Weight Lifting - One Hundred Days - 099
WEIGHTLINE 099: 84Kg
Here it is! This is me! After 99 days of dietary change & good exercise, I've lost 12Kg and my body shape has changed. I've been taking pictures every Sunday since Jan 1st & it is quite fascinating - honestly! - for me anyway. I can track the plateaus & the losing weeks & the scales don't necessarily match up with the photos.
Apologies for subjecting you to these photos, especially since a hirsute body is not really fashionable today! And if you are under 30, avert your eyes - oldie on display! I understand some of you might be half way through your breakfast & not prepared… However, I have to tell you that I feel so much better. This is probably the most rewarding thing. I'm not dragging around excess weight (or not as much, anyway) and so can bounce around a bit. I'm assuming I'm a bit healthier, or will at least not cause my body an extra burden as it ages… Probably the only obvious symptom I had before I started this was elevated blood pressure. Now, my blood pressure has always been higher than desirable, but it was interesting how it did drop with no medication & no change other than diet (and a bit more exercise). If your doctor suggests you go on blood pressure medication, I strongly suggest you look at your diet! Two weeks before I started, I recorded my blood pressure, 20 readings over 7 days & they averaged out at 126/93. Nearly three months later, I repeated the exercise & they averaged out at 116/86. Still higher than ideal, but nevertheless reduced.
I also swear that my cardiovascular fitness improved just by shedding a bit of weight. It became easier to breathe & I could certainly move more easily & for longer. I knew that I stored body fat in my torso and my belly was going to lessen and my cup size reduce, but I wasn't quite prepared for how much my neck & head shape changed. I am left in absolutely no doubt that I cannot hide any weight gain, even with clothes on, because it is so obvious from the neck upwards. Essentially I now know I store fat practically everywhere, except on my legs (modesty forbids me from showing you a full length photo, so you'll have to take my word for that) so I've gone from a barrel shape to something with a few slight contours! The biggest surprise of all for me was my arms. I am actually wearing my watch in the Day 099 photo, but my wrists have slimmed down so the watch rides even further down - a couple of links are going to have to come out…
I'm going to continue photographing myself, not every week now - probably every month - as I find it a fascinating picture of my lifestyle. Maybe in 10 years time I'll publish a visual bodyline! I highly recommend it as a way of keeping track of your health (but don't necessarily publish the photos), much more satisfying than the scales!