!

One of the questions I have had ever since the beginning of my P90X journey is for photo updates, mostly because people’s reluctance to subscribe to the system is that they think it won’t work. If they are willing to give it a shot, it is usually on the back of seeing someone just like them who has succeeded. I know I am the same, the reason I started with P90X was not only because I had tried P90 with my wife during the summer a couple of years ago and pretty much hated it. It was too easy, it reminded me of a bad 80’s aerobic class. I had a hankering for something that would make me feel manly, like I could rip a phone book apart with my bare hands, something that would help me to return to my former fitness glory. I was fat. I had got down to 252 lbs right before the wedding in 2007 but since then had ballooned back up to 292. During the wedding push we had eaten vegan, tried the raw diet, ate a lot of fruits and veg but just couldn’t stick with it. The problem was cravings for carbs since we had inadvertently gone full carb in our diet. It was a train wreck of a diet but as with most things, if you are really fat, but exercising, you will likely lose some weight. I knew as we started our honeymoon cruise that I was never going to be able to maintain that low number. I had forced myself into that weight, given up everything I wanted and been miserable in the process. The photos from the wedding looked great, but I was setting myself up for failure. When we went toEngland in 2008 I was at my all time high (again) and was one Sticky Toffee Pudding away from 300lbs. Fast forward to now, at 245lbs and I feel like I can still go lower without really trying. Weight loss has become simple and a no brainer for me since giving up grains and going paleo.

So what of the photos? Well, during my first round of P90X I didn’t follow the diet plan, in fact, right up until the third week of round 4 I wasn’t really on a diet as such. I always had reasons I didn’t need to, and as a result, I always had a reason not  to take pictures. The reason: I wasn’t losing any of my stored body fat. I was getting fitter, although during round 2 I was also getting heavier, not lighter. It was a struggle at times to keep up and keep going but once I started in with Insanity, things started to improve a little. It was round 3, I had a new baby as motivation and so I dropped  a few pounds, not that you could really notice since losing 10 lbs when you are 270 is like Justin Bieber, largely irrelevant. I would like to say that I did P90X and was transformed but my journey wasn’t that direct. During round 1 I took bodypart pictures because I still wasn’t proud enough to do a full body shot. I am not sure why, I was in OK shape at the time but still weighing in at a whopping 260lbs. That was the last time I was anywhere near confident enough to share my shape. So I thought since I owe so much to this system I have developed that I would put together some pictures to show my progress. Not just my progress in P90X but my overall progress to where I am now which, I am hoping, is only half way to where I will end up.

Here are the pics… You can figure out which is which.

1991 – around 190lbs

The picture that brought it all home. Summer 08

March 2011 – 245lb

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So that is where I am and where I came from. I am hoping that from now on I will be able to post more picture updates, it’s good for my confidence, my comfort level and hopefully it will be a good motivator for someone waiting in the wings hoping to step into the game…