From Chubby to Studdly Part Deux

If you haven't read part 1 of this article click here before reading further.

So throughout my adolescence I was always pretty chubby. I was semi-athletic and half heartedly (ok....maybe only one-eighth heartedly) watched my diet. But, I had no will-power whatsoever.

Ice-cream Bar? "Hand it over."
Pizza? "How many slices?"
Lemonade? "Needs more sugar."

You get the point. Towards the later end of my highschool career I realized that not only am I large, but I am also weak. I was 270 lbs with the strength of someone 100lbs less than me. So I resolved to start some light strength training. The only problem was, I didn't know what the hell I was doing.

I remember when I first started, I would flex my bicep, yet my arm would look exactly the same. What little muscle there was, was covered by a nice soft layer of adipose.

I've got some work to do.

Free weights scared me so I started with machines which are less difficult to screw up (even though I still managed to use terrible form). As I became stronger, slowly I became more interested in weight training. As my interest grew, I started emersing myself in strength training and body building literature.

In fact at one point, I actually sent pro bodybuilders (and VERY famous among their sport) Flex Wheeler and Ronnie Coleman sappy emails telling them how inspirational they were and asking a couple of training questions. This was before bodybuilding is as popular as it is today. I was so happy when I got personal replies for BOTH of them! I still have those emails to this day.

Anyways, by the time I was headed to college I had dropped a few pounds just from weight training and starting to play more basketball and tennis. I was still large, but at least there was some decent muscle hiding underneath. This is where everything changed, and ordinary Arun became Super Arun!

When I got to college I was so dead set at avoiding the "freshman 15." I had a little motivation since I had already lost a few pounds and I knew what happens to most people when they spend a year eating calorie loaded yet mariginally tasting campus dining. I tried to eat as somewhat healthy as possible. There also happened to be a basketball court right behind my dorm, so every night me and my buddies would play.

Meanwhile I continued lifting weights but I was completely oblivious to any change going on in my body. I never weighed myself and really didn't notice much in the mirror. Christmas time rolled around and I went back home. This is when reality hit me.

I vividly remember stepping on the scale, totally scared that I had gained a couple of pounds. If I had actually managed to lose a couple of pounds, I would've been ecstatic! 225 lbs.

"What!??" Is this thing working right?" Apparently it was, because people noticed. Now I was really fired up! I came back to school totally determined to become fit. I was so determind that I became a workout machine and trained everyday single day (which by the way was overtraining).

In addition to basketball and weights, I began running everyday. At first I couldn't run one mile without stopping. I'd run 3 laps on the track then walk 1, and continue for 3 miles. By the end of the year I was running 7 continuous miles seven days a week!

School was out, and I headed home feeling good, looking good (damn good if I must say :), and having a whole new mentality. So how did my mentality change?

Well I now know the importance of health, and having been on both sides, I know how much better it feels to be physically fit. Being physically healthy also benefits your mental and emotional states as well.

OK OK. I know I promised that I would outline a simple way to get healthy. What I'm going to share are not only the details of things you need to focus on, but also easy ways to integrate them into your lives forever! As you can see from my story, I did a lot of exercise, and watched what I ate, but what I do now, is much less extreme, and I can still lose weight when I want.

Unfortunately this post is long enough, so everything you'll ever want to know about how to get healthy will be in part 3 coming VERY soon!

ON TO PART 3!