I’m Happy With This Kind Of Progress

I had been looking forward to Friday morning with both fear and excitement for the past five weeks. I was so excited for that that I could barely sleep on Thursday. I woke up often, tossing and turning, thinking about what would happen the next morning–hoping that every change I’ve made to my routine during the last month has paid off.

It was a great morning. It was the morning that really showed me how hard work pays off. I am more proud of the accomplishments that were realized on Friday morning than of any other accomplishment or milestone that I’ve reached since I’ve started writing Get Fit Slowly.

On January 19th, I weighed in (on B’s scale) at 181.2 pounds and was measured (with skin fold calipers) at 24.1% body fat. On Friday, February 25th, I weighed in at 171.8 and was measured at 18.9% body fat.

In five weeks, through nutritional changes and lots of exercise, I lost 11.2 pounds of body fat and gained 1.8 pounds of lean body mass.

Take a look at the chart below showing all of the measurements taken five weeks apart:

[TABLE=3]

I don’t want to bore you all with running through the numbers, but I would like to point out a few that I am most proud of. Obviously, dropping 5% in my body fat is the biggest one.I’m reminded of that scene in Fight Club where Brad Pitt and Edward Norton are scrounging through the dumpster at the liposuction clinic looking for fat to make into their “soap.” One of those bags in the dumpster could have come from my body, only I didn’t have to go through liposuction to get rid of it!

The other numbers that I’m really happy with is the decrease in my chest and waist. I’ve always been self conscious of the size of my chest. Not only has it become noticeably firmer in the last five weeks, but it’s also smaller by almost three inches. Couple that with my increased upper back strength and better posture, I’m way less self conscious about those dreaded “man boobs.”

As far as my waist goes, 4.5″ in five weeks is totally amazing to me. But I still have a few issues with the numbers. First of all, the measurement is taken at my belly button, not where I wear my pants (much lower on the hips). That’s not a big deal because I’m only really interested in the decrease, not the number that is measured.

But my biggest question comes from my pants size. Recently, I’ve purchased a bunch of new pants with a size 32″ waist–they may even be a bit loose now. When I first started my journey, I was wearing 36″ pants very uncomfortably (I couldn’t force myself into buying a size 38″ or even 40″ pair of pants). But if they’re 32″, how can I possibly wear them at either my belly button OR my hips when my belly button measurement is 34.25″ and my hips measure in at 40″?

I just don’t understand clothes and I don’t think I ever will. I guess you just try everything on and buy what fits, using the numbers on the clothes as guides to help you determine what to try on? Maybe the more fashion conscious Metroknow can weigh in here for me?

In the end, I’m ecstatic with my progress over the last five weeks:

• I shattered the short term goals of dropping 7 pounds and 3% body fat that B and I discussed at our initial consult.
• I’ve totally revamped my nutrition habits and am now eating healthier than I’ve ever eaten in my life.
• I’m more active than I’ve ever been exercising 6 days per week and twice on Fridays.

My routine is set, I’m getting results, and next week I should hit my final weight loss goal of 170 pounds! Then it’s off to Palm Springs for a well deserved vacation before I start my next round with B where we concentrate on burning fat and building muscle in a 1:1 ratio! I’m really excited. Can you tell?