Jeran’s BodyBlog

Well, I completed Kris Gethin’s 12-Week Challenge, and I must say, I am pleased with the results!  I was extremely dedicated to my diet.  I only had two little mess-ups, and one was on my birthday, so I didn’t get too down on myself over it.  "Whatever it takes."  That’s what Kris told me to do to avoid cheating on my regimen.  But I learned that the two most important rules of dieting are these:  1) DON’T CHEAT ON YOUR DIET; 2) IF YOU DO CHEAT ON YOUR DIET, GET RIGHT BACK ON TRACK AND FORGET ABOUT IT.  If you beat yourself up over a small failure, it makes it that much harder to jump back on the horse. Consider it an exercise in determining how cheating makes you feel, and remember that learning experience next time you think about giving in to temptation.  If you learn from it and become better at what you’re trying to accomplish, at least it served a purpose, right?  I was very excited to get down under 200 lbs, and I intend to keep going.  I have maintained my cardio exercise almost every day (slacking slightly on the weekends) and I am sticking to my diet (also slacking a little on the weekends).  I haven’t been going to the gym for some time, but I want to get back to weight-training before long. 180 is still my goal, and I am very encouraged that I can reach it!  I went to my storage unit and picked up a bunch of my "skinny" clothes.  I fit into about half of them.  I also took all the clothes I’ve bought recently to be tailored, which was fun.  It’s like a little reward for all the effort I’ve put into this transformation.  Now, for the next phase…

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve posted, obviously.  I stuck with the SlimFast thing for a good run, but I was hoping for more dramatic results from the ECA stack.  I lost about 50 pounds several years ago using ephedrine, and I read not too long ago that although ephedrine was illegal as a fat loss supplement, you could still get it as a pharmaceutical grade alkaloid.  I ordered a bunch, but let me be probably the LAST to tell you – it doesn’t work the same as good ol’ Metabolife.  SO, as has been the case in the past, I didn’t see results and started slowly slacking off.  I never did get back to the gym on any sort of regular basis, save for the occasional swim.  Life has been really really busy, with all that’s happening with Bodybuilding.com and getting The Naughties off the ground and running (we start regular shows in April).  I have managed to keep my weight somewhat in check, but I’m sure I’ve been losing muscle.  My new "before" pics may look worse than my original ones.  I haven’t uploaded them yet, but I will soon.  Anyway, long story short (?), I’ve started training with Kris Gethin, and he’s got me on a clean diet.  We weight-train two groups a day – two days on, one day off.  You can view his 12-week Program at http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/krisgethin44.htm.  I highly recommend it.  I have always been completely lost when I walk into a gym, so I always run right for the bikes and do a bunch of cardio.  Now I’m learning to incorporate different exercises into my routine, and I’m looking forward to the results!  I’m also enjoying only doing 15 minutes of cardio each morning, the most Kris recommends.  If this works, I’ll be kissing his boots.  I have no doubt that it will.  Thank you Kris!

Ok, I kind of fell off the wagon for a bit.  I haven’t made it to the gym in a LONG time, and I haven’t been eating the healthiest.  I’ve only had fast food a few times in the last several months, so I feel pretty good about that part of my mission, but I need to stay strong and keep it cut out of my diet.  Pizza has been my cheat food, for sure.  And a bag of halloween candy or two. 

SO ANYWAY…I’m ready to hit it hard again, diet-wise.  I feel like I have no spare time, so we’ll see about getting on a schedule for the gym, but I want to immediately get rid of some of this weight (I’m an instant-gratification kind of guy), so I’m doing the whole SlimFast thing for a while, and taking an ECA stack throughout the day.

My motivation right now is the fact that my band, The Naughties, recently reformed, and we will be playing out and about in a couple of months.  I don’t want to hit the stage with a big ol’ gut, so I’m going to be very disciplined about my intake, and try to get more activity in my day.

I haven’t weighed myself recently, so I don’t know how far I’ve backslid, but I’ll post my stats as soon as I get them.  If you’ve read this far, thanks for caring!  Oh, and GO BEARS!!!

Okay…here it is.  My first blog ever!  I avoided it as long as I could.  This past week,  I began a new health kick by engaging in a de-tox diet with my partner Megan.  We cut dairy, wheat/gluten, sugar, meat of all kinds (except for salmon), caffeine, and alcohol from our intake.  I must say, I feel much better already!  I have more energy and just generally feel more "with it," if you will.  I’ve let my eating habits go to hell over the past few years, and my physique is hard (or soft, rather) evidence of that. I am DONE with fast food like McDonald’s and that rot FOREVER.  There’s no motivation quite like putting fat pictures of yourself up on the web.  LOL

I recently restructured my gym membership (which I never used to use) so Megan and I could work out together, and I am considering employing a personal trainer for a while, to get a good routine going for myself.  I am completely gym-illiterate.  It’s like going to another planet for me.  I just quickly locate the bikes and get riding.  But it’s time to make use of the facilities available to me.  If I want to lose this 43 lbs. it’s going to take
some serious work, and a little help might be just the thing.  We’ll see…