This is my personal blog and as such I will use this opportunity to tell you about how my physical health and fitness has reshaped over the years. Now whenever I create a New Years resolution, I do it with the mindset of a project manager. Your fitness goals are a project, and as with any project you need resources to help you complete the project.

I broke down these into four simple steps:

1. Figure Out Goals
2. Research Options To Get There
3. Implementation
4. Testing and Validating
5. Measuring Success and Results

• Figure Out Goals

Almost three years ago I had realized that I had gotten fat and my weight gain was not attributed to genetics, health problems or medical conditions, but due to poor diet and exercise. I was sedidentary and chose to overeat and consume more food than was necessary, I felt the need to eat until I felt full which it took enormous amounts to determine that feeling full and feeling gorged are two completely different things.

I had decided that it was time to change my lifestyle before I became much older, so at twenty nine years old I decided to revamp my way of living. I set my goals and this was to lose 1-2 pounds per month over the next two years. It took me 10 years to gain 40 pounds, so I should be able to work them off in about 2 to 3 years.

• Research Options To Get There

For research you need to determine whether you want to use or include fat burner pills like Leptovox or do you want to try dieting, or exercising, or combinations of all three. When I made my goals I researched all sorts of products and decided that I would try with just dietary modifications and exercise. I was saving the pills and true dieting only as a last resort if I couldn’t achieve my goal with moderate diet adjustments and exercise.

I also found that weight lifting and power training are far better at weight loss than simple cardio and aerobic activities. This is because they increase your lean muscle mass which helps deplete fat. However, if you want to improve your stamina so you don’t get winded so quickly, you need to do cardio aerobic activities as Weight Lifting does not help stamina very much.

• Implementation

Once you choose your method you implement over the length of time you have set. Hopefully you can choose a routine you can stick with, make sure you chose something that isn’t too agressive, but you can also notice results within a few months. My implementation went like this, I bought a weight bench, Wii Fit, and chose to cut my calorie intake to around 2,000 per day maximum. I started slow, like when eating fast food, I chose to only order 2 items on the menu instead of 3 or 4. Then eventually I weaned these back to 1 item, and skip the side items if possible, or substitute for healthier choices.

• Testing and Validation

You test your goals by trying on your clothing, you validate your results by measuring yourself. Don’t do this daily, unless you use Wii Fit which actually does a good job of tracking your goals. Check weekly, and if you see 1 pound is lost consider that a big success. Make sure you weight yourself with almost no clothing on, and at the same time each day. I did weigh myself at 6am and then weighed myself at 6pm and noticed I was 2 pounds different between the times just from daily eating and drinking.

• Measuring Success and Results

At first I didn’t see much right, just one pound loss this month, two pounds this month and I was thinking “is this even worth it?” but, I noticed within three months that my size 40 pants were too lose, I was on the last notch in my belt, by six months my size 38 pants were too loose. One thing after another, and now almost 3 years later, I fit comfortably in a size 34 pant, but I can wear size 32 Jeans for when I go out and can wear them with only very minor discomfort. My belt sizes shrunk considerably. I was really fitting into size 32 and 34 again, after 12 years of being that waist size.

• Summary

Believe me, it is possible to achieve, you just have to find your plan and measure your success. I did no dieting, I did not restrict chocolate, sugar, fat, or anything. I just reduced portions, and it takes time. It took weeks before my body got used to the new portion sizes and I cut out night snacking, don’t eat after 6pm if you can help it, only drink water or another light beverage. Work out alot, if your muscles are not sore the next day then you are not working out hard enough. Increase weights every 8-12 weeks by 5-10 pounds, make sure your muscles are sore and they will grow and you will feel it, and it will help with your metabolism.

I hope this post helps you and encourages you to set your own goals, let me know about your success stories my friends.

Life should not be as complicated as it is for the majority of us, especially if you know the basic most important things that you want in life and you have no confusion about what it is you want.  Those who work hard at achieving what they want don’t always clearly see that it is a two sided street and that in order to get what you want, you have to accomodate what somebody else wants.

I try to learn more about life every day, every interaction with every being, every conversation, I really do try and grow myself as a person.  I have identifed about a half dozen extremely self defeating traits and I work very hard to try and patch up these personality flaws and weaknesses.

True discovery of oneself comes from within, and when you know your weaknesses and admit to them.  You are at least admitting you are human and have flaws.  Trying to fix them is another story altogether.

Some people are able to isolate and fix their own weaknesses and draw out their own strengths, others require psychiatric treatment or therapy.  Others find that if they associate those who have traits they wish to possess, eventually you will pick up those traits.  I do believe that people adapt to others and take on some personality of everyone they interact with.

Know that whenever you find yourself wishing you can change something about yourself, or you wish you werent a certain way, or did a certain thing.  Know that you are not alone, millions of others feel the same way.  Reach out and talk to someone who understands without judging, whether it be a family member, trusted friend or a professional.

We all walk this difficult road called life, I am starting to believe the more friends you have along the way the less difficult the path has to be.

Just some insight to my way of thinking for today.

-Justin Germino

So after undergoing a minor makeover, I have my new look.   Decided to post some before and after photo’s of me over the past three months.  Am I going through a midlife crisis at 31 years of age?  Nah, this is more like playing with my look to be more in tune with the rock genre which I am not partially affiliated with on my spare time and trying to find the best way to de-emphasize the fact that I am starting to thin very badly in the front, and I don’t have much time left before I will be wearing hats full time.

This was taken in June 2008:

This was taken in August 2008:

This was taken last week after my mini makeover:

-Justin Germino

I have had the same haircut type for the past 15 years and today I go to a hair stylist to try a new look for myself.  My son who is 5 has his hair highlighted and so does my wife, I really like the way my sons hair came out.  I am going to have a new cut/style and probably highlights put in my hair just to see how I look in it.

I did recently start growing a Goatee to see how one looks on me as well.  I am experimenting to see what fits me as my old style doesn’t seem to fit my new image I am going for.  Also my hair is thinning in the front and brushing it back is bringing too much notice to it, I need to find a style that kind of de-emphasizes my shrinking hairline.

Curse these genetics

-Justin Germino