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[Update: It's March 29, 2011. I can't believe it. Well I can since there wasn't a lot of fat to lose to reach my goal, but I've made it: I'm just under 7% bodyfat. I had to triple check after I triple checked, but it's right there. I needed to lose just two pounds of fat, and I did it! This is the leanest I've been since I was probably eight years old. Thanks

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[Update: It's March 29, 2011. I can't believe it. Well I can since there wasn't a lot of fat to lose to reach my goal, but I've made it: I'm just under 7% bodyfat. I had to triple check after I triple checked, but it's right there. I needed to lose just two pounds of fat, and I did it! This is the leanest I've been since I was probably eight years old. Thanks Beachbody! Holy cow I feel good.]

It's March 24, 2011. I started P90X on April 21, 2007. Since then I completed two rounds of P90X and finished one round with P90X+. I worked for the government in 2009 and I ate so poorly and didn't work out that in less than two years my breathing became labored when I walked up ONE flight of stairs. So what did I do? I learned how to cook healthy meals at home and I started to press play.

I started out with 22% body fat. Now for a small framed but tall guy this bordered on ridiculous. That's what happens when you eat half a pizza and down it with cake and sugars. I stopped that. I listened to my body like Tony says and really focused on my weaknesses when it came to working out. One weakness is BURNING OUT by thinking I can do doubles AND run AND eat low calories. So what did I do this time around? NOT THAT. I'm making this a permanent lifestyle change.

I started out slowly so I didn't burn out and finish in three months and get back to old and extremely bad habits. I took about a month of exercising three times a week and not really working on my diet before I felt like I needed to start focusing all my energy on goals.

So what were they?

First goal: lose the fat!

I started in the kitchen and I slowly incorporated healthy meals until that's all I had all day. I became diligent. One thing the government job taught me is that if I can work non-stop for 16 hours a day, I can dedicate the time to put that many hours of awareness on what I eat and drink. Since I'm the kind of guy who burns out easily, I again started slowly by cutting one thing away from the diet: caffeine was the first to go. Boy was that hard especially when I had five cups every morning (it sounds sickening now just thinking about it). If I can do that, so can you! After two weeks, I stopped complex/processed sugars. Then I incorporated as many greens as possible. Then I bought a CrockPot so I can always have a meal instead of picking up a protein bar all the time. By the end of April 2011, I plan on quitting smoking. I'm starting to feel really motivated and as every mom will tell you: Steady wins the race!

Second goal: gain muscle!

For two months, I've been steadily watching my fat shed away while minimizing the loss of muscle. Since I'm close to my goal of 7% (just under two pounds of fat left my friends!) I can't wait to change my diet and really bring the heavier weights. Each week, I'll try and up my weights to 2.5 to 5 pound increments and closely monitor my progress. Since I'm a hardgainer, it's going to take patience and a lot of dedication. I've done it before, so I can really bring it this time around with the help of P90X One-on-One!

Third goal: don't get bored!

I find that there are staples to the workouts that I like and don't like - much like everyone else. One thing Tony has taught me is to really listen to your body and adapting to what you presently struggle with. My legs are naturally built and extremely strong (thanks Mom for the genes!) and my upper body is the weakest part, so every week, I try and focus on back, shoulders, and arms and monitoring when recovered so that I know I haven't lost size as I'm losing fat. When a large muscle group has recovered and measured, I punish it with something it doesn't expect - recently it was Diamond Delts, Just Arms, and currently Medicine Ball Core Cardio.

Man oh man is it showing. Just look at my current picture! Isn't it glorious?

So right now, I have one month left of standard P90X (but heavily modified for additional core and upper body workouts). By that time, the plan is to get to my ideal BF percentage (here's hoping two to three weeks!) and really work on upping my calorie intake and pushing myself for the best upper body I've ever had. Actually the best upper body I've ever had includes the upper body I have now, but it's always great to have Team Beachbody to motivate you!

In just three months, I've transformed close to my original BF goal of 7% (right now I'm at around 8.5%) with the help of P90X, P90X+ and One-on-One. One thing I realized after three months is that I know how my body reacts to these workouts and I keep pushing for the ones that I DON'T LIKE and suffer through them with really solid form. During my recovery weeks I end up doing a lot of core work and intense intervals. This time around though, I've found the discipline to really stick to my plan of eating healthy for the long term, and wow my body is shaping up to be something completely different from when I first did these workouts in 2007.

It is about the permanent changes and commitment to your health that make all the difference.

I made sure to put pictures up of myself in front of those stairs to remind me of that moment last year when I had trouble climbing them. Focus on your goals and make sure to not be too hard on yourself every week. Measure and listen to your body, but on top of that make sure to just keep doing something every day that makes you go, "Wow, that was a-little-difficult/painful/busted-my-behind. Boy am I glad I did that."

If you need help, let me know. I'm always looking for good friends and meeting people who just want to improve themselves. See you around!

I'm outie.

Ryan

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