In early 2008, Richard was shocked to see a photo of himself and how unhealthy he was. So he decided it was finally time to get the physique he knew he deserved. Read on to learn how he shed 60 pounds right here!
In January of 2008, I was looking at some pictures from a trip I had taken in January and was amazed at how fat I had gotten over the past few years. I knew I put on some weight since I injured my back in 2005, and I tried unsuccessfully many times to keep it off.
I was getting to the point where it was difficult to tie my shoes, to walk long distances, and even to play with my daughter. Something needed to be done or things would just get worse. I ate good foods, but I ate a lot of them, and I was basically not getting any exercise.
Click Image To Enlarge. Richard Paul's Weight Loss Progress.
How I Did It
The first thing I did was to gradually cut out all of the bad things in my diet, and limited quantities. Your basic "diet" if you will. This worked for a little while and I lost about 10 pounds.
Once the weight stalled I started walking about 30 minutes per day, and eventually started to jog. Being that I did not belong to a gym at the time, I also began doing pushups and abdominal exercises several days per week. It was about this time I remembered about an old account I had at Bodybuilding.com message boards.
Click Image To Enlarge. I Started Walking About 30 Minutes Per Day.
I logged back on and went directly to the over 35 section and started reading and trying to learn as much as possible. I found myself becoming more and more motivated by reading about others' successes. I also found a few people whom I would now consider to be friends who took the time to give me advice and to teach me more about my diet and what I needed to do to get my body fat down.
Click Image To Enlarge. I Found Myself Becoming More Motivated To Read About Others' Successes.
In late July, I experienced a pretty severe injury to my arm where I detached my biceps tendon from its attachment at my forearm. This put a stop to any upper body workouts. My surgery was in November of 2008 and as I am writing this in April of 2009, I still have about 1 month to go until my surgeon gives me a full release to workout as I really want to.
In the interim time between my injury and today, I began running more intensely as well as doing heavy leg workouts. I put on a great deal of strength in my legs over the winter and am very pleased with the results. Also, last September I ran in my first 5k race and placed in the top 250 of more than 3,000 runners.
Click Image To Enlarge. I Began Running More Intensely As Well As Doing Heavy Leg Workouts.
Find a program that works for you and stick with it. There is no substitute for persistence, dedication and hard work. Whether you are trying to lose weight or gain weight, it is a gradual process and at times you need to refocus your efforts to stay the course.
Click Image To Enlarge. Find A Program That Works For You And Stick With It.
Take starting pictures and measurements and compare your progress regularly. Above all else, get your diet on track. Training will only take you so far without proper nutrition.
RELATED VIDEO: TAKE PROGRESS PICTURES
Video Tip Of The Week:
Tip #25: Tiffany Forni's Photos Tip!
In this episode, Tiffany Forni explains how using your "before" picture as motivation can keep you determined to get the body you've always dreamed of having!
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