The not so flattering pictures

Today I was over at my Mom and Dad's house and we took the opportunity to go through some of the old photo albums. Through this I found some of the old pictures of me as heavily overweight - some less flattering than others.

When I weighed over 140 kg (308 lbs) I never really saw myself as that heavy. I knew I was overweight, and I knew I was carrying a lot more than any person ever should, but I still didn't see myself as big as I clearly was. Very few pictures would actually shock me and make me understand exactly how big I was.

Picture taken by my Mom's friend. One of the few pictures were
even I would react and take notice of how big I had become.

Some pictures I didn't even remember. Like this one,
taken by my Mom while I was watching TV.

A few I had forgotten about and didn't really care to be reminded of.
Like this one, taken by an old friend of mine before I went in to vote
at the election (can't remember which year this was unfortunately).

Pictures like these are rather fun to have. I didn't care for them too much back when I was overweight, but I can appreciate them today. It's from a time where my life wasn't what it is today. I wasn't unhappy with how things were back then, I just didn't want the same things that I do today.

Moving on to present day, I actually recently went and got a new picture taken for my ID badge. I work part time as a personal assistant of sort, helping my nephew, who has Down's Syndrome. The old picture on my previous badge didn't look at all like me so it wasn't really any good when it came to identifying myself.

Me, today, on my brand new ID Badge.

I'm glad I've done my journey. It wasn't that I was unhappy being overweight back then, it's just that I'm much more happy with not being overweight today.

Muscle Eggs: Mega Low Carbs Super High Fat And Stuff

Today's strip is a take on the carb hysteria that's known to spread in various gyms and forums. We have all heard the evilness that is the carbohydrate and it's now time to kick it up a notch! Enjoy!

Short interview in the local newspaper

The previous week the local newspaper were at the gym where I instruct. This day I was actually helping my girlfriend and they snatched us both for a short interview. Some, or most of it, can be found on their website by clicking here (note: Swedish only). The piece was simply about the amount of new faces that's entering the gym every new year when it's time to fulfill the resolutions made the previous year.

My short piece in the newspaper.

I think most of us that have gym as a regular agenda always notice the amount of new faces entering the gym when each and every year starts. It's the time of the year where the equipment - that we're used to have all to ourselves - all of a sudden is occupied and there's a lot of new faces popping up. Some of them are there to stay, most of them are not.

My girlfriend getting some pointers from yours truly.

As far as the interview goes, there's not much new said for those of you who read my site. The interview itself was short and my only real contribution of worth was my answer to the classical question: "What's your number one tip to those who wants to lose a few pounds?". As usual, and as I've previous proclaimed in posts such as "My view on theories, how-to-guides and general concepts", I do not solely believe in step-by-step solutions and how-to-guides. I believe in finding the kind of training and diet that suits your own personal preference. To quote myself from the newspaper interview:

"People often look at what others do and they do the exact same thing - but that may not work for them. You have to find the kind of training that you enjoy, or the kind of food that you like". 

I say this because I personally believe that if you enjoy what you do, then you're more willing to make the sacrifice that needs to be done in order to get to where you want to be.

Muscle Eggs: Optimal much?

As a little sidetrack I've decided to do a comic bit here called Muscle Eggs. It won't be something that's daily or even weekly for that matter. It'll just be a fun addition to the site whenever I feel the creativity brewing. So, here's the first strip entitled "Optimal much?".

My view on theories, how-to-guides and general concepts

For those of you who follow my website you've probably noticed that I don't like generic guides and theories that proclaim to know the "one truth". I firmly believe that there is no "one truth" as far as answers go. Furthermore, I also believe that the idea of that there's only one correct way of doing things is what causes a lot of issues for people who try to take on huge obstacles.

There's a rather amusing story floating on the Internet that concerns the space race between the USA and Russia back in the 1960s. The astronauts needed a pen that would be able to write in the vacuum of space, seeing as ink didn't cope well with that environment. NASA solved this by spending $1.5 million on developing a pen that could do just that. The Russians responded by giving their astronauts a pencil - problem solved! Now, this story has turned out to be fake, as you can read more about here, but the lesson is still a valid one. If we think that there's only one correct answer, we will also not look any further for other possible solutions.

A rather funny - but untrue - anecdote circling the web.

So, why am I rambling about space when my site is about training? The parallel that I want to draw here is that if you only concern yourself with what other people have done in the past in order to reach their goal, you may not find what is right for you. Many of us that try to set out to do something life-changing may not succeed. I believe that a huge chunk of us fail because we try to do what other people have done without adapting it to our own personal lifestyle. Just as in the case of NASA, we are not thinking outside of the box. We only see what successful people have done and we want to accomplish what they've accomplished. Instead of doing exactly what successful people have done, we should look at what parts we can integrate with our own lives. View it as a puzzle. Just because some pieces fit, doesn't mean that the motif is right. This means that just because some ways of doing things work for others, doesn't mean they'll work for you.

"View it as a puzzle. Just because some pieces fit, doesn't mean that the motif is right."

This is part of the reason why I don't like to get specific about nutrition nor how to train. Firstly, I am not, nor have ever claimed to be, good at nutrition and biomechanics. So, for starters, I'm not delving deep into those areas mostly due to the fact that I don't have the competence. There are plenty of people that know a lot more about that than I do, so I'll leave it to them. Secondly, I don't like to get specific about these areas because it disables people to look for their own personal solutions. What good is an "optimal meal" if you won't eat it due to it not suiting your personal taste? And what good is an optimal training program if you won't follow it due to it being boring?

What good is an "optimal meal" if you won't eat it due to it not suiting your personal taste?

Having all this said, I do believe that there is a place for theories and how-to-guides. They serve as good ways for us to document and explain to others what we've done in order to reach our goals. The problem is not that they exist, because they are indeed very valuable and, quite frankly, they're part of how we evolve. The problem is that we too often try to copy them without adjusting them to our own personal preferences.