Post #100: Before and After Pictures

I'd have posted these earlier, but I realized that I was almost to my 100th post.  So to celebrate the monumental occasion, I decided to make it a monumental post.  

Okay, since you're not likely to read anything before looking at the pictures, I'll post the pictures first:

After 20 Weeks of Progress

I'm amazed at how different I look!

I only took 2 "before" pictures.  Wish I'd taken some with these poses.

The Journey:
I'd been meaning to do something like this for the last 4-5 years.  But I was never ready to commit to it.  It's a HUGE lifestyle change!  I've always had too much of a sweet tooth to have any motivation to fix my eating habits.  And when you're out of shape, the gym never sounds fun.  Not to mention, I'm constantly going out to eat with friends after rehearsals, or just because.  But nevertheless, I've wanted to make this change.  I even made it my New Year's resolution for 2010.

The big thing that got me to start was moving out, because it's MUCH less tempting to cheat when you can control what's in your pantry.  So I started the week I got back from Europe.  I paid my trainer in advance so that I had motivation not to back out.

It's incredibly surprising, but I wasn't tempted to cheat on my diet for most of my program.  It may be because of my motivation to see results.  Or it may be because I was eating WAY more food than I was used to previously.  Yes, the grocery bills were EXPENSIVE.  I can't say the same for my motivation at the gym.  Yes, I was committed enough to do the full workouts.  But there were several days when I would get to the gym and spend 10-20 minutes mentally convincing myself that I needed to just start and get it over with.  Yet somehow I managed to give myself just enough motivation every night to put my all into the workout.

Several people asked me why I was trying to gain weight.  It seems kind of obvious to me, especially when I look at the pictures.  In fact, almost every time I was asked why I was doing this, I thought to myself, "are you daft?"  Not only does exercise enhance your physical appearance, but it's been known to give people confidence.  Why wouldn't I want to do this?

It's funny.  Even now I can look down at my body and not see much of a change.  From my point of view (without a mirror or pictures), I look the same as I always looked.  I can't explain it, because I know of all sorts of changes my body has made recently.  I definitely don't feel like I look the same when I'm looking in a mirror or at pictures.  I guess this is a warning to you that your perception of yourself may fool you.

The best part about my journey was all the little discoveries I made along the way.  I was constantly watching the progress of my pecs and biceps, but the changes were so gradual that I hardly noticed the change.  However, I hardly gave thought to any of my other muscles because my focus was on just a couple muscles.  So naturally, it seemed like they suddenly appeared out of nowhere.  One day I tried to scratch my back, and noticed my lats!  I went to lay down on my arm one day when I noticed it was MUCH more comfortable than usual.  Then when I reached up for something, my shoulder flexed and my pillow disappeared - such an awesome discovery!  One morning on my way to the shower I noticed my back had a much better shape.  And it seemed like I grew a butt in a day.  I discovered it just a few hours before bending over and ripping my pants.

As part of my program, I wanted to see how long it took for people to notice my changes.  So I had to make sure I didn't tell everyone that I was working out and dieting.  However, I also needed to have support in my diet from all around me.  And since my friends and cast members would frequently go out to eat, I knew it was better to tell them and keep it secret from my family (since I typically only see my family about once a week).  The first family member to notice was my sister-in-law.  She told me I was getting fatter, but it was the good kind of fat that made me look better.  I was tickled, and didn't tell her that it's because I was gaining muscle - not fat.  After about 10 weeks, that was the only comment I received.  Not to mention, my brother was coming in town (he hadn't seen me since before I started the program).  I wanted him to say something, so I made sure to wear the smallest shirt I own when I had dinner with the family that day.  Sure enough, he said something about it, followed by a couple other family members.  That's when I decided it was okay to talk to them about my progress.  My mom walked by as I was telling my brother how much I weighed.  She overheard, and jiggled my pec.  My brother said something like "can you believe how big Jon's pecs are?" Her classic response: "those aren't pecs - those are boobs."  My brother corrected her and had me flex for her.  After feeling that it was indeed muscle, she said "Hey Richard!  Come grope Jon!"

I didn't lose all the fat I want to lose (still can't see my abs).  But I'm giving myself a break for the holidays.  I may gain a little fat over the next week or two.  And I won't be so strict on my diet once I start up again.  But I'm in this for the long run.  You can count on it!