I made a quiet resolution last December to get in better shape this year, partly spurred by the fact that I was tired of avoiding the scale in fear of finally having crossed the 200lb tickmark. Also, I wasn’t wearing more than a third of my wardrobe because I didn’t like how most of it fit and I refused to buy the next size up, but was getting to the point where it was becoming unavoidable.
First, I quit smoking; completely this time. No more social, only-when-drinking, it’s-not-really-smoking smokes.
Next, earlier this year, I had Salomé put me on a high-protein, 1500-calorie diet for about six weeks, taking lunch to work everyday and cutting way back on, or out completely, almost every indulgence, including alcohol.
When I switched jobs at the beginning of April, I slipped a little bit as I explored the neighborhood at lunch every day and indulged myself, though I’d often attempt to offset it by eating less on the weekends. I’ve also made it a point to walk as much as possible during my lunch breaks, and often trekking as far as Columbus Circle to catch the train after work instead of the stop a block away.
Now, on Tuesday, I rejoined the gym, NYSC this time, and the next day went to work out for the first time in…well, I can’t actually remember the last time, but it’s been a long while despite having paid for a Crunch membership for most of my four years at the previous job and never going for more than a month or two in a row. I weighed myself there and came in at 184 lbs, the lightest I’ve been since…2000? That’s at least 15lbs from my high (though it could be a bit more since I actively avoided weighing myself once I hit 199lbs) and about 9-14lbs away from my ideal goal of 170-175lbs.
I did my usual mish-mash of warmup stretches and push-ups, each one a hold-over from my Army days and what I can remember from PT. (Back then, I smoked a pack a day and drank like a fish every night, while getting up every morning at 6am for a 2-5 mile run, averaging a 6.5-minute mile over the 2-1/2 years I was on active duty.) Loosened up and ready to go, I hit one of those low-impact walking/jogging machines that work your lower body, inadvertently spending the first 15 minutes targeting my glutes, wondering why the rotation of the pedals was so awkward, before I realized you could control the areas you wanted to target. I did 35 minutes altogether at a steady pace, speed-walking the equivalent of 2.5 miles, before stepping off to the kind of rubbery legs you only get from a good physical workout. Starting today, I’m going to incorporate their “XpressLine” workout to my routine, a 22-minute total body circuit workout on eight different Nautilus (?) machines. I’ll also take advantage of Summer Fridays and spend 15-20 minutes in the sauna, a luxury I haven’t taken advantage of in years.
Later this summer, once the gym has comfortably settled into my weekly lunch routine (I’m planning to go M-W-F) and I’ve got my stamina built up, I’m going to hit their Thursday night boxing class, which outside of the Army, is the best workout I’ve ever done, for about six months back in the mid-90s, the last time I was an NYSC member.
The weight I’ve already lost from the diet and cutting back on my alcohol intake is especially visible in my face (the composite picture above is from this past April and last June, top and bottom, respectively), and I can now wear all of my clothes for the first time in years. I feel better, too, which is good timing as some days I can feel every one of my almost thirty-eight years, especially in my knees!
By the time we head down to Cancun at the end of August, I should be in pretty good beach shape, and should also be well on-track towards hitting my weight goal. With the big 4-0 looming on the horizon, when the more serious health concerns start to crop up, I want both my waistline and general health to be a complete non-issue.
