I so appreciate the votes from everyone.
The last guy, Lee, I agree made a huge changed. I became pretty good friends with him over the course of the contest…he’s a pretty cool guy. A lot of the contestants just gave up halfway through saying it was too tough. And then at the end they’re now wishing they had stuck with it.
What I’m hoping for is that the overall impact of very visible abs will sway the vote enough for me. I have no idea if Lee is hitting others up for votes…I wouldn’t assume he’s not.
One thing that irks me is some of the comments. One person said they didn’t vote for me because my results weren’t realistic for most people. As if getting your ass up off the couch, working hard, and not stuffing your face with junk is unrealistic. None of this was easy and I had to constantly ask myself if I was working harder than everyone else. Did I want to get up at 4:15 or 4:30 in the morning to do cardio? No. Did I want to run hill sprints at night time? Nope. Would I rather have had pizza and chips and then taken a nap on my planning period? Of course. But instead I was in the gym, I was counting calories, I was eating vegetables, fruits, grilled lean steak and chicken instead of stopping at McDonalds.
I was on T-Nation and bodyrecomposition and Crossfit reading and absorbing instead of zoning out on TV so that I would have the information I needed to make the changes I wanted.
Another called me obsessed. And then assumed I neglected my family. I think we all have obsessions or things we’re passionate about. Why is my obsession or passion for bettering my mind and body so strange? I definately didn’t neglect my family. I neglected a bit of sleeping time and going to the bars with friends.
Granted most of the comments were positive, it just makes me roll my eyes when I read a few of those that just make me want to point out why they’re still in the same shape they’re in and whining that they’re fat and don’t have the time for exercise and just don’t know how to have a healthy diet.
I’m taking a bit of the lazy way out. Or maybe it’s the smart path now. Not sure. I have hired someone to do my nutrition and training planning over the next year. Spending the next 4 weeks getting a bit leaner and then moving onto gaining muscle over the next 11.
One of the hardest parts of this is when I got under 200. I had a mental moment where I just felt small and weak. I didn’t lose any strength during this but there was definately a certain comfort in being bigger.
I absolutely loved the journey and don’t regret one day. It’s amazing what you can learn about determination and will power when you’re trying to better yourself and going through brick walls that get in your way. I learned that brick walls are there to show us how bad we want something and that they’re for those other people that just don’t want it bad enough.