I haven't worked out in over a year. There... I said it.
I'm an all or nothing type of guy and I simply got burned out. Eating all healthy and NEVER skipping a workout, my whole life revolved around working out. After years of doing this, my gas tank simply ran dry.
I knew that I had obviously gained weight (uh, I mean fat) but my workplace recently had a health screen and I took part. When we received our results they did a comparison from the last year to this year. I couldn't believe the difference. While not as bad as most, I'm still not happy with what I saw. I was at 23% bf and had a 38" waist.
I have balloned up to close to 200 lbs. which for me is bad. Now mind you, I don't look fat (relative to the rest of the world) but for me, I'm waaaay out of shape. I can't have this.
With the way my body has changed as I've gotten older I'm going to have to take a different approach to the way I get back into shape. My shoulders can't handle the stress of heavy lifting like they used to; I've got carpal tunnel in my right hand fairly bad (to the point where I'm losing grip strength) and starting in my left hand. More importantly I don't want to fall back into the "all or nothing" mentality. I know that if I do, I'll simply burn out again and send myself down the same path that I've just been on. I need to find moderation.
I still need to eat better (obviously) but not to the point where I'm weighing my food. That will not work for me. I simply need to watch what I eat, how much I eat and get back to more veggies and fruits. I've put Adam's TNT Diet on hold at the library so when it gets returned I'll brush up on the diet. I think it will fit fairly well for me. No more creatine and oddball supplements, only good whole food.
I need to start working out again, but not frantically. I think about 4 days a week will do to start. Couple cardio sessions and couple weight sessions a week. And no more feeling guilty about missing a session. I will not become obsessive about this again. I will be dedicated but not obsessive.
Lastly I need to make up my mind to work out for the right reasons. No more working out for vanity purposes. My goal in the past has always been looking for that "model body". I have to be truthful with myself and realize that I'm simply not going to have that kind of body. Very, very few actually do. I need to workout now for my health, to be around for my wife and kids and to feel better about myself. I understand now that after all my trial and error years of lifting that I'm simply not meant to have a "six pack" of abs. It isn't going to happen, but if I have a flat belly that will suffice nicely.
Who knows, when I take all the pressure off of myself to look like models you see in magazines perhaps I'll make better gains in my health and overall fitness.
This has been very liberating typing this all out for all of you, my friends, to see. I'll await my results from the stress test before I start hitting it again. I'm excited to say, finally, after a year that I'm anxious to pick up the weights again.
Thanks for reading this and any support and/or suggestions is always welcome.