| 1/20/08 | 4/27/08 | 7/20/08 | 3/17/11 | 7/1/11 | Change | |
| Weight | 405 | 366 | 357 | 292 | 262 | (143) |
| BMI | 49.3 | 44.5 | 42.9 | 35.5 | 32 | (17.3) |
Body Fat % | 43.8 | 31.1 | 31.4 | 29.1 | 24.5 | (14.7) |
Lean Mass | 228 | 231 | 245 | 207 | 198 | (30) |
Resting HR | 87 | 70 | 68 | 64 | 62 | (25) |
Neck | 19 | 18 | 18 | 17.25 | 16 | (3) |
Shoulders | 59.5 | 55.5 | 59.5 | 55 | 52 | (7.5) |
| Chest | 58 | 57 | 58 | 50 | 46.5 | (11.5) |
| L Biceps | 15.5 | 16 | 18 | 13.5 | 13 | (2.5) |
| R Biceps | 16 | 16.5 | 19 | 14 | 13 | (3) |
| L Forearm | 12.5 | 12.25 | 13 | 11.5 | 11 | (1.5) |
| R Forearm | 13 | 13 | 13.75 | 12 | 11 | (2) |
| Waist | 59 | 52 | 50.5 | 46 | 43 | (16) |
| Hips | 61.5 | 57.5 | 56.5 | 51 | 48.5 | (13) |
| L Thigh | 29.5 | 30 | 26 | 27.5 | 27 | (2.5) |
| R Thigh | 30 | 30 | 26 | 28 | 27 | (3) |
| L Calf | 20.25 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 18 | (2.25) |
| R Calf | 20.5 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 18 | (2.5) |
So, what's happened to my body since March? First of all, I've lost a lot more weight. I'm giving cancer credit for the first hundred pounds, but the rest is mine. 10 pounds a month. That's a pretty good pace. The BMI is coming down, too. just a few more pounds and I'll be classified as "Overweight," not "Obese." That will be a first. Then there's the Body Fat percentage. I'm encouraged by the way it keeps coming down. I want to get to 20% by the end of the summer, but you can tell from my Lean mass numbers that I've stopped lifting weights. Yes, I'm burning a lot of fat, but I'm also losing some muscle mass, especially in my upper body. I'm not going to fret too much about that. Right now, I'm focused on training for the next couple of races, and I have chosen not to spend so much time in the gym.
Overall, I can't help but be pleased. A stranger meeting me for the first time would probably still see a fat man, but the people who have known me a while see a changed man. Soon, I'll be able to buy clothes in a department store! How nice it will be to get all of those multiple Xs out of my closet.
So what am I learning? It's never to late to change direction. Patience works. Long, slow runs. Gradual increases of intensity. Consistent training. Mindful eating. Sleeping right. It all works together to make you stronger, faster, and fitter. If a middle-aged fat man can do this, you can, too!
I think I'm going to drop the old 2008 numbers from this chart. They really are from a different life, a pre-cancer life. "Pre" a lot of things, come to think of it. I don't really know what the numbers were on the day of my surgery, other than my weight, 397. That was April 16, 2010, a kind of new birthday for me. That was the day I became a survivor, a cancer fighter. That fight, not so much the fight against cancer, but the fight for life is the reason I'm training. I don't know what God has in mind for the rest of my life, but I want to be ready.
Peace,
Pennsy
Wow! Absolutely stunning. GOOD JOB!
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