Shape Up!

Long time no post!

As you all know, I'm a big fan of healthy living. I'm a regular exerciser, and eat pretty healthy. Ever since I went from chubby to studdly I've stayed pretty consistently between about 208-217 lbs. I'm 6'2" so that's about average for my build.

I looked up the definition of "Average" in "Arun's Guide to Lifetime Awesomeness." It was defined as, "Just as close to the BOTTOM as to the top." Well I don't DO average! Anyone who knows me, knows I do things to extraordinary amounts of chaos and craziness that the likes of "average" has never seen! At the beginning of this year, I decided it was time to transform from "Devilishly Handsome Arun" to "Supreme Sex-Symbol Arun" :)

Yes, it's shape-up season! I started the year out at about 217 lbs after copious holiday eating (and by "copious," I mean I made Santa Clause seem like he was on a diet). When I returned to San Diego, I was set to resume my healthy ways, but this time, it was time to drop some pounds and melt some adipose!

So, this year I've gone from a "healthy maintenance" lifestyle to "butt-kicking, fat melting" lifestyle. Last week I weighed myself, and I was a smidgen BELOW 200 lbs for the first time in about six years! The difference is now, I have more muscle! The great part is, I've managed to keep the muscle by extending this weight loss over three months. The slower you drop the pounds, the healthier and more permanent it is.

So what changes did I make to go from healthy to Super-duper healthy? Well for training I now exercise twice a day with Cardio at lunch and weight training in the evening. The cardio includes basketball three to four times a week (with some games lasting for two or three HOURS!!).

I've also made some diet changes. Instead of two bowls of cereal in the morning, I hold myself to one heaping bowl (tough since cereal is one of my favorite foods and one of the greatest inventions ever). Lunch consists of four pieces of different fruit consumed throughout the day as well as two garden burger patties (morningstar garden burgers are awesome. Boca Burgers are so so tasting, but pretty healthy as well).

Dinner always consists of a HUGE spinach salad when I get home with olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette. This is usually pretty filling but since I like to eat a lot I follow it up with either homemade chicken soup with a TON of veggies, tofu stir fry, or an egg white omelet. No dinner carbs.

Interestingly, I've noticed my diet has become about 85% vegetarian. Most days eat meat for part of ONE meal (and many times I eat tofu or egg whites instead for my protein).

And for dessert, either a fruit smoothy or a Healthy Choice fudge bar.

The beauty of this is, I'm NEVER hungry! Now, I DO exercise a lot on the weekends, but I don't watch my diet as carefully. I like eating out, and I like eating in general, so what's the fun in not indulging a bit? But, I do usually try and choose the "lesser of two evils" ie, this weekend I picked the "classic burger" over the "classic burger with bacon and cheese."

Also I've cut back on the alcohol and specifically beer intake. Beer is just a killer! It's so tempting when you're out at a bar to always have something in your hand. Most of the time, we end up shelling out six bucks for a beer...just to have something to hold! I go for the diet cokes these days, and if I'm drinking, Jack Daniels and Diet Coke is my new drink of choice. Now I still drink beer, just not as much.

I'm still in my "Operation Greek God" mode, and am hoping to shatter the 190 lb mark at some point! That seems about to be about a sexy weight for me :) Just remember, it's not too late! It's only April and you still have time to shed some fat before the summer! Jump on the wagon and lets get healthy!