Starting Over with My Weightloss Journey
Disclaimer: I am not a certified physical trainer. I’m exercising based on the advice of researching various websites. What might work for one, might not work for you. Consult with your physician or a personal trainer to formulate a plan that’s specific to your goals.
Ever since 1987, I’ve struggled with my weight. I note the year because that’s when I went in the Army. I was overweight by their standards (around 185 pounds), and, for the next 8 years, I had to constantly work to keep the weight off. Eventually, around 1989, I shed the weight. The Army kept giving me chance after chance to lose weight. I wasn’t allowed to be promoted, receive awards, and had to participate in what was called “Remedial PT”-that’s where us fat-bodies and physical fitness test flunkies did more strenuous, longer time length physical training (PT) than the rest of my unit. Once I stopped the pity party and motivated myself, I shook the weight off. I wound up getting to around 167 pounds. I did this by running almost every night after the final formation. I’d run 3-5 miles, EVERY NIGHT. I would put my running clothes on, head out the main gate of the installation, and got after it.
The same scenario happened every time I changed assignments: gain weight (because I LOVE FOOD!), work like a dog to get it off. The cycle continued until I got out of the Army in 1995.
My wife and I (some of y’all might know her-Becky Willis!) got married in September of 1995. I settled into the role of father, husband, uncle, etc. I became complacent just being a civilian. I not only gained the weight back, but I also surpassed that several pounds over! We adopted a dog, Chance, and he and I would go out in the mornings for walks so he could go to the bathroom. All of a sudden, I noticed that my clothes began fitting a bit looser! Over a period of time, he and I would walk a little while, jog a little bit, repeat, until we were putting in around 4 miles during the week, and more than 4 miles on weekends. Rain or snow, it didn’t matter. He and I enjoyed our time together. I eventually got down to about 175 pounds. I kept it off until we went camping and I strained my back. Needless to say……you guessed it….hello weight gain! 🙁
It wasn’t until 2012 that I decided to get back into weight loss. I was training to be a bus driver for our school, and we had to get physicals. The thing that made me get back in the game was my weight-275 pounds! That was slightly more than I weighed when we got Chance! I began walking pretty much everyday, watched how much I ate and I lost a pant size between May and September!
Around March 2013, I began working out at the gym at the school I worked at (I was a part-time bus driver, full-time cleaner). We mixed cardio with weight lifting: Do whatever weight training exercises the strength and conditioning coach told us, jog a lap around the indoor track, repeat for about 45 minutes to an hour. Five (5) days a week. I would most of the time do 6 days a week, whether it was lifting or running. I lost not only weight, but pant sizes flew off!
In June of that year I ran a 5K for ovarian cancer, Live Like Liz and not only did I complete it, I ran under 35 minutes! I was so proud of myself!
In 2014, the gym where I trained changed supervisors and therefore wanted money to use the facility. The previous supervisor felt that because I worked there, I should be able to use the gym. Stupid me (yes, slight pity party here) decided, “I’ll just jog”. And that worked for a while, until November……
I went out for a jog, and when I came back, my lower back “caught”. I went to get out of my sweaty clothes, and my back seized up! I couldn’t walk! After a trip to the ER, it was determined I had had a muscle spasm/pinched nerve. I was given muscle relaxers and painkillers. From then until this day I experience some pain, but mostly stiffness and discomfort. Needless to say, the weight came back. In December of that year, until January 2016, I worked a part-time job at our local hospital and my full-time job of cleaner. I had given up my bus driver position, and money-wise we felt the pinch.
This is me, present day…..
I once again decided to make a change. I’ve had a membership to Planet Fitness for a few months. I would go every now and then, but I wasn’t being fully committed. I was only fooling myself that going a few days a week would get the job done. I finally got tired (both literally and figuratively) of trying to tie my shoes and finding it difficult to do so! I bear no shame, as this was solely my doing. I just had to get a plan and get on with it.
The biggest “war against being overweight” starts in the kitchen. I’ve been limiting my carbohydrate intake, drinking more water (at least 64 ounces/day), and controlling my food choices and intake. During the day, I’ll snack on raw almonds (7 pieces, 3 times per day, with a bottle of water), and I work out different muscle groups each day, and one to two days of cardio (walking), with one of those days being after weight training. On that day, I may not go farther than 3 miles, but the day that’s cardio only, I’ve bumped up my mileage to 4 miles. I use the Mapmywalk app and it’s great!
I began my workout plan, and continue this plan, by targeting specific muscle groups:
- Chest and Triceps
- Back and Biceps
- Cardio
- Shoulders
- Legs
The idea is to do 3-4 exercises, 4 sets each. Be sure to warm up with little to no weight, doing those exercises you’re going to do, then do the sets. On the muscle groups that are one group only (i.e.; shoulders), I’ll do about 5-6 exercises. Your last set (4th) will be a heavy set: 5 repetitions, as much weight as you can do. After your workout, drink a protein shake (2 scoops of whey protein powder to 8 ounces of WATER. Milk will cause you to gain weight!). To determine what exercises to do, I use the app Jefit to give me ideas.
For now, being that I’m starting my second week, I keep it simple. Try to do the same exercises on the days specified (If you do bench press for chest, do those on chest day for 4 weeks before adding more exercises to your routine. It takes about 4 weeks to notice strength gains, and about 8 weeks to notice physical changes. I know it seems like a long time; but, stick with it! You’ll be glad you did!
My next several posts will more than likely be “what Rog did in the gym today” posts. My goal is to share what I’m doing. I hope that maybe I’ll reach someone, inspire someone. To motivate someone!
Do you have fitness and/or weight-loss goals?
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I LOVE this! The quote at the beginning is absolutely amazing, and it holds true for any endeavor you may be trying to accomplish.
Thank you for that! The key is to remind yourself of the goal!
I think many fitness journeys, including mine, ring similar to yours. Over the years, I have had times where I could not keep myself out of the gym, as well as spurts where I found it difficult to get off the couch. The important thing is that you always have the drive to keep pushing. Good for you!
Yes indeed Marcie! I hope to never lose that drive!
Thank you for sharing this very personal up and down of weight loss and gain. You know how to do this and I know you will get down to the weight you want to be at for you.
Thank you for your support! I consider it a lesson learned!
Congrats! You are very inspirational! I too struggle with the on again off again weight. Currently its ON AGAIN! The older I get the harder it is work off! I have started running, yoga and pilates! hopefully that will help too!
Thank you for your kind words! Yes, I too have gotten older, and went through a period of about 3 years where I would say to myself, “I’ll start soon”. Well, that hasn’t worked out too well! I feel you’re on the right track, with what you’re doing. Half the battle of losing weight is FOOD! You’re already doing the movements so it’ll come. It’s always harder to take off than it is to put on!
This is so inspirational! You should be very proud of yourself! And I do know your wife—she’s awesome! 🙂
Thank you! I keep telling myself, “one day at a time”. I’ll tell her you said hello! And yes, she is awesome!
I’m trying to get myself on track to having a fitness routine I can stick with. I just need a little push to get myself going. Good luck on your endeavor.
I’ll keep posting workouts and inspirational type posts. Stay tuned for more! Thanks for the well-wishes
You are doing so awesome! I try to make sure I jog daily to help stay in safe. I also need to start doing more lifting.
If there’s a Planet Fitness close to you they’re relatively cheap. Good for you on your jogging!!??
I can’t even imagine how difficult it was being in the military and having to do the PT thing and try so hard to make the cut so to speak. It would be horrible to be held back from so much too! I am so happy for you and proud of you for taking so much on in your journey.
I know you can do it! You have great motivating factors too.
Keep up the great work and never give up!
Well, there’s all that you mentioned, plus the peer shaming (not from everyone, just random a-holes that were in my company). What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger I guess! Thank you for your support and I will keep moving forward!
You are an inspiration. I just got back on track and hopefully I will continue to do this. Good luck on your journey as well.
Thank you! And good luck to you on your journey as well! I’m real easy to find on Facebook, so hit me up if you wanna vent or share a milestone!
Your story is like so many others, this can be so inspirational. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much! I hope to maybe some day inspire someone or some people to make the jump
With your discipline, I’m sure you can do it! It’s awesome to be able to focus on your health and get back in shape. I’ve decided to follow a strict diet at the beginning of the year and I’ve been following it until now. Nothing is impossible if we put our mind to it!
Yes, nothing is impossible! We will not be denied! Thank you for your comments! It’s greatly appreciated!
That’s great motivation. When the goals seems so far away, it is easy to give up. I need to remind myself of my original motivation and break down how I’m going to get there. Congrats on your commitment to your health goals.
Thank you Heather! I hope to keep inspiring people to get motivated to get healthy! Stay tuned for more posts!
I too have struggled with my weight. Last year, I lost 40 pounds and with health issues on the rise, my weight has been creeping back up. Hopefully, I can start walking again and get my rheumatoid arthritis symptoms under control. I will also be blogging it once again, I did better with accountability even if I screwed up.
Sorry to hear about your flare-up! I hope you can get it under control! When you get back to blogging about it, please let me know! It’ll be nice to share each other’s victories!
Thank you for sharing your story. I have been yoyo dieting since the birth of my first son (I have 4 kids now 9-16yrs old) so I understand! I recently started walking again and slowly saw the weight come off and stay off!
Thank you for the support! Weight has been an issue for me for a very long time. It got to a point, a few times I might add, where I just said the heck with it. But, I was only fooling myself. Good for you on getting your walk on!
What inspires me the most about your story is your drive and motivation! I find it so hard to get started working out and keep it that way. As soon as I travel out of town for anything longer than 5 days, I’m back to square one!
Thank you for your kind words and support! I haven’t yet had to figure out fitting in a workout while on a trip; but most of the hotels/resorts I stay at have a pretty good gym. If your trips are super busy, then I can see an issue fitting in a workout daily.
We really have to keep going! I just began my fitness journey this year in March and lost a lot of weight come June. Now I’m still trying to lose some weight and maintain the weight I lost. You are doing such a great job of keeping your goal of trying to be healthy.
It truly is a journey! You’re doing fantastic! Yes, one foot in front of the other, taking it day by day! Thank you for your wonderful reply!
Good for you! I’m glad you didn’t give up! I lack motivations when it comes to working out, but I know I need to start if I want to keep my health in check.
I’m living by a little motto I picked up in the Army:It’s 80% mental, 20% physical! You can do it!
Now that’s some inspiration right there! I have decided to focus on getting myself back in shape this season as well. I want to make sure that I’m healthy and fit so that I can take better care of my kids!
Awesome, AnnMarie! I’m going to be putting up posts of different exercises that I do. You should check out the app Jefit! It shows you different exercises for your different muscle groups!
Wishing you well on your journey back to health. I have been advised by my doctor to avoid strenuous exercises so I can only do walking and stretching exercises. I don’t really have to lose weight because I am at my ideal weight right now. I just have to maintain it.
Thank you, Eileen! Walking and stretching are both great! I’ve got a long ways to go, but the end result will be so worth it!
I think you are doing a great job keeping your goal of trying to be healthy.
Thank you! It’s been a struggle here and there, but, I’m sticking with it.