I was at the gym Sunday. As I worked out on the elliptical trainer, I looked around. The aerobic room was almost empty. The mirror beside me showed some overweight guy on a machine. OMG. It was me!

Sigh. I knew I was getting bigger. But, seeing myself in the mirror really brought home how much bigger I had gotten.

I wear athletic cut shirts. My chest has always been larger than my waist and the tapered shirts fit me well. Standard shirts tend to look puffy on me with all that extra fabric around the waist. But, lately, my tapered shirts were getting tight. It is getting to be dangerous to stand in front of me. The buttons near my waist are nearing the pop-off limit. I am sure that it would hurt to be struck by a button flying off my shirt.

I used to be a gym rat. I was always working out. Three or four times a week I went to the gym. It began in high school. I was a scrawny kid then. I ran track and cross country. I lifted weights. I desperately wanted to weigh more than I did. When I graduated high school I was 5'9" and weighed 134 pounds. I always thought that life would be better if I got my weight up to 160.

After high school, I went to college and got married. That put a few pounds on me. Over the years, and lots of beer, I eventually gained the weight I wanted. But, I did not stop there. I kept gaining.

I was into body building for a while. I bulked up to about 210 pounds. My bodyfat level bounced between 20 and 25%. Definitely no six-pack for me. But, I had no desire to compete. I felt good and did not have a paunch.

Five years ago I started my own business. I continued to work out regularly the first 2 years. Then I started getting more work than I could handle. I began working more hours. I hired some help, but they never worked out. About two years ago my prostate got inflamed and I had prostate surgery. My weight dropped to 200 pounds after my surgery.

Unfortunately, my surgery put me behind at work. I started working 16 to 20 hour days during the week and 12 hour days during the weekend. Those hours working left precious little time to workout. My weight started creeping up. I stopped eating regular meals. My weight crept up some more.

Currently, I am at 230 pounds. As I reduced the frequency and intensity of my workouts, I lost muscle mass. As I kept eating poorly and kept sitting on my butt for those long hours, I gained fat.

The final straw was seeing myself in the mirror the other day. My belly sticks out further than my chest. Looking down, all I can see is my toolshed and not my tool. That is unacceptable to me. So, I am now motivated to restore my whole body to what it once was. Not only do I need to get rid of fat, I need to pick up my lost muscle mass. Oh, good. Another aspect of my life that needs restoring.

I just got back from the gym. It was my third workout this week. That fat guy is still in the mirror, but not for long.
 

Related posts:

• I am still fat! Is there a pill I can take?