9 months and 54 pounds later — a new me
Last February, I embarked on an adventure. An adventure I was certain I wouldn't survive.
Fast forward nine months. Turns out, I did survive. That's the good news.
The bad news? My own family doesn't recognize me. Seriously. At a family gathering last weekend, I was excited to talk to my aunt, who I hadn't seen in nearly a year. I gave her a hug, asked her how she was and told her it was great to see her. She asked rather quizzically. “Excuse me, but who are you?”
That question ranks among the greatest compliments I've ever received. It meant nine months of discipline, hard work and dripping sweat were worth it. The last time I'd seen my aunt was just before the 2011 Fittest Loser Challenge began, and apparently word hadn't gotten to her about what I'd been up to. So what she saw last week was a live “after” shot. The new me.
Nine months ago I was given an opportunity to participate in the Fittest Loser Challenge alongside five Daily Herald readers who were chosen from dozens of applicants. I was assigned a trainer, Tony Figueroa, and for 12 weeks it was his job to whip me into shape. I found out Tony takes whipping people into shape very seriously.
From the first what-have-I-gotten-myself-into workout all the way to this week's boxing drills, it's been an amazing journey. I started at 188 pounds. Today, the scale reads 134. But those are just numbers, the real change has nothing to do with pounds and inches and everything to do with persistence and attitude.
Lest you think Pollyanna has taken over my once cranky, food-obsessed, couch-entrenched body, I'll be frank.
I still have a lousy attitude when the alarm goes off at 4:15 a.m. three days a week. My attitude doesn't improve much on the other three days I get to “sleep in “ until 5:30 a.m. Three days with Tony in the gym, three days of cardio on my own ... that's the routine that's paid off on the scale.
I don't like running — on a treadmill, on a track or through the woods on a beautiful fall morning — but I do it for 3½ miles, three days a week.
I've yet to meet an exercise I like or exercise equipment I can't wait to spend time with. Although I'm proud to say I've gotten the best of some that used to get the best of me. Except for trainer Wade Merrill's weighted vest. He's happy to let Tony borrow it anytime they think I need a reminder of what it was like to carry all that extra weight. I must say, 20 minutes with the vest beats years with that weight on my hips.
It's annoying to think so hard at every meal about every morsel I put in my mouth, but I still journal everything I eat ... it keeps me honest.
When the challenge ended in May, I had trimmed my weight to 152 pounds, but I wasn't ready to quit so I continued to train with Tony at Push Fitness three days a week.
For all the transforming I've been doing, Tony hasn't changed a bit. And that's a good thing. If he listened to my whining, gave into my resistance or let me off the hook, I wouldn't be where I am today. I'd be running a continuous loop through my litany of “I can't, it's too hard, I don't want to.”
I know there are disciplined, motivated, self-starters out there. Folks who eat right, work out consistently and are in great shape all on their own. I'm not one of them. It was truly a light-bulb moment when I realized having someone else invested in my success, telling me what to do and encouraging me the whole way through makes all the difference. So, I'm grateful Tony is stubborn, focused and unrelenting. I won't tell him that, however, because I still hold out hope he'll give in just one time and go easy on me.
Ÿ Gerry Alger is editor of the Daily Herald's Niche Publications.
Stats
Weight: 188 to 134
Pounds lost: 54
Body fat: 31.9 to 18.7 percent
Body age: 57 to 40
Actual age: 52
Clothing size: 16 to 6; X-large to small