So There I was, all excited about my decision to live a healthier life. I had thrown out all of the snacks that I had in my house, dumped all of the soda and iced tea out, and got rid of everything I could possibly think of that was bad for me.
I called my buddy back and told him what I had done, he was thrilled and he told me that before we went to the gym, this is what I needed to do for the next week.
1.) Go to the store and grab everything I need to make a salad
2.) Grab an already cooked rotisserie chicken
3.) Grab any fruits that I enjoy.
My first step before ever hitting the gym was to make a salad with NO dressing, and to pull all the skin from the rotisserie chicken and put just the meat into the salad.
The next part, which floored me, was I was told to eat that 3 times per day every single day for the next week because that was supposed to "cleanse" or "detox me". I also had to drink NOTHING but water from then going forward every day. I really hated the thought of this because I was so addicted to consuming cheese steaks, strombolis, Pepsi, Wawa Iced tea, and pizza but I was committed so I said "what the hell" and jumped right in.
My first week doing this I lost 25 pounds and I couldn't believe it! I learned many years later that the reason for the weight loss was NOT because this was some sort of an effective "cleanse" or a "detox".. In fact I do not recommend doing this at all. The reason I lost so much weight so quickly was because I was depriving myself of nutrients that I needed, so naturally I lost weight, but it wasn't a healthy way to do it.
At the time I didn't know any better, but I was sure excited. It was really rough the first week. I started having massive headaches b/c of withdraw from all of the caffeine I was used to consuming. I would have to force myself to eat these salads, and thought it was SO bizarre to eat a salad for breakfast. I pushed through and at the end of the week there I was, 25 pounds lighter and ready to take on the world.
The next step in changing my eating habits, was that for the next 4 months I could only eat ONE meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I would buy some boneless chicken breasts, cut them up, and prepare them on the stove top in a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil. Next step would be to throw them in a pan with plain canned chili beans, mix it all up, and that was my entire meal 3 times per week. Believe it or not, it was pretty tasty so I didn't actually mind that this was all I was allowed to eat.
The Gym, The Progress, and the Set-back:
My first day in the gym I had absolutely no clue what to expect. I was so excited because of the fact that I finally had someone there to teach me the way. I met up with my buddy and he took me over to the weight bench and told me what we would be doing. He created a Circuit-based free-weight workout, utilizing a flat weight bench. Here is the EXACT workout that I did to lose weight.
1.) Free Weight Bench Press - I started off with one 25 pound dumbell in each hand, laid flat on my back and would do a set of 10
2.) Dumbell Shrugs - I continued with the 25 pound dumbells in each hand, and I would do 10 shoulder shrugs.
3.) Single Arm Rows - Using the same 25 pound Dumbell i would firmly place my left hand and left Knee on the weight bench while keeping my back slightly arched but very tight. I would then complete 10 single arm rows with my right hand. I would then switch sides once done
4.) Side-arm Dumbell raises: Starting out I used 5 pound dumbells for this. I would place one dumbell in each hand. I would sit straight up, square my shoulders and keep my head straight and looking forward. I would start with my arms at my side next to my body, and I would then lift my arms, one at a time up until my arm was in line with my shoulder and fully extended. I did this for 20 total reps.
I want to make sure you guys keep one thing in mind as I make this next claim. It only took me 3 1/2 months to lose the 150 pounds that I lost. My buddy, my friends, my family, nobody could believe that I lost so much so fast and that I was completely healthy. I realized, as I got older, that the reason for this is because I DRASTICALLY changed my entire lifestyle. If you're looking to lose weight and eat healthier, you're most likely NOT going to have as fast of a transformation as that. My results were not typical at all so please understand that if you're reading this and feel inspired to make a positive change in your life, it will take some time and effort to see major results.
Now the biggest reason this workout was SO effective was because it was circuit based. I would switch immediately from one exercise to the next, repeating those 4 exercises continuously for a half hour without stopping. after 3 1/2 months It was 45 minutes. This workout was so effective, i only needed to do it 3 times per week. It combined strength training with cardio due to the non-stop movement and I saw the results in every party of my body all at once, not just my arms or upper body.
Here are pictures of my before and after so you can see the dramatic difference:
Now it's time for the set-back. Forward to 3 1/2 months later I was at the point where I had increased from 25 pound dumbells to 45 pound dumbells and I was using 15 pound weights for the other exercises instead of 5. I was feeling great and looking great. I was brimming with confidence, and for the first time in a long time I loved myself. I was happy with my looks, and proud of my progress. So one day after working out I noticed that my left leg started hurting, and that my lower back was a little sore. I mentioned this to my friend who was training me, and he said it was probably nothing to worry about. He figured I must have made a mistake and not used proper form on one of the exercises, told me to take like 2 days off and then see how I feel -- but it got worse.
Eventually I had this horrible sharp pain in my left leg which was CONSTANT , and nothing I did would get rid of it. I would have to sit with my leg elevated until my leg went numb just to feel any type of relief.
After a few days I decided to head to the Dr. to figure out what was going on because it just wasn't getting better. I'll never forget how all of the positive vibes, the confidence, and all of the excitement i was feeling disappeared instantly when he delivered the news. I had Herniated a disc in my back, which slipped through my spinal lining and was Crushing a nerve which was causing the UN-bearable pain in my left leg. The only way to resolve this was to have surgery to cut away at the disc and take the pressure off of the nerve.
I was so upset, I couldn't believe it. I had come so far, made so much progress, Lost so much weight....and the surgery couldn't happen for 6 weeks!.
I just kept asking myself, was I going to gain the weight back? Would I go back to my old eating habits? I was going to be laid up for 6 weeks and then a few weeks after that while recover.. would I undo EVERYTHING great that I had done??
I had no clue how I was going to handle the situation, but all I knew was that I did not want my life to go back to how it was....
---== Thank you for reading! Part 3 will be coming soon!! ==---