There might have actually been a point in time when the pants pictured above were too tight for me to comfortably fit into. I had let myself go. It was plain and simple. I lived alone. No significant other. Late nights by myself drinking, at the computer. One thing would lead to another and in a matter of hours I would be days worth of calories into beer, pizza, chicken. I weighed 233 pounds on my 35th birthday. My BMI, while not a perfect gauge of health or wellness, had crept well into the obese category at 33.4. I worked a desk job. I still do and this wasn't my first rodeo with the beast but it will be my last.

The photograph above was taken over a year ago and I can proudly say I am in the best shape of my life. I have stated many times before that there is no magic pill or regiment or diet that will have you where you want to be in the professed days, weeks or months. It takes dedication and hard work and tracking. A winning mindset and goal oriented attitude. Small steps for a lifelong journey.

I woke up the morning of my 36th year and downloaded MyFitnessPal. I tracked everything. I logged every food I ate to the best of my ability to do so. If it came with a barcode to scan all the better, if I was out with friends or family I used the exhaustive database to find a comparable item. I set my calorie limit and I stuck to it. You should aim for 500-750 calories below your TDEE or Total Daily Energy Expenditure. Your TDEE is the amount of calories that you, as a human being, need to ingest on a daily basis to maintain equilibrium. If you eat this number you neither lose or gain weight. I will admit it takes a little bit of time to figure this out but you can use online tools such as this TDEE Calculator to help you zero in on a starting number. I still keep an Excel spreadsheet with my weekly calorie average and weight, from there I am able to tell what my current, or averaged over time, TDEE is. If you are gaining weight lower it. If you are losing weight, no more than 1-2 pounds a week, then you have found your sweet spot.

Exercise can play a huge role in your weight loss journey. More importantly though, you need good solid exercise to live a longer, fuller life. The calories that you burn while participating in exercise, be it walking, hiking, running, sports, yoga, weight training or any other exercise that YOU ENJOY, means a better, fitter body that is capable of metabolizing more calories (eating more!). I do place an emphasis on YOU and ENJOY because if you aren't feeling it will you really stick to it? Maybe even for life? This isn't to discourage anyone. If I can do it then anyone can. I am a first rate slacker.

I started small. I started walking. I started hiking and I am blessed to live in a beautiful state with tons of local access to wonderful trails, more than enough to get started. I let myself lose about 40 pounds through diet and LISS before I was comfortable enough in my own skin to go to a gym. Let me tell you......this wasn't necessary. If you have goals and your goals put yourself in the gym either now or in the future, DO NOT WAIT.

If you want to do what I did and wait until you are more comfortable then please look at a body weight fitness routine that you can do from home. This will help put you in the proper mindset and prepare your body. There are many great examples all over the internet but I would like to give a big shout out to Steve Kamb over at Nerd Fitness. The blog over there is a wealth of resources for somebody that is new to fitness and has plenty of great resources for the uninitiated. There are plenty of great body weight articles to look through. It's also just a great blog in general for a nerd on a fitness path to embrace, Marvel, Star Wars, DC you name it!

Another great resource is the Body Weight Fitness community on Reddit. While I don't have much personal experience here there is no doubt that they know their stuff.

So I lost the weight. I started going to the gym. I was using the machines. There's nothing wrong with that and someone coming from an inactive lifestyle can make a lot of progress doing this. Here is an entire article based on it! Do this. If you want to, or need to, then do this. Make your own routine. Remember ENJOY yourself. You'll find your stride. My picture in the middle above is after I had the lost the weight, down to 165 pounds, and had been doing, machine work exclusively in the gym. I felt better. I went to the beach....My shirt was off! If you choose to go this route be prepared to read a LOT of flack about it. But it was right for me and that is what mattered.

I came back from that vacation and knew, just knew that I wasn't done, or satisfied...or...or....even remotely close to looking like Chris Hemsworth or Jason Momoa.

I did want to get bigger. I did want to get stronger. So, I packed up my bags, looked at the machines one last time......looked at my calories eaten for the day (Hint: it was low)......And I went to the Fitness subreddit. This is far from a perfect place, like anyplace on the internet. But if you are willing the tools, information and guidance are there. They recommend starting with the Fitness Wiki. This is invaluable. If I have lost you at any point in this post and you are still here, READ THIS WIKI!!! I ended up choosing to do the Reddit PPL. Did I end up modifying it for my gym? Yes. Did it still do a world of difference to my body? Yes. Did I have to eat loads more? Yes.

Always start at the beginning, lose the weight. Get comfortable with yourself. Get fitter than you were. Will there come a time when you are doing things like eating more than you had thought was possible and still losing or maintaining weight? Yes. This comes with just being more conscious of your body and needs. YOU CAN DO IT! I did. Simple enough really.

When did you start to notice results?

Really, after about the first fifteen pounds down from 230 I could start to feel and see the difference

When did your pants size start to change?

It happens about every 10 pounds or so, honestly when you've been living the way I had, those first 30 pounds mean A LOT. When you get down into the viable range for your height and weight the differences for me at a low end weight (165-170 pounds sizes 36-32) become a lot more muddled and about my physical condition

Do you have a girlfriend?

My confidence level changed. A LOT. Not only did I start to get more romantic attention I started to notice changes in my life as a whole. I got a new car. I got a new job (A Better Job!). I'm more comfortable as myself. I'm weird so that goes a long, long way! And yes, I have a very amenable relationship with a wonderful lady!

Hive account@jackofcrows