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I don't know how many times I've said this but I will say it again because it is a hill that I will absolutely die on. Your health and your physical appearance is a reflection of who you are as a person. It's a reflection of your self discipline. It's a reflection of your work ethic. It's a reflection of your inner self worth. The importance of your physical well being as a man means so much more than what you might think. Good or bad, it will bleed over into other areas of your life without you even noticing. You will have more energy, you will be more confident, "other" things will look bigger...wink wink. People will respect you more, I know this sounds crazy but it's very true. Even when it comes to hiring, being flabby and over weight will cause people to perceive you as lazy.
As someone who used to be over weight and out of shape, I can say this article isn't written from an ivory tower. It's not a post that is meant to be me talking down to anyone. I've been on both sides of this topic. I've hit ruts, I've had peeks and I've had valleys for sure but my health remains a huge priority in my life. Now that I have seen both sides of this complex thing called health and fitness, I have a few things to say.
Health is something that is looked at through a different lens by almost everyone. There's a million takes on what it means to be "Healthy", I am not talking about being healthy though, I am specifically speaking to being lean and jacked. I am not a doctor and this is just my hot take.
When I started my fitness journey I had absolutely no clue what I was doing. For years I hear that carbs were the devil and that protein is the only answer. So what did I do? Cut out carbs and I lost weight, a lot of weight. I went from a flabby 210 pound guy to a skinny 165 pound guy. The issue though, I was skinny, I had no muscle mass on me at all. I had essentially starved myself by eating a very low calorie diet and doing a bunch of cardio. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. In hindsight, it was still the best thing that I ever did. I put in the effort and I lost the fat. I had also given myself a great foundation to build on. Now, here I sit, 180 pounds, looking better than 165 pound me and looking a hell of a lot better than 210 pound me. It took me years of educating myself to finally be able to fine tune my diet and gym routine around my personal goals. So, if you're just starting this journey, heres a few things I have learned along the way that has gotten me to where I am now. I'm not going in depth on these points because you can find more info all around the web from people much more qualified than I am.
Cardio burns calories now, lifting continues to burn calories when you leave the gym.
The short answer for this is because when you lift weights, your body must burn additional calories while it repairs your muscles.
Gaining Muscle Requires Some Caloric Surplus (kind of)
Getting bigger and stronger requires at least a small level of running a caloric surplus. Yes it is possible to gain muscle while in a caloric deficit. I am talking about dramatic increase in size. Feeding your muscles a little more protein will help in increasing your size. That being said, if you're already a larger person with a higher amount of body fat. Lifting weights and running a caloric deficit can really reshape how your body will look.
Find A Diet That Works For You
If you see me doing keto, just know I am moments away from ordering a very large cheese pizza. Keto doesn't work for me, I hate it with all my heart. I love carbs. It DOES work though. Find your own way of dieting and master it. I like to calculate my macros, it works for me.
Be Wildly Consistent
Drastic changes don't happen over night. If you want to look damn good, you have to be disciplined and dialed in for the long run. What worked for me is setting short term goals. I want to lift X amount of weight by Y. I want to see my abs in 8 weeks (which is doable).
Look in the mirror not the scale
Loosing fat and gaining muscle will make your body more dense. Look in the mirror more often than you step on the scale.
None of this is probably new to you but you have to get up and do it. Don't be a bitch.
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