I realized it at 50. Weight loss is not about 'endurance,' but about 'systems.'
“Weight loss 20 years ago” vs. “Weight loss today”
Honestly, I never thought it would be this different.
Recently, my body has been tightening up little by little.
I was 86kg in January of this year, but now I'm around 82kg.
If you focus only on the numbers, I've only lost 4kg in 7 months.
But when I look in the mirror, my waist is definitely slimmer, and the lines of my obliques are starting to show.
“Maybe I've changed a little since yesterday.”
Being able to feel that small change is what I find so enjoyable now.
I suddenly remembered my weight loss from 20 years ago, and back then I seriously thought
“Carbohydrates are the enemy of dieting.”
That's what I believed.
My diet back then was 80-90% protein.
The rest was unavoidable fat from things like beef and natto.
I hardly ever ate rice, bread, or noodles.
Specifically,
・Chicken breast
・Beef round
・Eggs (egg whites only)
・Broccoli
・Protein powder
These were the only ingredients.
I truly believed that eating this was the shortest route to losing weight.
Moreover, while continuing this diet, I did strength training 5 days a week, split into 5 parts, pushing every set to failure. Plus, I jogged for about an hour every day.
It's amazing, isn't it?
Thinking about it now, it was just pure asceticism.
I don't think even a monk would live like this.
I actually stuck with this life for six months.
But the price I paid was truly huge.
Anyway, I felt an abnormal sense of hunger when I wasn't sleeping.
It wasn't just at the level of “I'm hungry.”
I felt like my life was in danger; my mind was constantly filled with thoughts of food whenever I wasn't asleep.
And as a reaction to that, I would sometimes binge on junk food like pizza or McDonald's.
It makes no sense, does it?
“I endured so much, so it's okay.”
That feeling would explode, and I would eat everything at once.
I would eat ten 100-yen McDonald's burgers plus a liter of drinkable yogurt in one sitting.
After I finished eating, I would regret it,
“Did I do it again...”
and I would fall into self-loathing.
I repeated that many times.
The information available in the world back then was completely different from today.
There was no YouTube like there is now.
Social media wasn't developed either, and it was a real struggle just to find correct information about dieting.
It was an era where everyone in Japan thought “strength training = getting fat.”
Regarding dieting, truly high-quality information was mostly on overseas websites, but it was all in English.
In other words, it was an era where only a few people who could read English could barely access the latest correct knowledge.
Times have changed, and now it has become incredibly easy to obtain correct information about dieting.
Thanks to that, I am doing weight loss in a way that is the exact opposite of 20 years ago, to a degree that cannot be compared.
I eat carbohydrates properly.
After adjusting my total calorie intake and PFC balance, I take the necessary amount centered on brown rice and sweet potatoes, according to my activity level and training volume.
I am the most surprised myself, but in this weight loss, I haven't binged even once.
Of course, I have a certain amount of hunger.
But it's just the usual “I'm a little hungry” feeling.
It doesn't reach the state of “I can't take it anymore!” like 20 years ago.
That's why I can naturally continue the same diet every day.
I am the most surprised by this myself.
It's a really good era now.
If you open YouTube, there is a lot of high-quality information for free.
Of course, not all of it is correct information, so the ability to choose the method that suits you becomes necessary.
Even so, it's an era where you can get 80% quality information for free as much as you want.
20 years ago, it was knowledge that you couldn't get unless you paid money and studied in a foreign language.
Thinking about that, I think it has become a really good era.
I won't let anyone call Japan a “fitness developing country” anymore.
【What has changed the most for me】
20 years ago, I thought “weight loss is something you endure.”
I believed that the more painful it was, the more weight I would lose.
But it's different now.
I think weight loss is
“how to create a system that you can continue without strain.”
Of course, I'm happy that my body has changed.
But what makes me even happier is
“I'm just following a routine that I feel is easy every day, yet I'm properly tightening up.”
I can feel that.
I think 20 years ago, I was losing weight with sheer willpower.
Now that I'm 50, I'm losing weight by utilizing knowledge and experience.
My weight has only dropped by about 4kg since January.
But the body reflected in the mirror shows more change than that.
And above all, this time, it's not about pain, but about the joy of seeing my body change little by little every day.
I am older than I was 20 years ago.
But I think I am much better at weight loss now than my 20-year-younger self, and my physique is much better now too.
Two months until the competition.
Will I make it in time? lol
If I don't make it in time, I'm thinking next spring's competition will be fine.
See you later.
#WeightLoss #Diet #StrengthTraining #BodyMake #50s #ChallengeFrom50 #MealManagement #PFCBalance #HealthyHabits #Bodybuilding