In just a few short weeks, I'm already seeing muscle formation
It was one month ago that I began for the first time in my life to get serious about resistance training to try to build my upper body strength. When I was losing weight in 2004, my exercise routine was exclusively dedicated to cardiovascular workouts on the treadmill or elliptical machine. While I still love my cardio and built considerable muscles in my legs because of it, my arms, shoulders, chest and abs really needed some serious help.
That's why I hired a personal trainer back in December to guide me into unchartered territory for me--weight lifting and bodybuilding. I'll be the first to tell you how utterly clueless I am when it comes to this area of fitness. And I'm sure there are many of you who wouldn't know where to start or what to do to begin doing this, too. Yet it is something that can definitely enhance your body's ability to burn fat while giving you the added strength and energy you so desperately want.
One thing that got me to add this next chapter in my healthy lifestyle journey was watching The Biggest Loser during Season 4. Watching those obese contestants not just running on the treadmill, but also doing some pretty remarkable exercises with weights while they were STILL fat lit a fire inside of me that I needed to get going with a plan to get strong, too. It's been four years since I began livin' la vida low-carb and it's high time I get to building some muscles above my waistline.
That is the path I decided to travel down beginning in mid-December and it has been an experience like none other so far. Even when I lost 180 pounds in 2004, that wasn't nearly as difficult as this has been for me. My brother Kevin was the football player in high school and I played alto saxophone in the marching band. He was athletic and I was...not.
But here I am at the age of 36 years old lifting dumbbells and using exercise equipment that I've never even seen before to make my body even better. It has been exhilarating, exhausting, and exasperating all at the same time. But in a masochist kind of way, I'm lovin' every minute of the pain and agony because I can already see that I'm getting stronger and one step closer to my goal of feeling good about myself without a shirt on.
I was a bit concerned on day one of my training when I told the manager I lost triple-digits following the Atkins low-carb diet. He gave me that scrunched up face showing his disgust at my dietary choice and went on to lecture me about how your body needs carbs to fuel your workouts. I guess he didn't realize he was talking to someone who has studied this subject extensively for the past four years.
You should have seen his face when I explained that I ate a high-fat, low-carb diet and the dietary fat is what fuels my workouts. You would have thought I was an alien from outer space the way he looked at me and the bewilderment on his face was priceless. I offered to help educate him further about this subject by letting him borrow my copy of Gary Taubes' Good Calories, Bad Calories and surprisingly he read it!
After hemming and hawing about a few things he disagreed with during the first few days of reading Taubes' book, the manager finally got it when he got to the end of the book and said "well, you should find what works for you and do that." That's my motto, buddy, and welcome to the spirit of enlightenment! It was a beautiful moment to hear him say that because he changed his tune virtually overnight.
So what about my training?
My workouts have been a bit erratic during the first month because I've been so incredibly sore after each workout. I don't mean the slap-a-little-Icy-Hot-cream-on-it kinda sore, but rather the make-you-feel-paralyzed-til-you-can't-move-a-muscle kind. It's been pretty rough waking up in the morning and barely able to move my arms because my personal trainer worked them so hard on the previous day. The same thing goes for my shoulders and my chest. So far, my abs, calves, and legs have endured the wrath of resistance training.
I'm trying to get in the gym to lift weights on a regular (daily) basis rotating from muscle group to muscle group, but I'm not ready for that yet. It'll come soon enough and the progress I have made in such a short amount of time astounds me. I can't believe that is MY bicep at the top of this blog post. My wife Christine is already impressed by how much bigger my arms have gotten and I told her she ain't seen nothin' yet! By the end of 2008, those arms that still have the remnants of loose skin on them from when I weighed 410 pounds four years ago will be as solid as a rock! It's coming!
The only things I am doing different in my diet now that I am lifting weight is I have increased my protein intake and I added creatine supplements. The added protein is coming from some extra protein shakes and bars to aide my growing muscles. And the creatine gives me that extra boost in my muscles to continue growing and growing. I'm still eating a low-carb diet, taking my daily vitamins and fish oil, and keeping a positive attitude about this.
I'll admit this has been a difficult road, but I'm not planning on giving up by any stretch of the imagination. I'm in this for the long haul not just for 2008, but well beyond that as I transform my body into something it has never been--lean, strong, and looking absolutely amazing! It seems like this dream is so far away, but I'm encouraged by the progress to date that dream will indeed become a reality soon enough.
Let me say a special THANK YOU to everyone who has e-mailed me encouragement in my new resistance training schedule. Because I am so new to this, it has been rewarding to hear from those of you who have gone through the pain and agony of weight lifting in the early days and now look fantastic. In fact, I've got a few interviews coming up with some truly remarkable fitness role models that I know you will enjoy hearing from about how they got the body they've always wanted. Stay tuned for that!
As for me, I'll keep truckin' along with my trainer building up my muscles even bigger and bigger to become that hunkie man I've always wanted to be. It's an unbelievable road I have started down and there's no turning back now. By the way, my weight has increased a few pounds during this, but I'm not worried about it. I KNOW it is muscle weight and I haven't cheated at all since beginning this.
I've been keeping a food journal since day one of my resistance training and am thinking about creating a blog specifically for sharing what I have been eating. Actually, I do think this would be an interesting blog since I started during the Christmas holidays when everyone says it is impossible to eat low-carb. WRONG! I did and you can, too. Lemme know what you think about the idea of posting my daily food and exercise journal online.
As always, I welcome your feedback and comments anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net or by leaving your remarks in the comments section below.
1-15-08 UPDATE: One observant reader was concerned about something he saw in the background of that picture of my bicep at the top of my blog post. I was wondering if anyone was gonna notice it.
Jimmy,
Better be careful of all the critics out there because the picture on your latest post shows your muscle formation on your arm--but it also shows a pack of opened WHITE CRACKERS in the background!!!!!!! OH NO!!!!!! LOL! Just thought I would be the first to bring this up.
Yep, you are the first, but I'm sure you're not the only one. Actually, I purposely put that there next to my cashews to see if anyone would notice. No, they're not mine, but they are Christine's. She sometimes gets an unsettled stomach and eats some whole wheat Saltine crackers. Plus, she can get away with more carbs than I can, so an occasional cracker or two ain't gonna hurt her.
GREAT EYE out there and I appreciate you keeping me accountable. ;)
Four years after losing 180 pounds, it's time to tone up
The year 2004 was a turning point in my life. Starting the year weighing in at a robust 410 pounds, I had a steep hill to climb to get my life back. But the great thing was I had a proven plan in place that merely needed to be implemented and executed. And the rest they say is history!
It's no secret that the Atkins diet worked and worked AMAZINGLY well on me unlike any other diet I had ever been on. The low-carb lifestyle is so easy to follow and much more pleasurable than the same old tired low-fat, low-calorie diets we've always been told is "healthy" that I can't understand why anyone would want to eat any other way. Unless you are a glutton for punishment, it doesn't make sense to NOT be livin' la vida low-carb. But that's just me.
However, I do want to share one major regret that I have about my weight loss experience four years ago. As awesome an accomplishment that it was (and I'll never deny the positive impact it made on my life for the better) and as good as I have felt ever since taking the weight off, I wish I had been taught how to do resistance training and gotten comfortable with it as part of my workout routine.
In my book about my weight loss experience, I wrote a chapter called "Exercise Is Not A Dirty Word" and it's true. As much as people moan and complain about not having time to exercise, lacking any energy to commit to a regular routine, and any number of other useless excuses that are bantered about by the usual suspects, the fact is there is no excuse good enough for NOT taking care of your physical body. After all, God only gives you one, so you need to do what you can with what you've got.
For me when I was losing weight, that meant cardiovascular exercise galore. As much as I HATED the treadmill when I first started and was gasping for air after 15 minutes at 3mph, today I can easily go 30-45 minutes on an elliptical machine at 8-9mph with 12 resistance and get a good workout.
I'll admit that in 2007 I have been a little slack with my regular cardio primarily because my free YMCA gym membership I used to get with my old job expired and I never renewed or joined elsewhere. I still play volleyball on Tuesday nights at my church for a good FREE two-hour workout, but that was pretty much it for exercise during the week for most of this year. I didn't think much of it, though, since I'm only maintaining my weight now and not actually losing anymore. Thoughts that I didn't really need a lot of exercise anymore made their way into my cranium.
Boy was I wrong!
Although my weight has remained pretty steady over the past few months, I've noticed it start to slowly do the creepy crawly thing. Anyone who has lost a significant amount of weight and tried to keep it off for any length of time knows what I'm talking about. You wake up, step on the scale, and you're up a pound. Next morning, same routine, up another pound with no real changes in your diet. Hey, it happens. You don't panic.
But then those pounds sorta hang around and don't really go away. Again, it happens and you just keep doing what you know got you to where you are now. I liken it to being in a weight loss stall which I had one that lasted for TEN STRAIGHT WEEKS during my weight loss in 2004. Instead, this is a weight maintenance stall and it can be a bit more complicated. However, the same principle stands--keep working the plan and eventually you'll break out of it and return to your pre-stall weight. It's happened several times since I started maintenance in 2005.
I know all that in my head, but sometimes you can't help but let yourself get disappointed by how you look without a shirt on. IT'S EMBARRASSING! Those pictures of me without a shirt on at the top of this blog post were taken of me tonight and quite frankly I'm ashamed to look like that. Yes, it's a whole lot better than when I weighed 410 pounds, but I wanna look ripped and toned--not droopy and have the appearance of being "fat" (although I know that's not fat, it sure looks like it to the naked eye!). I want to look as good as I feel!
See for yourself how bad it is up close and personal:
So I'm marking today, December 13, 2007 down as the official beginning date of the next chapter in my health and fitness life. This is the day I began in earnest what I resolved to do on January 1st this year--GET SERIOUS ABOUT RESISTANCE TRAINING!
Quite frankly, the "good intentions" part of me REALLY wanted to do it all year, but I've just dragged my feet. Life and all the intricacies that come with it have gotten in the way because I've allowed it to. We MAKE time for what we think is most important and apparently on a subconscious level I didn't see this as something I needed to do like I did losing weight in 2004. That fire that burned within me during my weight loss didn't even flicker a little spark in regards to weight training.
Several months ago, though, I signed up with a personal trainer for two hours worth of sessions to kickstart me into lifting weights and having assistance with something that is completely foreign to me. I can do cardio 'til the cows come home, but with lifting weights I'm totally clueless about how to even start. That's why I needed help. But I drug my feet some more and only called him about doing those sessions a couple of weeks ago.
A few weeks back, I joined a local gym called Peak Fitness and I REALLY like it a lot. The people who work there are super-friendly and they don't judge you for how you look. It's sorta in between the high-brow nature of a place like Gold's Gym where you have to look like Ahhhnold to be respected and those local gyms that only have a few select pieces of equipment and that's about it. I've been impressed by the availability of virtually any machine I need every single time I've gone there day or night--and they're open 24 hours a day! Sweet! Midnight workout, anyone? :D
But tonight I felt an inkling within me that the time was right for me to make that commitment to do something about my upper body strength. While my legs are arguably the most physically attractive part of my body because of all the cardio I have done (the definition in my thighs and calves is very noticeable and I've taken great pride in that), my arms, chest and abs are pitiful looking. Well, you know that for yourself now that you've seen my pictures.
What did I do to seal the deal on that commitment? I hired a personal trainer. Watching professional trainers like Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels working those courageous contestants on "The Biggest Loser" as hard as they do, I've always wanted to have a trainer to do that for me, too. I literally motivated myself to do the cardio in 2004 that was an integral part of my 180-pound weight loss success, but I've needed somebody to get me going with weight lifting and getting into a regular routine. And that's what I'll be doing from now on over at least the next 12 months.
I'm signed up to work twice a week for 30-minute sessions with a certified personal trainer and may increase that if I feel I need more personal attention. I especially like the trainer they started me out with tonight. He looks absolutely amazing with guns that I'd love to have and I told him I'd like to get to where he is physically by this time next year. Without flinching a bit and with a smile on his face, he assured me he could help get me to that goal if I put forth the effort.
You know me, I'm up for a good challenge. And this is it. That New Year's resolution I wanted to start in January 2007 is about 11 1/2 months late, but I'm doing it now...better late than never! My body still aches from top to bottom after my first session even now hours after my first training session, but as John Cougar Mellencamp used to sing, it "hurts so good!" I'm ready to do this and am as excited about getting stronger in my upper body as I was losing weight in 2004.
I'll be popping in with my progress from time to time and posting pictures when I start to see differences happening. I just want to be stronger and look good without a shirt on. That's been a real dream of mine ever since I kissed 400 pounds goodbye and I believe it can still happen with the right effort. My trainer said he could tell I was pretty healthy and did lots of cardio because my breathing was good during the workout. Now we need to add some muscle to that endurance and get Jimmy Moore looking the way he needs to be.
Could I possibly look like this in the near future?
Of course, I do have all that loose skin that's just been hanging around for the past four years as a badge of honor for how far I've come. But maybe some of it will now tighten up through this process. If there's a way, then I'm confident my trainer will help me get there. Wish me well in this next endeavor that will complement my permanent and healthy low-carb lifestyle change.
And if you've been putting off starting a fitness routine--cardiovascular and/or resistance training--then don't wait until the new year to get started. Start RIGHT NOW and get ready to transform your weight and health forever. YOU CAN DO THIS and I'll be right here working hard to do the same. Hey, does anybody have any Sportscreme, my muscles are KILLING me?! :)
There's someone joining my low-carb weight loss blogging friend Kent Altena in making videos on YouTube to help others attain that healthy lifestyle they've been searching for. It's another one of my blogging friends who hails from Australia and his name is Ray Kelly.
This is the fitness trainer who I recently interviewed about his work with "The Biggest Loser" Australia winner Adro Sarnelli is dedicated to helping educate people about fitness and exercise to get their bodies into shape.
Ray has already been doing that with his phenomenal online resource Free-Online-Health.com and now he is making some outstanding videos like the one you'll see below for people to get their fitness program started off the right way.
See what I mean with his latest video on doing a fitness assessment:
WOW, that's some awesome information, Ray! To sign up for regular video updates, you can simply click here. I am sure you will find lots of incredibly useful information from Ray to complement this lifestyle change you have made with your low-carb plan. KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK, Ray!
While I was at YouTube today, I couldn't help but notice this video:
Ray, do you think you can do anything with this woman? GOOD LUCK!
10-23-06 UPDATE: Ray decided to create a new blog to house his and other videos from YouTube. The blog is called Healthy Video Blog. Check it out!
Brooke wants to be the "Bob" or "Jillian" in YOUR weight loss success
This press release from a weight loss coach is demonstrative of the tremendous impact of the hit NBC television show "The Biggest Loser."
With the success of the contestants seen by millions of people week after week, "The Biggest Loser" (check out the new book about the show!) is having a direct impact on people all over the world who want and need to be inspired in their own weight loss efforts. With an estimated two-thirds of Americans currently either overweight or obese, this is a subject that will not be going away anytime soon.
As we have seen from the personal trainers on "The Biggest Loser" (Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels), they can be incredibly motivating for people to not only diet right, but to stay focused on making the lifestyle changes necessary to keep their weight under control forever.
That is where somebody like Brooke Castillo comes in. She is one of many weight loss/life coaches springing up to fill the need for a "Bob" or "Jillian" in your life.
"If you have ever tried to diet or exercise on your own, you know how hard it is," Castillo writes in her press release. "You get frustrated when you don't lose the pounds, you start to think you'll never be the person you want to be, and in the end you start to find little ways to cheat - which starts the cycle all over again."
OUCH! That sounded awful familiar, didn't it? Almost TOO familiar from my days as a walking, talking advertisement for failed diet after failed diet. That is, of course, before I started livin' la vida low-carb!
Castillo said the contestants on "The Biggest Loser" have an advantage over most people because they "receive encouragement and education on healthy lifestyles through weight-loss coaches."
"Thousands of people watching the show have seen the advantages of having a coach, and many are deciding to hire their own," she continues in the press release.
Whether they intended to or not, the creators of "The Biggest Loser" have now created a demand for weight-loss coaches all across the United States and around the world. What a job opportunity for an energetic, motivating individual to dive right into at a time in the history of the world when inspiration and perserverance are so sorely needed when it comes to dealing with a weight problem.
The philosophy of Castillo and other weight-loss coaches is for overweight and obese people to "be motivated and really have a desire to change not only your body, but also your lifestyle."
For more information about Brooke Castillo and the services she can offer you in your weight loss efforts, please visit her web site at FuturesUnlimitedCoaching.com. She has a new book that is not out yet, but will soon be available from Amazon.com called "If I Am So Smart, Why Can't I Lose Weight?"
E-mail Brooke at info@futuresunlimitedcoaching.com for more information about her services as a weight-loss coach and tell her "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Man" Jimmy Moore sent you.
Of course, you could also visit my friends Julia Havey and Jeremy Likness, both of whom have overcome weight problems and become weight-loss/life coaches themselves.
The continuing impact of shows like "The Biggest Loser" is creating a huge demand for people who can help others succeed in their weight loss journey. Maybe I ought to consider becoming a weight-loss coach someday.
But, as I tell people all the time, I don't feel like I've "made it" long enough yet. Give me another year or two and let's see how well I keep the weight off. If those 180+ pounds I lost in 2004 can stay off until 2007, then maybe it will be something for me to look at. Until then, I have to be vigilant in my efforts so I never become the 410-pound beast I once was.
Be sure to check out all my previous columns about "The Biggest Loser" by clicking here.
"The Biggest Loser" trainer Bob Harper has agreed to exclusive interview
Are you a fan of NBC's hit weight loss reality show, 'The Biggest Loser?" If so, then I've got great news to share with you.
The "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog was given an opportunity to conduct an exclusive interview with one of the show's personal trainers, Bob Harper. Also referred to as "Trainer Bob," the Nashville, TN-based Harper is the man that Hollywood stars like Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Guy Richie, Selma Blair, Laura Dern and Jenny McCarthy, among others, turn to when they need to get in shape.
With the release of The Biggest Loser book later this month, Harper has agreed to speak with various members of the health media to help spread the word. One of those places just happens to be right here at "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb." See, there are good reasons to come here every single day! :-)
The interview questions have already been submitted to Harper and I was given confirmation today that his answers will be sent to me by the end of the week.
But, in the meantime I think I'll whet your appetite for the interview by sharing with you the questions I posed to Harper. Most of them had to do with "The Biggest Loser" show and weight loss/fitness in general. But I did sneak in a few questions about livin' la vida low-carb that I can't wait to see how he answers them.
Here are my interview questions for Bob Harper:
1. Hey Bob. My name is Jimmy Moore and I was a big loser in 2004 having lost 180 pounds thanks to a healthy diet and exercise program. Your role on NBC's "The Biggest Loser" is not an easy one, but you seem to enjoy helping people not only achieve but exceed their own expectations when it comes to losing weight and getting into shape. What made you want to play this role for the television show and is it everything you expected it to be?
2. When "The Biggest Loser" was just an idea that NBC had for a new reality show, you admit in the book that you were "naturally skeptical" of the concept because of the morass of other "extreme" shows that pervade this genre of television programming. But you said you were pleased when you found out the premise of this show would be based on diet and exercise. Why is losing weight naturally a better option for people than weight loss surgery? Does diet and exercise really work for everyone if they are 100% committed to it?
3. I have personally seen that overcoming a lifelong struggle with weight is indeed a monumental transformational experience that can have an effect on many other areas of your life besides the physical. But how do you get someone to take that all-important first step so they can eventually make it to that point where their life can be changed forever?
4. Fans of "The Biggest Loser" admire your ability to provide encouragement and support while working the contestants on the show very hard during their workouts. What can people do to stay motivated in their own weight loss routine without Bob Harper there to lift them up and hold them accountable on a daily basis?
5. You write in the foreword to "The Biggest Loser" book that "this experience -- working on the show and with this book -- has been like no other that I've ever had" and that "it has reignited the passion" in you and has even "forever changed" you. How has befriending and working with these 26 contestants on "The Biggest Loser" changed you personally?
6. Losing weight is one thing, but keeping it off and transitioning it into a lifestyle change is what too many people fail to do after shedding pounds off their body. I personally experienced this back in 1999 when I lost 170 pounds and subsequently gained it all back and then some in less than a year. This time, though, I have kept my 180 pounds off successfully. What do you think is the key to permanent weight loss success?
7. What is your philosophy regarding the low-carb lifestyle and do you believe it is a viable lifetime option for people who are looking for a way to control their weight?
8. Obesity statistics are still on the rise in the United States and around the world at alarming rates. Shockingly, some health experts are predicting obesity rates will approach 100 percent in America over the next 50 years. What can we do to turn the tide of this trend?
9. What role do you believe sugar, including high fructose corn syrup and table sugar, plays in the obesity epidemic?
10. I get a lot of people who are searching for answers and advice about what to do about their weight problem at my blog on a daily basis. What final words of advice and inspiration would you like to give to someone who is overweight or obese and desperately wanting to do something about their weight problem?
There you have it! Those are the questions I asked Bob Harper for my upcoming exclusive interview with "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb." I am anxious to see what he has to say and anticipate there will be a few surprises in store for all of us.
10-7-05 UPDATE: Click here to read the interview with Bob Harper.
**11-26-05 UPDATE: Check out these incredible photos of the contestants from Season One of "The Biggest Loser." WOW!!!**
"BIGGEST LOSER" PRODUCTS AVAILABLE FROM AMAZON.COM:
