Spotlight: DJ W.
Before the pandemic I was 306.
Now through diet and exercise, but most importantly MINDSET, I’ve shed that weight to drop down to 200. It began really slow with a shift in circumstances as the pandemic rerouted my routines and prevented trips to the liquor store and grocery store where dear old Jerry and Ben ice cream haunt me. I picked up running, very slow with zone 2 running where I’ve found consistency as I don’t dread running anymore. Started out with 3km runs and just completed my first half marathon a few weeks ago and run 10kms a few times a week. I’ve also began training with kettlebells 3x a week, which as it turns out there is so much you can do other than swings. They’ve been a lot of fun learning and training my core and such a simple tool to have in a home gym.
Lastly mindset, this is a big one and I find American Glutton has really helped me maintain this mental attitude with killing your clone, the diet after the diet, etc etc.
I used David Goggins technique of looking in the mirror and judging yourself and looking at your habits that got you to be 300+ and what would the 200 lbs version of me be doing (as described in his book). I’ve taken James Clear’s examples of identity and shifted how I look at myself and what type of person I am, with sayings such as I don’t miss workouts. I came to the realization that fit people are fit because they don’t stop. They’re in the gym and shredded because they don’t stop. You can’t go on a diet and be “done” when you hit your goal. If you stop you gain the weight back. That happened to me countless times.
There is no finish line for your goals, they just change and adjust.
I finally realized you just have to keep going, it was a literal lightbulb moment. Like holy shit, all my skinny friends go to the gym all week and go for hikes on the weekend instead of just going home and watching tv? How come they’re not fat like me! Ha!!!
One of my personal inspirations was thoughts around liability or an asset, here’s my example: If my family (I have 2 kids) were trapped on the 19th floor of a burning building and the elevator shaft is down, there is no way in hell I’m not sprinting up those stairs to save them, now is that going to be easier at 300lbs or 200lbs? Flip side I’m passed out in a house fire and my wife has to rescue me, again this is easier if I’m lighter… Basically training for scenarios I can’t control or predict but knowing I’ll be ready for that situation if it ever comes up. That’s what helps motivate me to go on a run when I’m tired or lift when its cold out (I live in Canada so swinging a KB in the snow all winter and running in the snow was interesting but I kept the habit going).
On June 27 I’m doing a 4km hike up a local mountain in my city, adding back on the weight I’ve lost. I’m going to wear 100lbs on a vest and a backpack and Ruck up the side of a mountain with my friends just as a reminder of how difficult life was previously and how challenging it was to move at my previous weight, also reminding me of a place I never want to go again.
I would invite you all to try some type of version of this, maybe others could be inspired by the reminder of how far they’ve come and what they’ve had to endure in order to lose all the weight they were carrying for so long!
