kem1139’s BodyBlog

Well I’ve started back at it after takeing some time off. I was just getting so burned out and with my work schedule in the summer I was having trouble getting into the gym and even when I did my intensity was nill…. BUT now I’m slowly working my way back into it & I’ve got about 55 pounds to get to where I want to be and I plan on being there before summer 2009 so wish me luck……

I think that sums it up, I’ve been frustrated my progress has slowed to a crawl. I’ve not been following my diet very well and I feel like it. I haven’t gained any weight but I haven’t lost any either. I’ve lost my groove and I’m fighting like hell to gain it back my weight has floated up and down from 249 to 253. I feel like I’m in a funk and have been struggling to get out of it. I need to rejuvenate myself and buckle down. My schedule has been hectic and I hope to get back to basic because I refuse to go backward since I’ve worked so hard to get to where I’m at…..

Well once again I’m out and about. Ohio University of Chillicothe had there annual health fair, including all the local doctors offices, home health services and every Gym in the area. I was asked by the owner of my gym to be at her booth with my journal that I’ve kept with all my progress photos. So I attended, answered questions smiled and said thanks a lot to people that complimented me on what I’d done but I’m still trying to get used to the attention I’m receiving. It was a good event with lots of people and plenty good information from all sorts of vendors.

” There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same” 

Well another month has come and gone and I can’t believe it. It seems like just yesterday we were yelling “Happy New Year”. My progress has slowed a little but I’m still plugging along trying to stay motivated and dedicated to a new life. I’ve lost 133 pounds since I started and have approximately 60 pounds more to reach my goal weight. Recently they had a poster made at my gym of me with before and after pictures and the amount of weight I’ve lost. I’ve had several people congratulate me and ask me questions about how I did it, what kind of diet I used, and plenty other questions I can’t think of now. Although it’s kind of cool it also feels weird to walk into the gym and see yourself on a poster hanging on the wall I don’t know exactly how to react sometimes, but hopefully it will motivate others and help them pursue a better life…..

4/05/08
Well the poster’s been on the wall for about two weeks and people are really starting to come up to me and asking questions. Just the other day I was talking with a guy who I’ve seen in the gym for a few months and he had just noticed the poster a couple days before, he told me he couldn’t believe it. He said that he hadn’t realized I’d lost that much. Its still odd to see myself hanging on the wall but maybe I’ll get used to it…..

“There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same”

Well I finally made it to the Arnold Classic in Columbus. You’d have thought it wouldn’t have been hard for me to get there considering its only 70 miles from my house but it has been….. I enjoyed the event it was a little crowded, no wait it was a lot crowded but nonetheless it was very fun. I got a chance to see Arnold he walked past me twice (with a huge number of security guards and dogs) my friend got to shake his hand. I met Valerie Waugaman; she was just as beautiful in person, Marzia Prince; Very nice very pretty, Jamie Eason; Oh my! She is drop dead gorgeous a super sweet person and very talkative. I seen Lou Ferrigno, Batista, Ronnie Coleman (the line was long I didn’t get a chance to meet him) and Jay Cutler (again the line was even longer than Coleman’s, I waited for a while but Jay had to go to lunch). I also got a chance to meet MsFitness from bodyspace she was nice and very pretty thanks for your time Fern. The expo was full of beautiful women, huge dudes, and lots of freebies. You gotta love freebies the Muscletech booth was giving free bottles of Nanox 9 among other things. All in all it was a great day it really gave me a rejuvenated feeling about working out. I can’t wait to get the week started with the flame burning as bright as when I started. If you’ve never had a chance to get to the Arnold Classic you should try to make it you won’t be disappointed…. Just Plan on rubbing elbows with lots of people…

“There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same”

I was walking through the gym on Friday when a gentleman stopped me and told me that he had seen me at the Seminar that Leatha had put on. He told me that I was an inspiration to him and that I was the reason he got started in the gym. Now I’ve never thought of myself as an inspirational person BUT if felt good to know that I’ve inspired someone to change there life. I hope that this is just the start of a good thing, I would love to inspire people to change their life for the better. I know that others have inspired me along the way and it would be great to return the favor……..

” There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same” 

I recently attended a seminar that was put on by (Leatha) the women that owns the gym I belong to. She gave a speech about nutrition and fitness and the importance of weight training for a healthy lifestyle. She asked me to join her and show some of the photos and clothes that I have kept since I started.
I was nervous I’m not much of a public speaker therefore I didn’t make any plans on speaking much (or any for that matter). So I took a box of clothes that I’ve kept from when I started and a Photo album I had put together. When I got up on stage and put on one of the old dress shirts I had and held up a pair of jeans everybody gasp and started clapping it was a good feeling knowing that others realized how much work it’s taken. I spoke long enough to tell how much I’d lost and what my jean sizes used to be and what size I am wearing now….

“Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow”

  As we all know its the start of a new year and with that we have new years resolutions. If you made a resolution to get in shape and lose weight let me say "congratulations" its tuff but worth it. Now with that said let me ask everyone a favor, when you load weights on a machine or use the dumbells please remove or replace them when you finish. I have only been in the gym for a little over a year but even when I started I had a sense of courtesy, I cleaned up after myself when I was finished I didn’t like leaving anything for the next person. I hate it when I have to unload plates from a bench or off a squat rack, or search the entire gym floor to find two Dumbells that are the same weight. Its annoying and its just plain RUDE I figure if you have the energy to workout you should be able to unload or pickup the weight you were using. I’ve seen countless times when people would leave 45’s or 100 pound weights on a machine and someone would need to use the same machine and couldn’t because they were unable to remove the weights. When things like that happen it causes other’s to have to stop there workout to help. So everyone please think of others when you are in the gym and maintain a safe environment by cleaning up after yourself. I’m done ranting now so goodluck with all your new years resolutions….

Now that the Holiday’s are over (besides New Years) I am going hard at it again. I went to the gym this afternoon dreading getting on the scale but nonetheless it had to be done and damn I was up 4lbs. It felt good to get back in the swing of things and I hope that my four pounds of holiday indulgence comes off quickly.
The women that owns the gym where I workout has ask me to join her at a seminar she is giving about weight loss. She wants me to speak BUT I’m not much on public speaking so I am just going to be with her to answer questions and show some of my old jeans and shirts that are really big on me now. I hope that I can motivate others to change there life for the better.

"The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach."

Well its the Monday after Thanksgiving and thank God! I survived the Thanksgiving treats and multiple dinners with minimal damage to my diet. I only went up just under two pounds (WHEW)….. I felt awful after eating like crap which makes me wonder why I did it. I suppose its just old habits dying hard or a breakdown in will power either way I realize that its becoming easier to eat better since I feel like crap when I eat junk…..

 ”You must have long term goals to keep from being frustrated with short term failures”