Hey friends, I'm Mark! I'm 23, and I live in Chandler, Arizona.
I'm currently back in the Induction phase after a 9 month involuntary hiatus from my low-carb lifestyle. In January of 2006, on my 21st birthday, I was 197 pounds. I moved to Arizona in March (from Texas) and, over the course of one and a half years, lost an unhealthy 52 pounds for an healthy ending weight of 145! (By unhealthy weight, I did a candy binge at one point and gained 30 pounds in 2 months!)...
The weight was lost in 2 time-frames... the first 27 pounds dropped due to a severe depression
, dropping all 27 pounds in a matter of 3 months without a change in eating habit or exercise (read: ZERO exercise)
the 2nd half, 25 pounds, was lost during an extended induction (6 weeks) and heavy exercise (read: 2.5 hours weightlifting, half-an-hour cardio a day, 4-5 times a week)...
Then I switched jobs and went from being on my feet for 9 hours to being on my butt for 11 hours... call center environment is detrimental to health... My hours changed, I couldn't find time to hit the gym, and I gained another 28 pounds over 9 months. New weight is 173
Granted, not all the weight is bad. During my workout timeline, I went from 145 to 155, gaining about 10 pounds of muscle and having an overall Total Body Fat percentage of 9%. The other 18 pounds is slop weight that I'm ready to ditch and rebuild with another 10 pounds of muscle.
I'm back on the low-carb lifestyle in hopes to fulfill one of my new years resolutions:
#3 Look Good in a Suit
#1 is rehab my shoulder and benchpress 125% of my weight
#2 is reach a TRUE 6% body fat count (water-replacement measurement)
#3 should follow naturally with the other two, but I've seen guys that don't look very lean that can lift massive amounts (they're like ants in lifting abilities!) So I want to look a LEAN 165.
So i'm not really here so much for the weight loss as I am the fat burning, but give me a couple days and I'll have a set of goals in my signature and progress pictures just like the rest of ya.
here's a before picture when I was 21 and 197:
Just goes to show that some good lighting and proper angles can work wonders for slimming people down =]
And here's a "in my prime" picture when I was 22 and 155:
My biceps and triceps now are slightly bigger, but are losing definition and I hate that fact, but i'll keep working at it.
I don't have a recent picture at the moment, but I'll say that I gained a small muffin-top and can no longer fit happily into the jeans i was wearing last year... this is only a small obstacle and as soon as I can afford new running shoes, I'll be out burning up the sidewalks and that muffin-top will be gone in no time.
By the way, for any of you wondering, i used to HATE exercising. It felt like such a chore... back when I was 20, I couldn't even fathom dragging my butt to a gym, much less staying in one for more than 30 minutes. But once I got a workout partner of equal-body type, we worked out together a few hours a day and time passed by really quick and we both had a lot of fun. Now I love going to the gym (most of the time) and always look forward to the results I know I'll get in the VERY near future. So if you were like me and can't imagine going to a gym, grab a friend and give it a try - like the induction phase, it takes some getting used to, but you'll thank yourself after about 2 weeks =]
Also, on top of my weight loss, I'm continuing my cigarette-free life (clean for 6 months) and I quit my social drinking (to fit the low-carb lifestyle).
Any more information is free when asked for =] I hope my progress is supplemented with the information and friends I know I'll have readily available here.
Take care guys and gals.
June 15th, 2008, 12:34 PM
1st time poster, 2nd time low-carbing 
Re: 1st time poster, 2nd time low-carbing 
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