Day 323 - 367

“There are many things that I would like to say to you but I don’t know how”

One year ago on this date, I sat in front of this same computer and started to type something that I called “Day 0” which I was unsure if it would ever be posted or finished.  366 days later (it was an extra long year this year and such) I am now staring at a screen trying to think of the proper words to say.  (ok - truth be told I started to write this two days ago and got nowhere - that’s what I get for not procrastinating for once!?!?)

This may be my first ever short entry.  (right)

Lets do this in a report card kind of way - shall we?

(Yes, we shall)

A year ago I wrote this:

“Lets call this “The Great Landis Improvement Project” and I’m asking for your help.  Today is Sunday, June 12 and I’m calling this “Day Zero” - hopefully by “Day 21” I won’t need help any longer.  I don’t know if I can keep up with posting something daily…but I know I’m going to write something daily.  I’m not starting today with a goal of losing X amount of pounds.  I’m not starting today with a goal of making X like me.  I’m not starting today to prove somebody wrong.  I’m starting today to be healthier, to lose weight,, to be inspired by others that have done the same things and hopefully to inspire others too.  Simply put, I want to be comfortable in my own skin again.”

So - how have we done with this and what have we learned?  (besides last year’s scale conspiracy and poop “unpleasantries”)
1 -Well, I had thought by Day 21 I wouldn’t need help any longer - Grade - C  If there is anything I have learned in this year is that as this process went on I have needed more and more help.  You can’t do this on your own - you need the support of others and someone to kick your ass when you aren’t in it.  I give myself a C on this because I’ve had to learn this throughout the year.  When I have tried it on my own I’ve had some success but when the going got tough and I didn’t seek help - I failed.

2 - I’m going to write daily - Grade - F-  - What in the hell was I smoking, sniffing, drinking or injecting when I wrote this?  Clearly I haven’t written something daily nor have I posted.  There just simply isn’t enough in my life that is interesting to talk about daily.  Simple fact there.  I failed at this one.  Yup - capital F.

3 - I’m starting today to be healthier - Grade - A - that was my goal and I sit here in the exact same spot 1 year later and can’t even begin to tell you in how many ways I’m healthier.  (that is mostly because I hadn’t been to a doctor when I was major fatass Landis so there’s no documented proof of how bad it was)  Seriously though - just waking up daily and working through a day in the life of Landis is easier and happier.  Not only has my physical health improved but so has my emotional health.  (course, it really wasn’t too hard to improve the emotional health - I just had to show one from time to time)

4 - I want to be comfortable in my own skin again - Grade - B - so that was a good goal to have really.  This is a spot where I need constant improvement.  So I am more comfortable in my own skin but certainly not yet where I think I should be.  As I’ve said before - I still see the old me in the mirror.  Maybe now I see the me from last September in the mirror and not the me from last June - so that’s an improvement, right?  But at least I’m Starting With The Man In The Mirror?

5 - Numbers - Grade - A - This may shock some people here.  I’m going to take some credit here for the difference in a year.  I started this not knowing where I would get to.  Honestly not having a goal because I didn’t want it to end, but realizing that I had failed so many times before and expecting that could happen again.  Am I proud of where I am?  I guess so?  But I cannot nor will I take credit for what has happened.  There are so many others that have been there the entire time or at specific times in the progression and without them/you - I wouldn’t be where I am today.  Period.  The End.

So - overall I’m going to give the last 366 days this final assessment - #WINNING

As I said above - there are so many people that I would like to thank but don’t know how to say it.  Specifically though, there are 3 people that really got this ball rolling for me and without them in the first few weeks/months I can say for sure I couldn’t have gotten here.  Here they are and why they are so important in no particular order:

1. Mike Wink - Last summer, after one of my blog postings, I got a message from Mike on Facebook that said the following:
Hey my brother in law is a certified trainer and is doing boot camps three days a week at mayeski park at south Carroll for five bucks. First one is tomorrow at seven if you are interested. He has done me and my wife last week and is a good workout 
Little did I know at that point how significant this posting would be to my life.  Until then I had lost weight purely by eating differently and doing some basic exercises.  That was it.  Mike introduced me to a world of pain (at first) and then triumph as I learned I could do some of the things I’ve never been able to do in my life.  I don’t know if you read this still Mike - but thanks my friend.

2.  Zach Baker - If you just read what I said about Mike before this (and I don’t know why you wouldn’t have unless your are reading from the end which would be weird)  Zach was said brother in law from Mike’s Facebook posting.  He was the first person to introduce me to what working out really meant.  All my life working out meant an elliptical or maybe some weights on a machine or at most swimming.  Zach’s workouts taught me things I could do at home, or just things I could do period.  He worked with me at first when I could barely walk on the field much less run and encouraged me to try harder.  He believed in my enough that I had to start believing in myself.  Because of him I trained for my first 5k and really everything else that I have done when it comes to working out is because of his patience with a serious fatass.  He has started up his workouts again - and I cannot wait to go very soon to show him that what he started hasn’t finished yet.

3.  Natacha Blondiaux - lets just call her Tasha because nobody actually knows how to pronounce her last name.  ;)  Now - I’ve told her this before - but now I’m going to embarrass her a little bit publicly.  When I first decided it was time to get healthy - she was one of the first people I reached out to because of her drive and motivation to get healthier on her own.  So, we went back and forth and she suggested a few things like group workouts and boot camps etc.  (which I found ironically like 2 days later through Mike/Zach)  Then, as time went on she’d check in with me on how things were going.  She might have mentioned the word Soldierfit once or twice too…just sayin.  Well, finally when February rolled around and I started to ask her about Soldierfit, she met me one Saturday (which I wrote about somewhere in the past) and went through my first ever class with me.  The rest as we say is history when it comes to Soldierfit and my love/addiction of it.  I don’t even need to get into it.  Now - she won’t take any credit for this - thus why I am publicly calling her out - you were/are there at the times I needed the most help - and I can’t thank you enough.

Well - report card is done.  Academy Awards style speech is done thanking the right people.  What is left to say?  Ok - one more thing and then a review of numbers from the first year of this project.

The next step is here - perhaps one of the final steps too.  On Sunday I started a new phase in this.  From Day 0 to Sunday I had done everything in regards to food on a eat what I want just less philosophy.  Well, now I have started a 90 day diet which I plan to be what finishes off my weight loss and begins to transform what is left into all lean muscle.  Here goes - for 90 days I’m eating the same thing - every day.  Egg whites and oats for breakfast and Chicken, brown rice and broccoli for lunch/dinner.  Protein shakes in between.  No cheating.  Nothing else.  Let me tell you this is THE most boring and tasteless food I have ever eaten.  But, having seen the results of others I know that this will work for me.  My plan is to lose 20-25 pounds and get my body fat % under 20 in the next 90 days.  Long term I will be at my goal weight (and beyond) then and all that will be left is transforming more fat into muscle and getting down to an even healthier body fat percentage.  I have no reward for when this happens - my only reward will having the satisfaction of completing this project and becoming a “normal” guy finally.  (ok - normal a relative term referring to health and size - not referring at all to mental capabilities or maturity)  I know I’ll need some rooting on over the next 90 days (well now 87 but who’s counting??) and I hope that I can count on my friends for that.

Ok - now the fun part with numbers and I can say peace out or whatever….

367 days without soda/tea (really anything but water, coffee and beer - gotta have the beer)
3 days (again) without any caffeine - cutting that out again!
105 pounds lost since my heaviest weight (312)
95 pounds lost in the last 367 days
77 pounds lost since starting my heavy workout phase (324 days)
7 pounds until my ultimate goal (199.9) and I already have my reward
My current weight is now 207 pounds
Body Fat % is currently 24% (down significantly)
BMI is 27.8  (this is now just in the “overweight” category and not obese - win!)
12 inches lost on waist - I can say I am now a 36 inch waist (and they are a little bit loose even)

So apparently I lied again about a short entry.  DUH!

I really don’t know how to close this one out.  Year 1 is down but neither myself or this blog are done.  We will both continue on until all goals have been met.  After that happens, the final goal is maintenance - and I plan to write throughout that process too.  I really can’t express my gratitude for everyone involved in my life that has given me a push over the last year - whether you knew it or not.  By simply reading this, or commenting or liking something on Facebook, you have shown support to me that has gone further than you can possibly imaging.  For that gift of your time, words cannot express my thanks.  There are so many people I have met who are also going through their own life changes with health - and I hope that I can be of the same help to you.  I promise to not give up on myself - please promise to not give up on yourself.

Until then - in the immortal words of Casey Kasem:

“Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.”

Much love,

LANDIS

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN (and brown rice and broccoli) DINNER