14 December, 2017
I never intended to publish my before and after shots (if so, I probably would have smiled more), but I lay them out before you to show where I came from and what results I finished with though I am still continuing to improve.
I've completed the 12 month Nutrition and Lifestyle program with the PN Workouts. From beginning to end, it has been an amazing journey, much more than I really expected. To start, I didn't have a lot of weight I wanted to lose. I wanted to tighten up the waistline and if I could increase my muscle mass, that was a bonus.
To date, I've dropped 6.5 pounds and lost 5.5inches on my total girth measurements (this is the sum total of all circumference measurements taken of yourself). The overall girth measurement is not a reliable measurement of how you're doing as your body undergoes reshaping. Depending on the type of exercises you may be doing, as you increase muscle size in your shoulders, chest, hips and legs, these numbers may counter the loses in your waist and other areas. I'm quite happy how my body has transformed in my sixtieth year. I’m looking pretty good for my age, maybe in the top 5% of males when related to overall fitness levels. The potential for female participants to improve is just as great and is not a limiting factor.
But aside from how my body has changed, the program has made me more open to change and trying new things. It has allowed me to address my elephant in the room issue that might be holding me back, and to introduce behaviours that help me manage stress and sleep better at night. Recovery should play an important role in everybody's life but is sadly neglected, allowing stress to take over. These are the things in our lives that left unaddressed, manifest into issues that contribute to poor eating habits.
Nutrition is the central focus of this program and how to make the right choices in protein, vegetables and smart carbohydrates, and healthy fats. Gently pushing you along toward getting you to reduce your reliance on processed foods and lean toward whole foods instead. As mentioned many times, there are no bad foods, just better choices, and how can you make your choice a little bit better.
Over time, you get a bit more excited about the prospects and potential of what you can do and how you can improve your game. In the beginning I began to reduce the different types of bread I would buy down to one loaf made with sprouted grains. Now I have restricted my consumption to maybe a slice or two a week. I used to buy salad dressings, now I make my own. I used to be happy with large flaked oatmeal, but have moved onto steel cut oats, making a large batch a couple of times a week for breakfast. It works and I love having it around.
Just for the sake of pushing some buttons, the program has a few experimental days where you're challenged to think outside the box. Today, I'm going fat free, noting how this particular diet affects my body and energy levels. It helps you better understand how certain food groups interact with your internal systems and whether that its a benefit or not. It also makes you aware how important those missing food groups make you feel – in my case, the importance of essential fats to good health and feeling satisfied after a meal. I'm fighting the urge to replace that need with more carbohydrates.
While everybody's journey on PN Coaching will be different because we are all coming from different places in our lives and have different goals, it is still a journey worth taking. It is a feel good journey with a happy ending, and I would encourage everyone to try it.
