Final Update:7/30/2012
And so a journey comes to an end. I cant believe its already been a year and a half, and that my journey has come to its end. When i started this at the beginning of 2011, 1.5 years seemed like such a long time to wait, and i wasn't even sure i would see this journey through. However, not only have i seen my journey through, i've had the experience of a lifetime as well. There have been ups and downs (mostly downs, but i knew this was going to be hard from the beginning). There have been many moments where i felt like i would literally pass out, and there were moments when i felt there was no way i could keep this up, that i could keep going, but all of these moments are to be expected and had when you decide to go on a journey like this AND actually do the work/give all you got to it.
I got mixed emotions when i went back to the early beginnings of this thread and read the comments I'd gotten throughout this journey. Its amazing to realize how long it has actually been since i started. from the people that i noticed aren't around anymore to the new people that have joined us over the year of 2011 and 2012 so far. from the petty dramas we had then to the petty dramas we indulge in now. some of us are even in a completely new stage of life now. heh, look at me rambling on. ok, let us begin this final update
Stats:
alright then shall we begin with my stats? The heaviest I've ever been was at 270+ pounds. This was before i even began to attempt to start losing weight, so before my failures and eventual success in 2011. When i started this journey i was at 254 pounds. Alright with all of that in mind, below are my stats throughout this journey and where i stand today :).
Beginning: 254 pounds
Lowest weight achieved: 147 pounds
My weight when i posted pictures of me having achieved abs/sexy mid section in November 2011 update: 154 pounds
Highest weight due to relapse/regaining weight back: 183 pounds
Current weight: 161 pounds
Pokemon: The VGC/Online community
PICTURES SECTION: Pictures galore
Alright i know this is the part you've all been waiting for, and seeing as this is the final update, this will be the biggest section because of things like before and after pictures, and everything else in between throughout this journey :).
Mixed Emotions: I was feeling very disappointed during the days leading up to this final update. I was disappointed in myself, and i was disappointed in the way i looked for this update. I think i had set myself up too high. although my goal from the very beginning has been to end up looking like a normal weight person, and to feel like a normal person in general, i would be lying if i didn't say that i had hoped for more. I wanted to look in the mirror and see rock hard pecs, chiseled abs with a nice V cut, and some nice arms. so throughout this journey i had developed the mindset of not only reaching my goal by the end of this journey, but of exceeding it. However, tonight as i sit here putting this final update together, I see that maybe I'm being too hard on myself. My feelings of disappointment have faded and are slowly being replaced with those of Pride and joy. now after reading all of that you are probably asking yourself "ok, so, like, did he fail in the end or something? why the feelings of disappointment?". I certainly think that (although not at first) i succeeded, and after seeing the pictures of this final update, i hope you'll agree. alright then, shall we begin?
alright, and finally the pictures of how i look today without a shirt on. shirtless pictures taken only a couple of days ago.
So yeah, there you go. I think over all i am at a the best place I've been throughout this journey so far. My abs have become less defined, but I've gained more muscle and i don't mind sacrificing good looking abs for muscle gain. i would have minded in the past, but i had to accept a mind change if i wanted to move on to BIGGER and better things ;). The best part is that once i'm as big as i want, i can begin my journey to regain the definition my abs once had.
OH YEAH! so i heard we can do underwear shots now xD.
OH MY GOD I EVEN LOST MY BLACK ASS. No but seriously, i lost the gigantic ass i once had, and that thing was my pride and joy (i am not even joking. /sadface)
Oh yeah, also i work my legs/lower body out quite a bit as well
yeap. i actually love working my legs out a lot.
Calender section:
"Unknown" incoming thread: First of all i want you to kick out of your minds any thoughts that i am planning to make a new thread for the next phase of my journey. I can assure you that this thread is something else completely. first off its not even about me. i don't want to reveal much, but i will say this; User Lee and I (along with a few others) have been working on this thread for over a month and a half now. I truly believe this thread can turn into something amazing that will help a lot of people out, including myself. although i wont be making a new personal thread to follow this one, i think my next fitness goal will receive just as much of an impact (if not more) from this new thread as it would from a new personal thread. so yes, please look forward to this thread being put up soon :).
Whats next for me?: The new goal revealed. Yes, this is the final update. Yes this marks the end of my journey, but the end of one journey usually marks the beginning of another. My weight loss and muscle gain journey is no where near its end. I am simply moving from one phase into the next one. although now its just a muscle gain journey instead of a weight loss + muscle gain one. I am very glad to be done with the weight loss part. There is no doubt in my mind that the weight loss portion in all of this was the hardest, and the rest will be easy in comparison. That is why its such a huge relief for me to be able to say that i am done with the hard part.
Originally i had planned for the cut off time of this next goal to be 2 years, but after some thought and the fact that the current journey that is ending with this update had a cut off time of 1.5 years, i decided to give my next goal 3 years instead of 2. I am going by the rule of doubling. Of course this means that my new goal will just have to be that much more challenging and rewarding :). so what is this new goal? i decided that it would be better for me to just use a visual aid instead of explaining this new goal out, that should make this simple and better.
3 years from August of 2012 i will be celebrating the end of this next goal, and at that time i hope to look something like this
haha, ok, ok. so as you can see i'm still not trying to go for anything too big. I'm definitely not trying to enter bodybuilding territory. although i have a lot of respect for bodybuilders, i'm just simply not interested in becoming that big. i do however want to put on more muscle, definition and size over all. i believe with careful cycles of bulking and cutting, i'll achieve my new fitness goal. I know, and am willing to put in the hard work. i am ready to sweat some more, ready to sweat for the next 3 years, and it is for that reason that i know without a doubt that i'll reach the body i am pursuing. i am in no rush. i'll take my time and do it right, and 3 years from now i'll be sitting in front of a computer screen as a 24 year old college student with a body to die for, updating people. Or i'll be sitting in front of a computer screen as a 24 year old famous young adult WITH A BODY TO DIE FOR.
CONCLUSION: The final
heh, its always funny that whenever i do this, i always end up stuck on the conclusion part because i try to say something meaningful and deep, but end up drawing a blank. I'll just start with the following and hope i end up with something meaningful by the end. Many of you know that i love to travel for vgc events, and just love to travel in general. Well in less than 2 weeks i'll be making my way to Hawaii for the VGC world championships. the other day i was thinking to myself how this event, when held at this specific site, has made up interesting points during my fitness journey. Last time i was in Hawaii for vgc worlds was in 2010, and i was heavy/obese then. Now in less than 2 weeks i'll be there once more, and this time i'll be coming fresh off the end of the first leg of my weight loss/muscle gain journey. After this year however it wont be held in hawaii again until August of 2014, and by that time i'll be heading towards the end of my new 3 year goal. i can literally just measure both time and my journey through pictures taken of me during this event when its held at this specific site. That thought also made me realize exactly how fast time flies. just like from VGC worlds of 2010 to VGC worlds of 2012, it will be VGC worlds of 2014 before i know it. When we start things like this, it always seems like its going to take forever, and that the patience game will be one we may not be able to play, but the truth is that time waits for no man and it moves on faster than we realize. in the blink of an eye it has already been 1.5 years and my journey has come to an end, and before i know it, 3 years will have already passed by in the next blink. Its just like the story of the 30 year old man who sits in his car and thinks to himself "when did i turn 30? why it only seems like just yesterday i was turning 21 and going out to celebrate". Time is a funny thing in the way it works.
Now i know at least one person out there will be reading this and wishing they had started a fitness goal/journey with me when i started at the beginning of 2011. wishing that they too could stare into the mirror and see the results of a year and a half's work. This is why i want to encourage anyone looking to change their body, whether it be weight loss or muscle gain, to start with me as i transtion into my new 3 year goal. Now i am not saying that you should set a 3 year goal along with mine as well, but i am saying that if you sat there and wished you had something to show for as well from the last 1.5 years, then i can guarantee you that when you are reading my final update 3 years from now, you'll be making similar wishes. so if that's the case, then why not do something now as well so that when that time comes you'll have something to show. maybe you'll even be making your very own update and showing off that new body of yours as well. No matter what you do though, one thing will remain true, and that is that time waits for no man, it moves on. time will continue to pass by whether or not you decide to do something, and when the time comes for those that did dedicate themselves to something to celebrate, you'll either be on the sidelines watching, or you'll be able to join them in celebration.
Thank you again everyone that has supported me. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. You have no idea how many times i've come to this thread throughout this journey just to read the comments people have left. this thread has truly been a major factor in my journey. Thank you all
and now i'll finish it all with the following picture that was taken not to long ago actually. it was taken in June
I chose to end things off with this picture because it represents more to me than anyone knows. Before i started to lose weight, i did not enjoy many things, including shopping for clothes or putting on anything fancy. i did not enjoy the way i looked, but now i can just throw on anything, last minute even, and look in the mirror and cant help but smile because i look so much better than i could ever have when i was overweight. i even enjoy putting on clothes like the ones in this picture now, and just for that i would mark this whole thing down as a success.
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Previous update:
Oh man, its so surreal for me to even think about this thread anymore. Just the thought that this thread is almost at its end. Created in January and posted on March of 2011, this thread has hit its 1.5 year mark. Life has changed for all of us. whether good or bad, and it doesn't necessarily have to be a change in weight, a year and a half is enough time for everyone to have experienced some sort of change in their life. Some of us have moved to different places (including myself, i moved from Bellevue to Issaquah), and some of us have simply moved on, whether it be in life (i'm back in college now) or simply moved on from smogon. This thread has come a pretty long way. For those new enough to smogon/a4m, and have no idea what this thread is, i would advise you to take your time and start from the bottom of this post. Read from the bottom up. I have gone ahead and done some organizing so it doesnt look like as much of a mess. each update is separated by a "~~~~~~~~~~~~~~" line..........umm, you'll see what i mean lol. anyways, yeah, its pretty surreal for me to think about. I honestly did not expect to get this far. Heck, one of the people that were around when i created this thread, and was one of my favorites, has fallen off the face of the earth. he'll be back though, i chat with him still.
For this update, which is probably the second to last (GOD i may just cry the day this thread comes to an end, and is closed), i am going to be presenting you something different the the usual updates. Actually i originally wanted to create a thread for what i am going to present you, but due to the recent 2 threads i created almost back to back, coupled with my sensitivity towards me creating "too many threads", i decided maybe it was best to not create another thread so soon. However this was really important i felt, and luckily for me, this actually works very nicely with my Weight loss/ muscle gain thread. so everything worked out in the end. In fact, i wouldn't even call this an update, but as i said above, i couldn't bring myself to creating anymore threads so soon
Now ever since my success in weight loss, I have received PMs on smogon, been contacted by family members and family friends that saw my pictures and wanted to ask me oh.so.many questions. I have been approached by friends, it goes on. I remember one chat i had with a friend who asked me how much time i thought it would take for him to lose x amount of weight, which lead to me trying to explain how its not that simple, and that each body is different. No two bodies are the same, that my methods would not guarantee the same results in the same amount of time for him. However, i have come across a video series recently that i wish i knew about earlier, or that was even out and completed before people started approaching me. I wished that because i can now finally say that i have come across something that not only would i have been comfortable linking to them all, i also now plan on sharing it with as many people as possible.
I AM NOT ONLY GOING TO RECOMMEND EVERYONE TO WATCH THESE, BUT I AM GOING TO BEG YOU ALL TO. Even if you are as healthy as a motherucking stud-horse, please give this a try and watch them. This recently made video series really blew me away. its on the surface just 7 short videos about the Obesity problem now facing the entire world, but underneath that is something that completely blew me away (i know i already said that). This isn't one of those "hurr durr, i am telling you what you already knew, what your PE teachers and doctors have told you. now please go lose weight fat ass" video. Even for someone like myself who has been doing extensive research for ever a year now along the way towards his goals, this video series really helped me clear some things up. This series even focuses on an issue thats still around among fitness buffs. The debate about whether a calorie is really just a calorie. by that i mean that as long as you still reached/stayed under your daily caloric limit of say...... 2000 calories, it doesn't matter if you those calories came from chocolate snickers bars or Tossed chicken salad. This series also struck a cord with me because it even touched on "will power" when it comes to your personal fitness, basically threw most of what i thought on the topic under the bus with just a few words :(. It also gives a voice to those that may feel that they simply aren't mentally strong enough, and could never have the will power to achieve fitness success. which is great because that's something i try to get across to people.
The Skinny on Obesity
Please, even if you are a model of fitness, both in body and knowledge, and you don't think this is for you, please just watch it. Its a short series with almost all of the episodes under 10 minutes each. The series gets more intense and touches on so much as it goes. The series introduces some new interesting, and updated research findings. I promise you that, even if you think you have to sit through a lot of what you find you already knew, you will come out with some great new info at the end of the series.
~ The Skinny on Obesity: (Ep. 1)
~ The Skinny on Obesity: (Ep. 2)
~ The Skinny on Obesity: (Ep. 3)
~ The Skinny on Obesity: (Ep. 4)
~ The Skinny on Obesity: (Ep. 5)
~ The Skinny on Obesity: (Ep. 6)
~ The Skinny on Obesity: (Ep. 7)
You know its sad that for nerds, geeks, gamers, or anyone that finds a home and enjoyment from their computer are placed under a stereotype of being fat/morbidly obese (or at least being very unhealthy). But really, we fueled this stereotype. it did not come from nothing.
also just to end this whole thing with a bang, icing on the top of the cake if you will, i will link to one more video thats one of my favorites.
For those of you that have found interest in all of this, you'll enjoy this video even more. plus its PRETTY FUNNY in its delivery.
23 and 1/2 hours: Credit goes to Rushan AKA Firestorm for being responsible for my finding of this video in the past.
so yeah, this is why i picked the sub-title "Summer? nah, schools back in sucker" for this update. It was time for a lesson. being educated can only benefit someone. i know i took a lot from those videos, and i'd consider myself at least intermediate at this point when it comes to fitness matters. I'll probably end up taking a few classes in college as well before i'm done with school.
PLEASE LETS TALK ABOUT THIS: I know I would love to have a chat going about those videos, even if its just a question you ended up having after all of that. I am going to try to get in contact with someone from that series, i would love to chat with them.
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UPDATE: January 24th, 2012
wow can you believe its been 2 months already since the last update? so how are those new years resolutions or just personal goals coming along? don't tell me you've quit already, we haven't even gotten out of January yet ;)
This is going to be a short update and i am going to do things a little different for this update as well. So i had these pictures just sitting in my folder and i saw this commercial . Despite its flaws, it reminded me of the pictures i had sitting around and it carried a pretty neat hidden message as well.
so in the end you might look at those pictures and say to yourself "well i bet that wasnt really hard for him, he's probably used to it by now and can probably even up the intensity and do more, its not as easy for me, i am not a beast like that guy". well good sir or Madam, the truth is that yes, i can take such intensity now and go for long periods of time because my endurance has been and is being built up everytime i enter those YMCA doors, but you are dead wrong about it not being hard for me anymore. Most of the time on cardio days i start feeling the burn/pain very intensely 5-10 minutes into my work out and i want to stop. Somedays its so bad or i'm just so out of it that i try to convince myself to stop when i hit that 5-10 minute mark, i throw all the excuses at myself, including "why am i even still doing this? you can stop now you know Jesus, you look good enough anyways" and the only reason that little voice in my head doesnt succeed is because i fight it every step of the way because i know the moment i start making excuses and giving in, that'll be the moment i fail. It might not happen exactly that second but the clock would have started counting down the moment i start making/giving into excuses.
so yes i can do more now but it is not easy for me, not yet at least and to be honest i hope it never does because when it becomes easy, that means you aren't pushing yourself hard enough. Anyways yeah, that's the update, I told you it was going to be a short one. have a wonderful, sweaty day smogon
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Previous Update: November 28, 2011
I was waiting for winter break to update, but this 4 day thanksgiving weekend has given me a lot of time so i said F it and here we are :). its taken some time and i am sorry about stalling for so long, but FINALLY here it is, this shall also be the last update of 2011. Man, i cant believe i stuck to this weight loss/muscle gain plan for a whole year[well 11 months but hey].
since this was suppose to be the big "100 lbs lost" update and is now the last update of 2011, i am going to make this as big of an updated as i can. Pictures, videos, the weight loss calender AND i am going to go all psychological by sharing some of the things[weird things?] that took place in my mind during this process[so far, remember this journey ends summer of 2012]. of course you can just look at the pictures but i am hoping you love to read and enjoy the whole update instead. Don't worry it wont be a wall of text kind of situation, i'm going to try and get through this fast. alright, grab a cup of coffee or something and let us begin.
STATS:
lets start with my current stats. last time i updated, i was at 91 lbs lost, a lot has been happening since the end of august though. I dropped down to as low as 147 pounds, thats 107 pounds lost total, but then i went back up to 160 pounds[some fat, some muscle]. LoL, now though i am currently at 154 pounds, which brings me to exactly 100 pounds lost. funny how things work eh, being exactly at 100 pounds lost for the big 100 lbs update :).
Current Problem: Advice welcome
ALRIGHT!, lets make up for that boring section with a string of fun sections. starting with what most of you probably came in here for
THE UPDATE: Pictures Section: thumbs[luvdisc] this thread up for sticking to this shit for a year[ugh] and keeping up constant results, or if you just approve of the progress so far.
Calender section:
I ordered a custom made calender before really starting this journey, although now i find it funny/corny [the pictures i chose/what i wrote etc] i would have to be stupid not to give this thing credit. its in a place where i see the calender at least once a day and i know i am going to order a new one for 2012, i just hope i can pick better pictures and stuff lol. its all about whatever floats your boat, surrounding yourself with things you think/know will be of help to you, and that's in general, not just for weight loss. increase your chances, stack the odds on your side
lets start with February, also if you are wondering about the "242 lb" marked on the 4th, i was well into this weight loss/muscle gain journey.
alright, you're probably wondering WHY THE F**K i went with a picture of a half naked Tom Felton, please allow me to explain before you start assuming lol. lets begin with i am a big fan of the Harry potter books, i have my nerdy side. When this picture first surfaced, i remember seeing it whiles spending some time on some harry potter fan site, i remember looking at it and thinking to myself "why the hell does this happen to everyone but me?, why am i stuck with this shitty body? MAAAN would i love to someday wake up with a nice body, MAANNN would i love to someday be able to take a sexy picture like that, button up shirt, tie on the side and replace the jeans with dress pants, this was ALL i could think about for days. that explains why i chose the phrase "to someday take this picture" for that month's phrase. i ended with "to conquer worlds" because my goal was to at least get close to having a body like that by pokemon worlds[2010], the earn it notes should be self explanatory.
its funny because now i am bigger and more toned than he was in that picture or today, i could take this picture now haha. all i need is to put on a suit, head into a photo studio and take pictures of me taking the top half of the suit off.
and now for the month of May.
one of my big 3 motivators was the 2010 VGC season, i really like this months picture. i went with the phrase beneath the picture because i knew i would put this thread up on smogon, to keep my smogon friends and you all in the loop, not just people i knew and saw everyday. with a thread like this up, everyone attending vgc that year would know about this and having that knowledge in the back of my head, i knew i couldnt just show up to vgc looking the same. I cant talk the talk and not walk the walk, not this time, i had to stay with this journey if i had the balls to put such a thread up. no quitting half way right? so the question was, would i be ready to face them? to face the camera's as well.....because shit, vgc is all about pictures as well :)
this was for July, pretty much the same story as the month of May. except it was the U.S Nationals instead of some regional
and here is August and the last of the vgc related motivational months. this one was expecially big because by this time, i would have had enough time to lose quite a bit of weight AND if i worked hard enough, start to put on some muscle. this months phrase was easy to pick, its worlds, the biggest stage. everyone would be there......BUT GUESSS WHAT, I SOMEHOW MISSED IT. /cry. o well, now i have new motivation, worlds next year is in Hawaii, i keep working hard and i can take my shirt off in Hawaii etc etc.
ah yes, September, this is a good one, one of the few that, to my surprise, changed dramatically.
I wasn't really new to the night life before September, but in September i would turn 21 and the night life would become so much easier, no more getting snuck[is this the word?] into clubs or not being able to go up to bars. Friends would not have to "settle" anymore on weekends to try and accommodate me nor would finding something to do be as difficult, at least not on my account. the night life would pretty much just open up for me and things would be easier. the "are you ready" part was more for my progress. when you go out on the weekend looking to "have some fun", a nicer body and being more attractive definitely helps a lot.
this was also just for "hooking up" in general. back when i was making this calender, i was under the impression that i would really want sex by now, a college kid finally gets a nice body, he isn't too bad with the ladies to begin with. i think i was just really horny in January because September came and my sex drive was non-existent. Dont get me wrong, I've been having a blast since turning 21, the night life definitely came for me, things got so much easier and better not having to sneak around or having limited options. My body also came in, i worked hard and didnt look bad in september so i was "ready" as the phrase asks, but for some reason, and this is still happening today, the better i look, the more i just dont want to have sex. i havent had any sex and it's not by choice either, I've had some opportunities on weekends and college girls. Some college girls man, i swear, you put on a nice,tight shirt[when we had nice weather] and they start flirting. anyways, yeah, that's why i crossed out the original phrase. it IS a change, a new chapter, but apparently its not going around taking advantage of this new sexiness and fucking. I just dont think i can be a slut, this sucks though because at some point i think i was really looking forward to....some sex?
i just want a girlfriend now i think, a nice girl that i've built some connection with. but even that, i'm making no effort right now, i want to be alone for now, what a waste after achieving such results so far
When i ordered the calendar in January, i knew a combination of holiday gatherings/food celebrations and awesome new video game title releases[i only focused on the food part for the calender because i underestimated the games........severely, the games are worse] would make November/December the hardest time out of the whole year. The reason why i went with that picture? well monks were always portrayed as all sacrificing, unshakable, disciplined, kung fu master badasses, at least in almost all the kung fu movies i saw growing up. so when i was looking for something to remind me of discipline, naturally i saw a monk and went on a shaolin monks wallpaper search craze.
NO one can predict the future with 100% accuracy, i had hoped that i would succeed at this, that i would stick to this weight loss thing. i could have failed and who knows, i still have 7 months to go before summer of 2012, still have time to fail. this was meant to be an encouraging end to the calender and year, that fail or succeed, i finish strong. its ok to fail as long as you do not give up, as long as you get back up and try again. Its not how you start really, its how you finish and i planned on finishing strong as this month's phrase advices, sometimes i come up with good phrases :)
alright, i should start thinking about what i want on next years calender, any suggestions?
JUST DANCE "2":
alright, an easy section. ok i decided to make part 2 a separate video from the one i posted in the photo album, but for convenience i'll link part one here as well
Just dance video: Part 1
Just dance video: Part 2
Fishy, you created a dance monster, but this dance monster loves you for it.
The "Cool story bro" section:
this section is basically for sharing some of the things i've done to keep myself going, or things that my mind came up with during this journey so far.
lets start with this gem i found: a few months back i was feeling really down, you could even say that i was depressed. feeling so down, it started to affect everything, i went about 2 weeks with no exercise, not paying attention to what i ate, it was really hurting my progress. one day, as i was sitting in my room for hours, i decided to write something inspirational. i wanted to write something that would cut through this whole "feeling down" BS. i started out by watching a few inspirational videos and then went to work, the results
IRC stories: 2 incidents on IRC that i'll remember throughout this whole weight loss/muscle gain journey, 2 chats that stood out to me. i dont know if the person i was talking to will remember, doubt it was anything special that stood out to them.
1:when i'm on IRC, i chat with Vincent a lot, its fun and i miss talking to the french man. one day, way back when i was so close to achieving my goal of being under 200 lbs, i was having a nice chat with vincent about a recent update, an update where i had lost 20 pounds. Vincent asked me "how many pounds i had to go before being at 200 lbs", i dont remember exactly how many punds but i do remember i had less than 10 pounds to go. Vincent then said something that would remain in my head all this time, he said "i could gain 20 pounds and i'd still be under 200". Now this didnt hurt me, no, but it gave me a lot to think about and would end up helping me push harder to attain my goals. You see, that night i remember telling myself something along the lines of "heh, soon i'll be able to say the exact same thing"
2: this one was with Skarm, it was very early on, i was still in the eary stages of this journey. i was confessing my weight loss plans to the ducks, what i hoped to achieve and SHOULD i see this through, i wanted to get a tattoo of a lions head on one of my hard rock pecs[left one]. Skarm then started talking to me about how i should instead get the ducks logo tattooed on my chest lol, we had a good laugh, chat went on for a while. this chat stood out to me because, well, i dont talk about this whole thing a lot, at least back when i was still obese. it was refreshing to know that i could really talk with the ducks about anything, such a nice group of friends, a safe environment and we can just talk and laugh about shit.
oh yeah! i had such a good "cool story bro" moment last week. without a doubt the elliptical is my favorite machine when it comes to cardio at the gym, the YMCA i go to had/have the newest ones too, they are so fresh yo. Anyways, last week, for the first time on ANY machine in the gym, i maxed out on the elliptical machine. 1 hour straight on max settings, by the end i wasn't the most beaten up I've been with the elliptical[i almost passed out once in the past, always eat and stay hydrated before pushing yourself hard on cardio, no 1 time exceptions]
Personal music videos: this is something weird i do whenever i do my HIIT cardio and thats the only time i can do this lol, it doesnt work outside of my cardio workouts. I have a random playlist and put it on shuffle, then when a song starts playing, i make a music video for it in my head..................in real time, as the song plays the video just.....forms in my head. this is so badass and awesome when it happens, it sounds weird saying it but if only i could record just 1 video as it forms in my head. the best part about this process is that it's such a huge distraction from the pain of doing HIIT cardio or long cardio sessions. i do not notice the work out, instead its like i am in an empty theater watching personal music videos haha. The only problem though is that whatever i developed in my head, the thing that triggers this process is very picky, the wrong song and i snap back to reality, the images/videos, all gone, i hate that part lol. some examples
Lovestoned= usually for this song, its a club scene and i am trying to get this girl. she is on the dance floor and i'm eyeing her etc, then i make my way to the dance floor and shit happens, it gets complicated and good at the same time. Oh, by the way, i am singing this song the whole time lol, like one smooth motherfucker. its not background music, some songs i'm not singing, like the next example
Dead and Gone= yeah, this entire song just plays in the background. in this music video, i am always walking on a road, a very long road and its always the same damn road. Sometimes i can see the end of the road and other times i am so far away from reaching the end that its just a blurr....or endless road, cant even see the end. o yeah, shit happens on this road
Remember The Name= man, i cant even explain the videos i make for this song, always different and always INTENSE
yeah all this sounds hella weird, but in my head, when it happens, its a different story. i'm also just glad i developed a way to distract myself, doing cardio fucking sucks
Inspirational Videos Playlist:
these are a few videos that have inspired me throughout this year. I'm not the type to spend a lot of time looking for inspirational videos, but the few times i looked some up on youtube, these are the ones that really stood out to me
at #1: Muhammad Ali - Ima show you how great i am
I've seen this video so many times that i can recite it word for word, its also on my Iphone. watching/listening to this brings out a feeling in me, a feeling thats just so damn hard to explain. Great, great video.
i stop ranking once i have my #1. so the rest of these videos are on the same level
-I am a champion- this just takes me to the next level, like i can climb a fucking mountain. so intense
-How bad do you want it?- this video took me by surprise, started a bit slow but his build up is amazing, not what i expected. could easily contend for #1
-Will Smith - Don't "Settle"- Words of wisdom, goes straight to my heart. this also started a bit slow for me but the next thing i knew, i couldn't stop listening, especially the part when he talks about work ethics and pushing yourself.
CONCLUSION:
I could add more to this update on whats taken place so far, its been a year after all. I am too tired so i'll do this instead, if you find yourself wondering or have any questions about this weight loss/Muscle gain Journey so far, please feel free to ask.
you know, People find me inspirational, throw comments at me and talk like i just moved a mountain or something, like they cant do what i've done. this is something that shouldn't be so hard to do, i think we just make it harder than it is, like many things in life. i remember sitting at my desk in January, about to start this whole thing, sitting there wishing with all my heart that i could take a peek, peer into the future for just a moment, to see what i would look like at the end of the year, should i succeed. the funny thing is, i've been sitting here wondering the same thing, wanting badly to take a peek, to see what i will look like in the summer, 7 months from now. heh, guess not much has changed. but the truth is, i'm not even worried about it, i "hope" to succeed, just like i "hoped" to succeed in January. I embraced failure a long time ago, you must accept that you'll fail, many of the greats in history failed before they succeeded, it took me 3 years of making new years resolutions before i finally stuck to it at the beginning of this year. I'm proud of the rapid progress i've made, just 11 months, proud that I took the pain, the hardships because it was so worth it and thats what you should focus on. ask yourself if its worth it and do not get discouraged should you fail, accept that you'll fail, but have the heart to get back up when you fall, it might take you less than 11 months or maybe it'll take you twice as long to do whatever it is you're aiming for, who cares. it doesnt even have to be losing weight, whatever it is that you are aiming for, just dont stay down too long or you'll find it harder to get back up and achieve it.
i'm ok at developing deep thoughts but suck when it comes to expressing them, but hey listen, thanks for reading. I'll end the update with this quote.
“He Who Says He Can And He Who Says He Can't Are Both Usually Right” - confucius
I'll hopefully update next in January. yeay for new year resolutions and another chance for us to get it right.
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PHOTO ALBUM POST
August 6th update:
wow, has it been a month already since Pokemon nationals?
with school starting soon i know i wont have as much time, so i went back into "hardcore" mode right after the fun events of nationals. lately it seems like i've been doing nothing but work-then-gym or Hanging out-then-gym, i've also changed my Diet/workout up a bit
The change up
- in order to bring down my body fat percentage, i've been doing intense HITT cardio workouts on my non lifting days[sigh, and here i hoped i was done with cardio]
- diet change up is basically: i'm only eating 1400-1500 calories a day[this is temporary] and I've started using Whey protein
- i have FINALLY gotten P90x although all i'm doing at the moment is the ab ripper X. on my lifting days, i've been focusing more on my problem areas [chest and abdominal]
so i know some of you are wondering what my total weight loss number is so far, well, although I've been going at it hard, i am only at 91 lbs total. I'm not complaining though because in the last 3.5 weeks, i have seen my biggest weight loss since my days of losing 20 lbs a month, hard work definitely pays off in one way or another
Picture time [the 1st before and after ]
alright for this update, i have decided to show some before and after pictures.
BEFORE [part 1]: i posted this picture in my April update
AFTER [part 1]: i think it's now safe to say that I'm half way there xD
someday i'll be on lee's level
BEFORE [part 2]: i've only ever posted 1 Jeans picture
AFTER [part 2]: ok so i decided to dig out those jeans and take some updated pictures.
they are so big now, i can easily fit this xbox 360 game in, the game kept sliding into my pants haha. A few more from different angles
as you can clearly see, i had a little too much fun taking the pics
I know i always do this at the end of each update but, once again i would like to thank you guys for the support, it's always appreciated and i mean it. Some days, when i feel lazy, i come and read the comments in the thread xD.
the next update[probably in 1-1.5 months] will be the biggest because its the 100 lbs update. i'm going to include so many things, its going to be ridiculous. i'll throw in stories and some of the silly things i've done to motivate/stay motivated, you'll get a laugh out of the next update that's for sure.
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PREVIOUS UPDATES :
THE UPDATE[June 16th]= hello smogon
so its been a little over 2 months since i last updated this thread, i hope all is well. those who've been following this thread from the start will know that I've already started body sculpting, i achieved my under 200 lbs goal a while back and started building muscle etc. i'm not going for a bodybuilder type of body but rather something smaller but sexier, like my avatar.
so I've been asked a few times "hey Jesus, are you buff yet?", "hey whats with your new avatar? how do you look now dude" and "so how much do you weigh now?", so here is the update. well i am at 176 lbs now :), its been 6 months since i restarted in January and I've lost 78 pounds, not bad for a lazy guy like me. as for how i look now? well here is a picture
yeap, i decided not to reveal too much this update. since i am officially in the "get ripped" phase, i want to have a big reveal and i think holding off[was hard ] for now will make it better next time i update :). just picture this, i am somewhere between the pictures from my last update and the person in my avatar.
once again i would like to thank you guys for the comments/support, it's always appreciated. hope to see you soon in Indianapolis, Pokemon nationals is shaping to be even better than last year.
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THE UPDATE[april 4th] = [original OP can be found if you keep scrolling down]
Achievement earned
hello smogon, let me start off by saying how awesome this thread has been to me. the first 2 weeks when ever i got lazy and did not want to workout, i just came here and read this thread, comments and all. Thanks
so its been a month[or rather 5 days till] since i made this thread. i hope your time was put to good use, as for me? well i've been going at this weightloss thing really hard, giving up even more delicious foods and dont even get me started on how i've been killing myself at the gym [its like i am at my own bootcamp]. anyways i am posting this mini update because the plan was to update after every 20 pounds and i've lost another 20 pounds :D.
Warning: i posted 2 pictures because the first picture i took i had some EXTREMELY weird thing going on with my shirt...so be warned. it seemed like a good idea at the time ok, please dont ask :(. i took the 2nd picture planning not to post the first but then decided fuck it, i'll slap a warning on there and post both.
next update will be :
thats right, my BIG "under 200 lbs" update. right now i am at 204-205 lbs and i have to be 195 lb for that update, so 10 pounds to go. i wanna say atleast 2 weeks from now... but just incase lets say mid april :)
PS: if you are wondering why i went with a World of Warcraft theme for this update., well lets put it this way
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ORIGINAL OP =
so Ninahaza what's all of this about?
well smogon please bear with me as i give you a summary/background story and build up to what this thread is REALLY about, i Promise it will just make the thread that much more enjoyable.... i PROMISE. so grab a cup of coffee and read on.
So a little over a year ago at the start of 2010, i once again for like the 4th year in a row made the same new years resolution. i wanted to lose the weight i had put on over a span of 5-6 years, i was an average size guy and all of a sudden BOOM, at the age of 14 i started blowing up. long story short i was 270 pounds[maybe a little over] at the start of the year 2010, dude i was so ashamed of myself...how did i let it get this far. so my new years resolution for 2010?....well fuck my new years resolutions because for the past 3 years they had been the same and yet here i was.
so after thinking long and hard i came up with 2 reasons why i should finally lose this weight and i added a butt load of motivations to that, at last my weight loss journey began foreal this time. i started losing weight and even went down from 270+ pounds to 251 pounds by summer of 2010, then FUN[aka VGC season] happened and i forgot all about my weight loss. now this is where this thread starts to come in
the 2010 vgc season was so much fun and i was in the middle of it all from the start[first regional] till the end [worlds championship] that i slowly forgot all about my personal goals. i stayed at 250-254 pounds from May of 2010 ALL THE WAY until january of 2011 :(. at the start of this year i was reminded of my weight loss plans and my 2 big reasons for Needing to finally lose this weight, unfortunately for me those 2 reasons did not motivate me as much as they had done the previous year and i knew it was time to add a 3rd reason. after thinking long and hard my 3rd reason became the very thing that stopped my progress in 2010 lol, i wanted to be under 200 pounds by 2011 VGC nationals/worlds. this new 3rd big reason to lose weight worked better than i hoped because i started dropping the pounds, today[2 months later] i have gone from 250+ to 226 pounds.
ok NOW here is why i have decided to make this thread. lately i have been losing my motivation to reach my 2011 VGC goal and i started thinking, well why not make a smogon thread about this issue. after all my 3rd goal for wanting to lose this weight ties in directly to smogon because after all i don't really go to the vgc events for the battles, its fun because of the people you meet[old and new]. i have been going to these things since JAA and the people you meet...well they make this event fun. i look forward to meeting them again more than i look forward to winning pokémon battles. so smogon help me stay motivated, also by just having this thread i will stay motivated because even thinking about smogon will now remind me of this thread, its like i have forced myself into seeing this through by making this thread.
OK to add more commitment to this thread i am now going to post some pictures to give you guys an idea of where i am at. Go easy on me smogon.
this picture i took on thursday when i was getting ready to do my Karaoke entry for Hipmonlee's awesome karaoke comp.
QUICK NOTE: when i started getting big i stopped taking pictures of myself because....well i didn't like what i saw so there are barely any pictures of me for a proper before/after comparison. instead i have gone through smogon's photo album/facebook/laptop to find a few pictures and those will have to do for "before's"
BEFORES:
this picture was taken when i was just under 200 pounds [around 190-198], its also like 5 years old lol.
this is when i was a Youth leader at my church and we took a trip to city hall, my church is AWESOME. i am the the one in a black vest
this one is taken straight from smogon's photo album. my face looks fatter because i was kinda shrugging.
OK so the biggest part of my body losing weight is my stomach. at 270 my stomach was HUGE, i am not talking about beer belly huge but big enough to make any fat guy proud. unfortunately i don't have a good before picture but combine this next vgc 2010 nationals picture with your imagination and you should get a good picture of my stomach before.
remember the before picture you have now formed in your head because the "after" pictures are coming up
ok to finish the "BEFORE" section, here is an awesome video i took during my stay with Jason when i went up to canada to meet some smogon people. remember i was still aroundd 250 pounds in this video. EPIC just dance video
AFTER SECTION:
please excuse the pictures where my hands are really ashy, i wash my hands a lot and i don't lotion up after each time.
also none of these pictures have been altered in any way.
Once upon a time these were my go to jeans. now they don't even fit
lol i really love orange shirts. you will see
END GOAL:
really i just want to look like a normal guy but with ripped abs and a nice V-CUT to go with them, i don't want to become like a body builder or anything. i have to wait till my next weigh in date but i think i'm probably at 219-220 pounds at this very moment [226 pounds was at my last weigh in date]. once i get nice abs, nice chest and built arms i will stop. summer of 2012 is my cut off date but i am making progress pretty fast so i might reach my end goal early but only time will tell.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
well first off i want to give a HUGE thanks to fishy for getting me into dance games, especially "Just dance 2" because that game is a full workout and i love playing it lol. thanks fishy <33333333333333333.
also throughout this whole process i have not used any weight loss pills, diet pills etc etc, i have not been on any programs like jenny craig, this is just pure Dedication and Patience. i plan on updating this thread with pictures as i continue to try and achieve my 3rd big reason/goal of being under 200 pounds for 2011 VGC nationals/worlds, keep in mind though that this is weight loss so updates will be far apart. i promise at least one update between now and nationals/worlds [4 months?] and if it really is just 1 update then it will be an update worthy of 4 months, after all i have the hardest part in the patience department in this thread lol. thanks for reading smogon, wow i feel like i just got closer with the community :). again i know this is also part Firebot [and i almost didnt post this thread because of that] but please go easy on me people.
EDIT: some of you may have noticed that for a while in my signature the first line is "What? NINAHAZA is evolving!", well this is what it means, the hidden message.
And so a journey comes to an end. I cant believe its already been a year and a half, and that my journey has come to its end. When i started this at the beginning of 2011, 1.5 years seemed like such a long time to wait, and i wasn't even sure i would see this journey through. However, not only have i seen my journey through, i've had the experience of a lifetime as well. There have been ups and downs (mostly downs, but i knew this was going to be hard from the beginning). There have been many moments where i felt like i would literally pass out, and there were moments when i felt there was no way i could keep this up, that i could keep going, but all of these moments are to be expected and had when you decide to go on a journey like this AND actually do the work/give all you got to it.
I got mixed emotions when i went back to the early beginnings of this thread and read the comments I'd gotten throughout this journey. Its amazing to realize how long it has actually been since i started. from the people that i noticed aren't around anymore to the new people that have joined us over the year of 2011 and 2012 so far. from the petty dramas we had then to the petty dramas we indulge in now. some of us are even in a completely new stage of life now. heh, look at me rambling on. ok, let us begin this final update
Stats:
alright then shall we begin with my stats? The heaviest I've ever been was at 270+ pounds. This was before i even began to attempt to start losing weight, so before my failures and eventual success in 2011. When i started this journey i was at 254 pounds. Alright with all of that in mind, below are my stats throughout this journey and where i stand today :).
Beginning: 254 pounds
Lowest weight achieved: 147 pounds
My weight when i posted pictures of me having achieved abs/sexy mid section in November 2011 update: 154 pounds
Highest weight due to relapse/regaining weight back: 183 pounds
Current weight: 161 pounds
Pokemon: The VGC/Online community
alright before we start getting into the pictures, i wanted to give some credit, express my gratitude and say a few things.
Now don't get me wrong, i'm not bashing all the programs out there. some of them are really great in fact, especially the ones focusing less on product sales/sales in general, and more on just active support. And by that i mean providing support, advice, events, knowledge, etc.
alright now on to the main reason for this section. Pokemon: The VGC/Online community
Throughout this journey I've had 3 major motivations. On your very own journey you'll come to recognize and have different motivators, and maybe an online community will be one of them :). As for me, I've had 3 major things that have motivated me throughout this journey like i said, and the VGC/ online community happens to be one of my 3. One can even argue that it is the biggest of my 3 major motivation sources, and it is for that reason that i could not make a final update without giving thanks to you guys.
By online community of course i mean this thread and smogon; for that is the reason i even made this thread in the first place. The main purpose of this thread was for motivation by self entrapment. This whole thing was one big "talk the talk, walk the walk. Put your money where your mouth is", or whatever else saying kids use these days, except in the form of a thread. I put this thread up knowing that i'd be trapping myself into a journey that is now in the public eye. With the online and VGC community seeing me do all this talk and knowing about my goals, i'd have to "walk the walk" as well, for if i did not, i was to suffer massive embarrassment whiles burning down to ashes on this train of failure i had put myself on with this thread. lol, so yeah, you know what i'm trying to say. by putting this thread up i had locked myself into something i had to see through, and that, if done right, can turn into a very powerful motivation source. and with each update i made, this motivation source got even more powerful because people where now watching and keeping track. people where waiting to see more, to see where this train goes, where all this led. also apart of all this was the kind words and comments people left with each update i made. all this adds up, and it keeps staking up with each update until it eventually turns into an unstoppable fireball of motivation that fuels me to keep pushing forward and never stop until i reach my goals.
With the VGC community it was exactly like the above paragraph, except you add the fact that i'd be seeing my friends (aka what forms up the vgc community) at the VGC events i attend, and when you add the real life aspect and the thought that they'd be seeing me and examining my progress first hand, well you can see how that fireball of motivation from the above paragraph would now be burning with the intensity of a thousand suns. now i dont know about you, but that's enough motivational power to fuel 3 of me xD.
But seriously, all the corny metaphors/examples aside, thank you very much guys. Thank you, i honestly dont think i would have made it this far without you.
that is a quote from one of my earlier updates, and those are words I've had up where i could see them when i needed to. i am very happy to say that those words still remain true to this day. all you need to do is look at the weight loss industry today and you'll see how almost no one advocates for the good old fashioned, healthy and time tested way of achieving fitness goals and leading a healthy life style. but i suppose that should come to no one as a surprise because there is no money to be made in the good old fashioned way of weight loss, because all you need is some patience and dedication for that. Its all about the short cuts and all the products involved in these short cuts to weight loss that one needs to buy. its funny though because i don't think most people realize that whenever a company puts out something that promises results in a certain amount of time, despite all the claims they make (some as ridiculous as "you don't have to change anything, you can still eat whatever you want and do not have to set foot in a gym") in the end you'll still have to add "hard work and eating right" to these products to see any real results, especially long lasting results. so if you'll still have to add "hard work and eating right", then why not just cut out all the other bs being sold to you and stick to just that?
Now don't get me wrong, i'm not bashing all the programs out there. some of them are really great in fact, especially the ones focusing less on product sales/sales in general, and more on just active support. And by that i mean providing support, advice, events, knowledge, etc.
alright now on to the main reason for this section. Pokemon: The VGC/Online community
Throughout this journey I've had 3 major motivations. On your very own journey you'll come to recognize and have different motivators, and maybe an online community will be one of them :). As for me, I've had 3 major things that have motivated me throughout this journey like i said, and the VGC/ online community happens to be one of my 3. One can even argue that it is the biggest of my 3 major motivation sources, and it is for that reason that i could not make a final update without giving thanks to you guys.
By online community of course i mean this thread and smogon; for that is the reason i even made this thread in the first place. The main purpose of this thread was for motivation by self entrapment. This whole thing was one big "talk the talk, walk the walk. Put your money where your mouth is", or whatever else saying kids use these days, except in the form of a thread. I put this thread up knowing that i'd be trapping myself into a journey that is now in the public eye. With the online and VGC community seeing me do all this talk and knowing about my goals, i'd have to "walk the walk" as well, for if i did not, i was to suffer massive embarrassment whiles burning down to ashes on this train of failure i had put myself on with this thread. lol, so yeah, you know what i'm trying to say. by putting this thread up i had locked myself into something i had to see through, and that, if done right, can turn into a very powerful motivation source. and with each update i made, this motivation source got even more powerful because people where now watching and keeping track. people where waiting to see more, to see where this train goes, where all this led. also apart of all this was the kind words and comments people left with each update i made. all this adds up, and it keeps staking up with each update until it eventually turns into an unstoppable fireball of motivation that fuels me to keep pushing forward and never stop until i reach my goals.
With the VGC community it was exactly like the above paragraph, except you add the fact that i'd be seeing my friends (aka what forms up the vgc community) at the VGC events i attend, and when you add the real life aspect and the thought that they'd be seeing me and examining my progress first hand, well you can see how that fireball of motivation from the above paragraph would now be burning with the intensity of a thousand suns. now i dont know about you, but that's enough motivational power to fuel 3 of me xD.
But seriously, all the corny metaphors/examples aside, thank you very much guys. Thank you, i honestly dont think i would have made it this far without you.
PICTURES SECTION: Pictures galore
Alright i know this is the part you've all been waiting for, and seeing as this is the final update, this will be the biggest section because of things like before and after pictures, and everything else in between throughout this journey :).
Mixed Emotions: I was feeling very disappointed during the days leading up to this final update. I was disappointed in myself, and i was disappointed in the way i looked for this update. I think i had set myself up too high. although my goal from the very beginning has been to end up looking like a normal weight person, and to feel like a normal person in general, i would be lying if i didn't say that i had hoped for more. I wanted to look in the mirror and see rock hard pecs, chiseled abs with a nice V cut, and some nice arms. so throughout this journey i had developed the mindset of not only reaching my goal by the end of this journey, but of exceeding it. However, tonight as i sit here putting this final update together, I see that maybe I'm being too hard on myself. My feelings of disappointment have faded and are slowly being replaced with those of Pride and joy. now after reading all of that you are probably asking yourself "ok, so, like, did he fail in the end or something? why the feelings of disappointment?". I certainly think that (although not at first) i succeeded, and after seeing the pictures of this final update, i hope you'll agree. alright then, shall we begin?
i thought we'd start easy with some before/after pictures, so i scoured my Facebook profile for candidates. the format for this will be simple; the before pictures will be on top whiles the after pictures will follow right at the bottom (so it wont be like the usual side-by-side before and after). so like this
before
after
alright, unto the pictures then. some of the pictures will be group pictures, but it shouldn't be hard to pick me out since i'll be the obese black guy in them. I would crop people out of the group pictures, but this update is enough work already as it is, and i'm too tired :(.
BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
Keep in mind that the backpack i'm wearing was packed for a huge hiking trip, and look how small it looks next to me.
BEFORE
AFTER
and finally i'll end this with a picture from a past update. this was a picture i took to show my pants size drop.
in this picture i could fit a whole xbox360 game between me and the empty space of my old size 42 or 44 jeans, i cant remember anymore which those jeans where. anyways, today i can fit into a size 32, but i mostly wear size 34's because i like my jeans with some room in them :).
before
after
alright, unto the pictures then. some of the pictures will be group pictures, but it shouldn't be hard to pick me out since i'll be the obese black guy in them. I would crop people out of the group pictures, but this update is enough work already as it is, and i'm too tired :(.
and finally i'll end this with a picture from a past update. this was a picture i took to show my pants size drop.
in this picture i could fit a whole xbox360 game between me and the empty space of my old size 42 or 44 jeans, i cant remember anymore which those jeans where. anyways, today i can fit into a size 32, but i mostly wear size 34's because i like my jeans with some room in them :).
people keep asking me and will continue to ask me how i did it, and my answer will always be the same. i only hope people do not feel annoyed because they may have expected some complex and revealing answer, but instead received one as simple as this: These results are the product of a year and a half of sweat. the answer is hard work. you have to make excuses unacceptable and get of your butt, go in and get the work done each day (except for your rest days of course). It doesn't really matter as much what you PLAN to do as it does that you actually go in and do SOMETHING instead of nothing.
the following pictures have literally been me the last 1.5 years, and by that i mean that i've been breaking this much of a sweat minimum. I've never had a dry day in the gym, at least not one that i can remember.
these pictures were taken a couple of days ago actually. lol, so fresh off the camera
the following pictures have literally been me the last 1.5 years, and by that i mean that i've been breaking this much of a sweat minimum. I've never had a dry day in the gym, at least not one that i can remember.
these pictures were taken a couple of days ago actually. lol, so fresh off the camera
alright, and finally the pictures of how i look today without a shirt on. shirtless pictures taken only a couple of days ago.
So yeah, there you go. I think over all i am at a the best place I've been throughout this journey so far. My abs have become less defined, but I've gained more muscle and i don't mind sacrificing good looking abs for muscle gain. i would have minded in the past, but i had to accept a mind change if i wanted to move on to BIGGER and better things ;). The best part is that once i'm as big as i want, i can begin my journey to regain the definition my abs once had.
OH YEAH! so i heard we can do underwear shots now xD.
OH MY GOD I EVEN LOST MY BLACK ASS. No but seriously, i lost the gigantic ass i once had, and that thing was my pride and joy (i am not even joking. /sadface)
Oh yeah, also i work my legs/lower body out quite a bit as well
yeap. i actually love working my legs out a lot.
Calender section:
The "hey you're fat" Calender with a picture of Dr. phil pointing as the cover. anyways, yeah, i made and ordered a new one for 2012. all of this was at the beginning of this year of course. I had originally planned on showing the new calender in this update, but the more i thought about it the more it didnt make sense. why reveal a calender half way through the year? Dont worry though, although i wont show it here today, i'm sure i'll reveal that calender later on in the future.
But i would really recommend people making their own calenders and then ordering them. it is really fun to make and it can be very useful for certain things, not just fitness goals, whether they be weight loss or muscle gain. also a calender you made personally is just better to look at throughout the year.
But i would really recommend people making their own calenders and then ordering them. it is really fun to make and it can be very useful for certain things, not just fitness goals, whether they be weight loss or muscle gain. also a calender you made personally is just better to look at throughout the year.
THE BIG REVEAL: So whats next?
There are 2 things i wanted to get done with this final update. the first was the update itself with all the pictures, stats, etc. The second part was the revealing of whats next, as well as announcing a new thread that is nothing like this one. let us start with the new thread"Unknown" incoming thread: First of all i want you to kick out of your minds any thoughts that i am planning to make a new thread for the next phase of my journey. I can assure you that this thread is something else completely. first off its not even about me. i don't want to reveal much, but i will say this; User Lee and I (along with a few others) have been working on this thread for over a month and a half now. I truly believe this thread can turn into something amazing that will help a lot of people out, including myself. although i wont be making a new personal thread to follow this one, i think my next fitness goal will receive just as much of an impact (if not more) from this new thread as it would from a new personal thread. so yes, please look forward to this thread being put up soon :).
Whats next for me?: The new goal revealed. Yes, this is the final update. Yes this marks the end of my journey, but the end of one journey usually marks the beginning of another. My weight loss and muscle gain journey is no where near its end. I am simply moving from one phase into the next one. although now its just a muscle gain journey instead of a weight loss + muscle gain one. I am very glad to be done with the weight loss part. There is no doubt in my mind that the weight loss portion in all of this was the hardest, and the rest will be easy in comparison. That is why its such a huge relief for me to be able to say that i am done with the hard part.
Originally i had planned for the cut off time of this next goal to be 2 years, but after some thought and the fact that the current journey that is ending with this update had a cut off time of 1.5 years, i decided to give my next goal 3 years instead of 2. I am going by the rule of doubling. Of course this means that my new goal will just have to be that much more challenging and rewarding :). so what is this new goal? i decided that it would be better for me to just use a visual aid instead of explaining this new goal out, that should make this simple and better.
3 years from August of 2012 i will be celebrating the end of this next goal, and at that time i hope to look something like this
haha, ok, ok. so as you can see i'm still not trying to go for anything too big. I'm definitely not trying to enter bodybuilding territory. although i have a lot of respect for bodybuilders, i'm just simply not interested in becoming that big. i do however want to put on more muscle, definition and size over all. i believe with careful cycles of bulking and cutting, i'll achieve my new fitness goal. I know, and am willing to put in the hard work. i am ready to sweat some more, ready to sweat for the next 3 years, and it is for that reason that i know without a doubt that i'll reach the body i am pursuing. i am in no rush. i'll take my time and do it right, and 3 years from now i'll be sitting in front of a computer screen as a 24 year old college student with a body to die for, updating people. Or i'll be sitting in front of a computer screen as a 24 year old famous young adult WITH A BODY TO DIE FOR.
CONCLUSION: The final
heh, its always funny that whenever i do this, i always end up stuck on the conclusion part because i try to say something meaningful and deep, but end up drawing a blank. I'll just start with the following and hope i end up with something meaningful by the end. Many of you know that i love to travel for vgc events, and just love to travel in general. Well in less than 2 weeks i'll be making my way to Hawaii for the VGC world championships. the other day i was thinking to myself how this event, when held at this specific site, has made up interesting points during my fitness journey. Last time i was in Hawaii for vgc worlds was in 2010, and i was heavy/obese then. Now in less than 2 weeks i'll be there once more, and this time i'll be coming fresh off the end of the first leg of my weight loss/muscle gain journey. After this year however it wont be held in hawaii again until August of 2014, and by that time i'll be heading towards the end of my new 3 year goal. i can literally just measure both time and my journey through pictures taken of me during this event when its held at this specific site. That thought also made me realize exactly how fast time flies. just like from VGC worlds of 2010 to VGC worlds of 2012, it will be VGC worlds of 2014 before i know it. When we start things like this, it always seems like its going to take forever, and that the patience game will be one we may not be able to play, but the truth is that time waits for no man and it moves on faster than we realize. in the blink of an eye it has already been 1.5 years and my journey has come to an end, and before i know it, 3 years will have already passed by in the next blink. Its just like the story of the 30 year old man who sits in his car and thinks to himself "when did i turn 30? why it only seems like just yesterday i was turning 21 and going out to celebrate". Time is a funny thing in the way it works.
Now i know at least one person out there will be reading this and wishing they had started a fitness goal/journey with me when i started at the beginning of 2011. wishing that they too could stare into the mirror and see the results of a year and a half's work. This is why i want to encourage anyone looking to change their body, whether it be weight loss or muscle gain, to start with me as i transtion into my new 3 year goal. Now i am not saying that you should set a 3 year goal along with mine as well, but i am saying that if you sat there and wished you had something to show for as well from the last 1.5 years, then i can guarantee you that when you are reading my final update 3 years from now, you'll be making similar wishes. so if that's the case, then why not do something now as well so that when that time comes you'll have something to show. maybe you'll even be making your very own update and showing off that new body of yours as well. No matter what you do though, one thing will remain true, and that is that time waits for no man, it moves on. time will continue to pass by whether or not you decide to do something, and when the time comes for those that did dedicate themselves to something to celebrate, you'll either be on the sidelines watching, or you'll be able to join them in celebration.
Thank you again everyone that has supported me. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. You have no idea how many times i've come to this thread throughout this journey just to read the comments people have left. this thread has truly been a major factor in my journey. Thank you all
and now i'll finish it all with the following picture that was taken not to long ago actually. it was taken in June
I chose to end things off with this picture because it represents more to me than anyone knows. Before i started to lose weight, i did not enjoy many things, including shopping for clothes or putting on anything fancy. i did not enjoy the way i looked, but now i can just throw on anything, last minute even, and look in the mirror and cant help but smile because i look so much better than i could ever have when i was overweight. i even enjoy putting on clothes like the ones in this picture now, and just for that i would mark this whole thing down as a success.
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Previous update:
Oh man, its so surreal for me to even think about this thread anymore. Just the thought that this thread is almost at its end. Created in January and posted on March of 2011, this thread has hit its 1.5 year mark. Life has changed for all of us. whether good or bad, and it doesn't necessarily have to be a change in weight, a year and a half is enough time for everyone to have experienced some sort of change in their life. Some of us have moved to different places (including myself, i moved from Bellevue to Issaquah), and some of us have simply moved on, whether it be in life (i'm back in college now) or simply moved on from smogon. This thread has come a pretty long way. For those new enough to smogon/a4m, and have no idea what this thread is, i would advise you to take your time and start from the bottom of this post. Read from the bottom up. I have gone ahead and done some organizing so it doesnt look like as much of a mess. each update is separated by a "~~~~~~~~~~~~~~" line..........umm, you'll see what i mean lol. anyways, yeah, its pretty surreal for me to think about. I honestly did not expect to get this far. Heck, one of the people that were around when i created this thread, and was one of my favorites, has fallen off the face of the earth. he'll be back though, i chat with him still.
For this update, which is probably the second to last (GOD i may just cry the day this thread comes to an end, and is closed), i am going to be presenting you something different the the usual updates. Actually i originally wanted to create a thread for what i am going to present you, but due to the recent 2 threads i created almost back to back, coupled with my sensitivity towards me creating "too many threads", i decided maybe it was best to not create another thread so soon. However this was really important i felt, and luckily for me, this actually works very nicely with my Weight loss/ muscle gain thread. so everything worked out in the end. In fact, i wouldn't even call this an update, but as i said above, i couldn't bring myself to creating anymore threads so soon
Now ever since my success in weight loss, I have received PMs on smogon, been contacted by family members and family friends that saw my pictures and wanted to ask me oh.so.many questions. I have been approached by friends, it goes on. I remember one chat i had with a friend who asked me how much time i thought it would take for him to lose x amount of weight, which lead to me trying to explain how its not that simple, and that each body is different. No two bodies are the same, that my methods would not guarantee the same results in the same amount of time for him. However, i have come across a video series recently that i wish i knew about earlier, or that was even out and completed before people started approaching me. I wished that because i can now finally say that i have come across something that not only would i have been comfortable linking to them all, i also now plan on sharing it with as many people as possible.
I AM NOT ONLY GOING TO RECOMMEND EVERYONE TO WATCH THESE, BUT I AM GOING TO BEG YOU ALL TO. Even if you are as healthy as a motherucking stud-horse, please give this a try and watch them. This recently made video series really blew me away. its on the surface just 7 short videos about the Obesity problem now facing the entire world, but underneath that is something that completely blew me away (i know i already said that). This isn't one of those "hurr durr, i am telling you what you already knew, what your PE teachers and doctors have told you. now please go lose weight fat ass" video. Even for someone like myself who has been doing extensive research for ever a year now along the way towards his goals, this video series really helped me clear some things up. This series even focuses on an issue thats still around among fitness buffs. The debate about whether a calorie is really just a calorie. by that i mean that as long as you still reached/stayed under your daily caloric limit of say...... 2000 calories, it doesn't matter if you those calories came from chocolate snickers bars or Tossed chicken salad. This series also struck a cord with me because it even touched on "will power" when it comes to your personal fitness, basically threw most of what i thought on the topic under the bus with just a few words :(. It also gives a voice to those that may feel that they simply aren't mentally strong enough, and could never have the will power to achieve fitness success. which is great because that's something i try to get across to people.
The Skinny on Obesity
Please, even if you are a model of fitness, both in body and knowledge, and you don't think this is for you, please just watch it. Its a short series with almost all of the episodes under 10 minutes each. The series gets more intense and touches on so much as it goes. The series introduces some new interesting, and updated research findings. I promise you that, even if you think you have to sit through a lot of what you find you already knew, you will come out with some great new info at the end of the series.
~ The Skinny on Obesity: (Ep. 1)
~ The Skinny on Obesity: (Ep. 2)
~ The Skinny on Obesity: (Ep. 3)
~ The Skinny on Obesity: (Ep. 4)
~ The Skinny on Obesity: (Ep. 5)
~ The Skinny on Obesity: (Ep. 6)
~ The Skinny on Obesity: (Ep. 7)
You know its sad that for nerds, geeks, gamers, or anyone that finds a home and enjoyment from their computer are placed under a stereotype of being fat/morbidly obese (or at least being very unhealthy). But really, we fueled this stereotype. it did not come from nothing.
also just to end this whole thing with a bang, icing on the top of the cake if you will, i will link to one more video thats one of my favorites.
For those of you that have found interest in all of this, you'll enjoy this video even more. plus its PRETTY FUNNY in its delivery.
23 and 1/2 hours: Credit goes to Rushan AKA Firestorm for being responsible for my finding of this video in the past.
so yeah, this is why i picked the sub-title "Summer? nah, schools back in sucker" for this update. It was time for a lesson. being educated can only benefit someone. i know i took a lot from those videos, and i'd consider myself at least intermediate at this point when it comes to fitness matters. I'll probably end up taking a few classes in college as well before i'm done with school.
PLEASE LETS TALK ABOUT THIS: I know I would love to have a chat going about those videos, even if its just a question you ended up having after all of that. I am going to try to get in contact with someone from that series, i would love to chat with them.
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UPDATE: January 24th, 2012
wow can you believe its been 2 months already since the last update? so how are those new years resolutions or just personal goals coming along? don't tell me you've quit already, we haven't even gotten out of January yet ;)
This is going to be a short update and i am going to do things a little different for this update as well. So i had these pictures just sitting in my folder and i saw this commercial . Despite its flaws, it reminded me of the pictures i had sitting around and it carried a pretty neat hidden message as well.
so one day i decided to push myself and set a personal "cardio" record. whenever i do this.......well its basically an all out, intense, no rest between exercises, cardio session and its measured in time, thats how the record is set/broken. its pretty much a test of endurance and to beat my old record i had to push myself to go for at least 1.5 hours before quitting. did i do it? was i successful? lets take a look at the pictures before we talk some more. These were taken after that specific workout, also keep in mind that i do not really sweat easily anymore, not after i hit a certain weight loss amount.
white shirt was soaked and the red shirt underneath was even worse
i was seriously sweating balls out there, i hit my lower body hard with most of the exercises. even my shorts took some water damage
i was really hauling ass that day
but seriously, can one's butt really sweat? because mine did apparently, thats a lot of sweat.....then again i did say i had to go for more than an hour and a half of intense cardio to beat my old record, thats a lot of work for my ass to do.
and of course i took one shirt off, but the question is does my other shirt come off as well? we all love seeing a nice V-cut and some abs right? dat 6-pack and dat chest
nope, i dont go shirtless in all my updates, keeps things a little bit more interesting
so did i succeed in setting that new record? yes, i went for an hour and 48 minutes. but enough about me, whatever it is that you set out to achieve this year, whether it be a fitness/health goal or maybe you want that 4.0 GPA this quarter, maybe you want that promotion? well I dont really know your situation but i do know that you can break a sweat in whatever it is you are trying to achieve this new year. If you give it enough of yourself, if you really go hard at it you will break a sweat. heck i remember how i used to break a sweat just singing........yes its true, when i had studio time, i didnt waste it. there would be so much going back and forth, all the recording and re-recording because a part wasnt right, i would really start to sweat and you know what? it was fun
here's a song i was sweating slightly at the end and it wasnt even one of the songs done in a studio, it was done in my room and took quite a few recordings before i was satisfied with it, also just might be because i was moving around so much.......it was a lot of fun lol, what can i say, i couldn't help it. the real singing starts after the first 10 seconds just so you know :doom:
white shirt was soaked and the red shirt underneath was even worse
i was seriously sweating balls out there, i hit my lower body hard with most of the exercises. even my shorts took some water damage
i was really hauling ass that day
but seriously, can one's butt really sweat? because mine did apparently, thats a lot of sweat.....then again i did say i had to go for more than an hour and a half of intense cardio to beat my old record, thats a lot of work for my ass to do.
and of course i took one shirt off, but the question is does my other shirt come off as well? we all love seeing a nice V-cut and some abs right? dat 6-pack and dat chest
nope, i dont go shirtless in all my updates, keeps things a little bit more interesting
so did i succeed in setting that new record? yes, i went for an hour and 48 minutes. but enough about me, whatever it is that you set out to achieve this year, whether it be a fitness/health goal or maybe you want that 4.0 GPA this quarter, maybe you want that promotion? well I dont really know your situation but i do know that you can break a sweat in whatever it is you are trying to achieve this new year. If you give it enough of yourself, if you really go hard at it you will break a sweat. heck i remember how i used to break a sweat just singing........yes its true, when i had studio time, i didnt waste it. there would be so much going back and forth, all the recording and re-recording because a part wasnt right, i would really start to sweat and you know what? it was fun
here's a song i was sweating slightly at the end and it wasnt even one of the songs done in a studio, it was done in my room and took quite a few recordings before i was satisfied with it, also just might be because i was moving around so much.......it was a lot of fun lol, what can i say, i couldn't help it. the real singing starts after the first 10 seconds just so you know :doom:
so in the end you might look at those pictures and say to yourself "well i bet that wasnt really hard for him, he's probably used to it by now and can probably even up the intensity and do more, its not as easy for me, i am not a beast like that guy". well good sir or Madam, the truth is that yes, i can take such intensity now and go for long periods of time because my endurance has been and is being built up everytime i enter those YMCA doors, but you are dead wrong about it not being hard for me anymore. Most of the time on cardio days i start feeling the burn/pain very intensely 5-10 minutes into my work out and i want to stop. Somedays its so bad or i'm just so out of it that i try to convince myself to stop when i hit that 5-10 minute mark, i throw all the excuses at myself, including "why am i even still doing this? you can stop now you know Jesus, you look good enough anyways" and the only reason that little voice in my head doesnt succeed is because i fight it every step of the way because i know the moment i start making excuses and giving in, that'll be the moment i fail. It might not happen exactly that second but the clock would have started counting down the moment i start making/giving into excuses.
so yes i can do more now but it is not easy for me, not yet at least and to be honest i hope it never does because when it becomes easy, that means you aren't pushing yourself hard enough. Anyways yeah, that's the update, I told you it was going to be a short one. have a wonderful, sweaty day smogon
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Previous Update
I was waiting for winter break to update, but this 4 day thanksgiving weekend has given me a lot of time so i said F it and here we are :). its taken some time and i am sorry about stalling for so long, but FINALLY here it is, this shall also be the last update of 2011. Man, i cant believe i stuck to this weight loss/muscle gain plan for a whole year[well 11 months but hey].
since this was suppose to be the big "100 lbs lost" update and is now the last update of 2011, i am going to make this as big of an updated as i can. Pictures, videos, the weight loss calender AND i am going to go all psychological by sharing some of the things[weird things?] that took place in my mind during this process[so far, remember this journey ends summer of 2012]. of course you can just look at the pictures but i am hoping you love to read and enjoy the whole update instead. Don't worry it wont be a wall of text kind of situation, i'm going to try and get through this fast. alright, grab a cup of coffee or something and let us begin.
STATS:
lets start with my current stats. last time i updated, i was at 91 lbs lost, a lot has been happening since the end of august though. I dropped down to as low as 147 pounds, thats 107 pounds lost total, but then i went back up to 160 pounds[some fat, some muscle]. LoL, now though i am currently at 154 pounds, which brings me to exactly 100 pounds lost. funny how things work eh, being exactly at 100 pounds lost for the big 100 lbs update :).
Current Problem: Advice welcome
This is probably the dullest read in this thread, you can skip it if you like
in January, before i officially started this journey, i saw a video of a guy on youtube that had lost 104 pounds. it was his big 1 year video update and all he did was basically spin around half naked, i havent seen that video since but it's engraved in my mind because he had so much loose skin. Anyone that loses so much weight in a short amount of time should expect some loose skin somewhere right?
when you lose so much weight
most people get it around the stomach area, some beneath your butt or your armpits and if you're really unlucky, you'll get some saggy skin on your arms. well this guy must have really been unlucky because he had loose skin in all the 3 major/usual spots. this really disturbed me and inspired my plan, which[after much research] was pretty good i thought. instead of aiming for a straight up weight loss journey, which would have been much faster, i decided to go for a weight loss/muscle gain journey. the plan was to stop focusing on cardio/losing weight at around 60 pounds lost and make the switch to weight lifting whiles remaining on a weight loss diet. this was mainly because i never meant to go the bulking route at any point, my goal was toning/lean muscle, v-cut abs and a nice neck. anyways, although at some point i had loose skin on my arms, armpits, chest and stomach, i had faith in my plan[mainly because of how much time i spent picking which plan to go with] and stuck to my plan. Things fell into place...................but not completely, there's still 1 area that sees no change. My man boobs must have been massive because my chest just doesn't seem to want to change.
here is a quick picture[for the most current pictures of me, scroll down to the pictures section]
this might not be the best picture for displaying this loose skin problem[maybe you'll see it better in the pictures section]. but look at my right pec, heading towards the arm holding the iphone, in the corner, you can see how the skin just flaps down and hangs. I've looked into this problem and what i"ve gotten so far is that i have 3 options, apparently loose skin fixes itself[at a very very slow pace], surgery is my second option but this is absolutely out. My last option is to put weight back on to fill the loose skin, now i guess i can change my original plan and go the bulking route. i just wanted to mention this problem just in case any of you have experience on this issue and can advise me. feel free to PM me and we can have a nice chat :).
in January, before i officially started this journey, i saw a video of a guy on youtube that had lost 104 pounds. it was his big 1 year video update and all he did was basically spin around half naked, i havent seen that video since but it's engraved in my mind because he had so much loose skin. Anyone that loses so much weight in a short amount of time should expect some loose skin somewhere right?
when you lose so much weight
most people get it around the stomach area, some beneath your butt or your armpits and if you're really unlucky, you'll get some saggy skin on your arms. well this guy must have really been unlucky because he had loose skin in all the 3 major/usual spots. this really disturbed me and inspired my plan, which[after much research] was pretty good i thought. instead of aiming for a straight up weight loss journey, which would have been much faster, i decided to go for a weight loss/muscle gain journey. the plan was to stop focusing on cardio/losing weight at around 60 pounds lost and make the switch to weight lifting whiles remaining on a weight loss diet. this was mainly because i never meant to go the bulking route at any point, my goal was toning/lean muscle, v-cut abs and a nice neck. anyways, although at some point i had loose skin on my arms, armpits, chest and stomach, i had faith in my plan[mainly because of how much time i spent picking which plan to go with] and stuck to my plan. Things fell into place...................but not completely, there's still 1 area that sees no change. My man boobs must have been massive because my chest just doesn't seem to want to change.
here is a quick picture[for the most current pictures of me, scroll down to the pictures section]
this might not be the best picture for displaying this loose skin problem[maybe you'll see it better in the pictures section]. but look at my right pec, heading towards the arm holding the iphone, in the corner, you can see how the skin just flaps down and hangs. I've looked into this problem and what i"ve gotten so far is that i have 3 options, apparently loose skin fixes itself[at a very very slow pace], surgery is my second option but this is absolutely out. My last option is to put weight back on to fill the loose skin, now i guess i can change my original plan and go the bulking route. i just wanted to mention this problem just in case any of you have experience on this issue and can advise me. feel free to PM me and we can have a nice chat :).
ALRIGHT!, lets make up for that boring section with a string of fun sections. starting with what most of you probably came in here for
THE UPDATE: Pictures Section: thumbs[luvdisc] this thread up for sticking to this shit for a year[ugh] and keeping up constant results, or if you just approve of the progress so far.
Oh yeah son! end of the year update, gotta do it BIG
I MAY have gone overboard with the pictures, but i just realized that they all go together in formation, like a picture strip tease. The cloths[except for pants] slowly coming off lol
starting this fully clothed. even though a lot of my cloths are too big for me, i still like to put on my sweaters at least.
these 2 are my favorites, dedicating them to shii.
6 pack/v cut abs are coming in very nicely, i still have all of december to go and i hope to have a more visible 6 pack before 2011 officially ends.
and then me leaving, after finding the strength to stop taking pictures and put my cloths back on.
i've come a long way from the above picture, i've come a long way since starting this whole thing in January. This journey doesn't even officially end until summer of 2012, i can only hope to maintain my dedication and look forward to even better results.
I MAY have gone overboard with the pictures, but i just realized that they all go together in formation, like a picture strip tease. The cloths[except for pants] slowly coming off lol
starting this fully clothed. even though a lot of my cloths are too big for me, i still like to put on my sweaters at least.
these 2 are my favorites, dedicating them to shii.
6 pack/v cut abs are coming in very nicely, i still have all of december to go and i hope to have a more visible 6 pack before 2011 officially ends.
and then me leaving, after finding the strength to stop taking pictures and put my cloths back on.
i've come a long way from the above picture, i've come a long way since starting this whole thing in January. This journey doesn't even officially end until summer of 2012, i can only hope to maintain my dedication and look forward to even better results.
Calender section:
I ordered a custom made calender before really starting this journey, although now i find it funny/corny [the pictures i chose/what i wrote etc] i would have to be stupid not to give this thing credit. its in a place where i see the calender at least once a day and i know i am going to order a new one for 2012, i just hope i can pick better pictures and stuff lol. its all about whatever floats your boat, surrounding yourself with things you think/know will be of help to you, and that's in general, not just for weight loss. increase your chances, stack the odds on your side
lets start with February, also if you are wondering about the "242 lb" marked on the 4th, i was well into this weight loss/muscle gain journey.
alright, you're probably wondering WHY THE F**K i went with a picture of a half naked Tom Felton, please allow me to explain before you start assuming lol. lets begin with i am a big fan of the Harry potter books, i have my nerdy side. When this picture first surfaced, i remember seeing it whiles spending some time on some harry potter fan site, i remember looking at it and thinking to myself "why the hell does this happen to everyone but me?, why am i stuck with this shitty body? MAAAN would i love to someday wake up with a nice body, MAANNN would i love to someday be able to take a sexy picture like that, button up shirt, tie on the side and replace the jeans with dress pants, this was ALL i could think about for days. that explains why i chose the phrase "to someday take this picture" for that month's phrase. i ended with "to conquer worlds" because my goal was to at least get close to having a body like that by pokemon worlds[2010], the earn it notes should be self explanatory.
its funny because now i am bigger and more toned than he was in that picture or today, i could take this picture now haha. all i need is to put on a suit, head into a photo studio and take pictures of me taking the top half of the suit off.
and now for the month of May.
one of my big 3 motivators was the 2010 VGC season, i really like this months picture. i went with the phrase beneath the picture because i knew i would put this thread up on smogon, to keep my smogon friends and you all in the loop, not just people i knew and saw everyday. with a thread like this up, everyone attending vgc that year would know about this and having that knowledge in the back of my head, i knew i couldnt just show up to vgc looking the same. I cant talk the talk and not walk the walk, not this time, i had to stay with this journey if i had the balls to put such a thread up. no quitting half way right? so the question was, would i be ready to face them? to face the camera's as well.....because shit, vgc is all about pictures as well :)
this was for July, pretty much the same story as the month of May. except it was the U.S Nationals instead of some regional
and here is August and the last of the vgc related motivational months. this one was expecially big because by this time, i would have had enough time to lose quite a bit of weight AND if i worked hard enough, start to put on some muscle. this months phrase was easy to pick, its worlds, the biggest stage. everyone would be there......BUT GUESSS WHAT, I SOMEHOW MISSED IT. /cry. o well, now i have new motivation, worlds next year is in Hawaii, i keep working hard and i can take my shirt off in Hawaii etc etc.
ah yes, September, this is a good one, one of the few that, to my surprise, changed dramatically.
I wasn't really new to the night life before September, but in September i would turn 21 and the night life would become so much easier, no more getting snuck[is this the word?] into clubs or not being able to go up to bars. Friends would not have to "settle" anymore on weekends to try and accommodate me nor would finding something to do be as difficult, at least not on my account. the night life would pretty much just open up for me and things would be easier. the "are you ready" part was more for my progress. when you go out on the weekend looking to "have some fun", a nicer body and being more attractive definitely helps a lot.
this was also just for "hooking up" in general. back when i was making this calender, i was under the impression that i would really want sex by now, a college kid finally gets a nice body, he isn't too bad with the ladies to begin with. i think i was just really horny in January because September came and my sex drive was non-existent. Dont get me wrong, I've been having a blast since turning 21, the night life definitely came for me, things got so much easier and better not having to sneak around or having limited options. My body also came in, i worked hard and didnt look bad in september so i was "ready" as the phrase asks, but for some reason, and this is still happening today, the better i look, the more i just dont want to have sex. i havent had any sex and it's not by choice either, I've had some opportunities on weekends and college girls. Some college girls man, i swear, you put on a nice,tight shirt[when we had nice weather] and they start flirting. anyways, yeah, that's why i crossed out the original phrase. it IS a change, a new chapter, but apparently its not going around taking advantage of this new sexiness and fucking. I just dont think i can be a slut, this sucks though because at some point i think i was really looking forward to....some sex?
i just want a girlfriend now i think, a nice girl that i've built some connection with. but even that, i'm making no effort right now, i want to be alone for now, what a waste after achieving such results so far
When i ordered the calendar in January, i knew a combination of holiday gatherings/food celebrations and awesome new video game title releases[i only focused on the food part for the calender because i underestimated the games........severely, the games are worse] would make November/December the hardest time out of the whole year. The reason why i went with that picture? well monks were always portrayed as all sacrificing, unshakable, disciplined, kung fu master badasses, at least in almost all the kung fu movies i saw growing up. so when i was looking for something to remind me of discipline, naturally i saw a monk and went on a shaolin monks wallpaper search craze.
NO one can predict the future with 100% accuracy, i had hoped that i would succeed at this, that i would stick to this weight loss thing. i could have failed and who knows, i still have 7 months to go before summer of 2012, still have time to fail. this was meant to be an encouraging end to the calender and year, that fail or succeed, i finish strong. its ok to fail as long as you do not give up, as long as you get back up and try again. Its not how you start really, its how you finish and i planned on finishing strong as this month's phrase advices, sometimes i come up with good phrases :)
alright, i should start thinking about what i want on next years calender, any suggestions?
JUST DANCE "2":
alright, an easy section. ok i decided to make part 2 a separate video from the one i posted in the photo album, but for convenience i'll link part one here as well
Just dance video: Part 1
Just dance video: Part 2
Fishy, you created a dance monster, but this dance monster loves you for it.
The "Cool story bro" section:
this section is basically for sharing some of the things i've done to keep myself going, or things that my mind came up with during this journey so far.
lets start with this gem i found: a few months back i was feeling really down, you could even say that i was depressed. feeling so down, it started to affect everything, i went about 2 weeks with no exercise, not paying attention to what i ate, it was really hurting my progress. one day, as i was sitting in my room for hours, i decided to write something inspirational. i wanted to write something that would cut through this whole "feeling down" BS. i started out by watching a few inspirational videos and then went to work, the results
I will acknowledge the fact that my Demons do not expect me to win, but i will never surrender. I may be in a slump and feel like I have lost my strength, like a cat on a Lions throne. I may fall but I will always get back up, I will always come out stronger, weakness will not be in my heart. Defeat, retreat, those are not my words, I don't understand those definitions. But I do understand trying, inch by inch, step by step, until I am where i set out to be. I understand victory, and I understand never surrendering. So I’ll get back up time and time again, and get back out there because sitting around and feeling sorry for yourself will only make you sink faster. Doing something, ANYTHING, is better than doing nothing at all. Believe will change my world, I know I can do this, I believe I can do this. I will reach my goals and God help whatever/whomever stands in my way because one way or another I will reach my destination, and when I do I will arrive violently. History will remember me, and I will not have to worry about him being kind. I will never let anyone tell me what I can and can’t be, I will define myself, I will write my own praises. I may be down right now but I will always come back, in fact today will be that day, not tomorrow, not next week, but right now, right here. I have trained my mind and my body will follow, and when my mind cannot go any further, my heart will take over and i will see the journey through because no matter how hard, how painful,
WEAKNESS WILL NOT BE IN MY HEART
WEAKNESS WILL NOT BE IN MY HEART
IRC stories: 2 incidents on IRC that i'll remember throughout this whole weight loss/muscle gain journey, 2 chats that stood out to me. i dont know if the person
1:when i'm on IRC, i chat with Vincent a lot, its fun and i miss talking to the french man. one day, way back when i was so close to achieving my goal of being under 200 lbs, i was having a nice chat with vincent about a recent update, an update where i had lost 20 pounds. Vincent asked me "how many pounds i had to go before being at 200 lbs", i dont remember exactly how many punds but i do remember i had less than 10 pounds to go. Vincent then said something that would remain in my head all this time, he said "i could gain 20 pounds and i'd still be under 200". Now this didnt hurt me, no, but it gave me a lot to think about and would end up helping me push harder to attain my goals. You see, that night i remember telling myself something along the lines of "heh, soon i'll be able to say the exact same thing"
2: this one was with Skarm, it was very early on, i was still in the eary stages of this journey. i was confessing my weight loss plans to the ducks, what i hoped to achieve and SHOULD i see this through, i wanted to get a tattoo of a lions head on one of my hard rock pecs[left one]. Skarm then started talking to me about how i should instead get the ducks logo tattooed on my chest lol, we had a good laugh, chat went on for a while. this chat stood out to me because, well, i dont talk about this whole thing a lot, at least back when i was still obese. it was refreshing to know that i could really talk with the ducks about anything, such a nice group of friends, a safe environment and we can just talk and laugh about shit.
oh yeah! i had such a good "cool story bro" moment last week. without a doubt the elliptical is my favorite machine when it comes to cardio at the gym, the YMCA i go to had/have the newest ones too, they are so fresh yo. Anyways, last week, for the first time on ANY machine in the gym, i maxed out on the elliptical machine. 1 hour straight on max settings, by the end i wasn't the most beaten up I've been with the elliptical[i almost passed out once in the past, always eat and stay hydrated before pushing yourself hard on cardio, no 1 time exceptions]
Personal music videos: this is something weird i do whenever i do my HIIT cardio and thats the only time i can do this lol, it doesnt work outside of my cardio workouts. I have a random playlist and put it on shuffle, then when a song starts playing, i make a music video for it in my head..................in real time, as the song plays the video just.....forms in my head. this is so badass and awesome when it happens, it sounds weird saying it but if only i could record just 1 video as it forms in my head. the best part about this process is that it's such a huge distraction from the pain of doing HIIT cardio or long cardio sessions. i do not notice the work out, instead its like i am in an empty theater watching personal music videos haha. The only problem though is that whatever i developed in my head, the thing that triggers this process is very picky, the wrong song and i snap back to reality, the images/videos, all gone, i hate that part lol. some examples
Lovestoned= usually for this song, its a club scene and i am trying to get this girl. she is on the dance floor and i'm eyeing her etc, then i make my way to the dance floor and shit happens, it gets complicated and good at the same time. Oh, by the way, i am singing this song the whole time lol, like one smooth motherfucker. its not background music, some songs i'm not singing, like the next example
Dead and Gone= yeah, this entire song just plays in the background. in this music video, i am always walking on a road, a very long road and its always the same damn road. Sometimes i can see the end of the road and other times i am so far away from reaching the end that its just a blurr....or endless road, cant even see the end. o yeah, shit happens on this road
Remember The Name= man, i cant even explain the videos i make for this song, always different and always INTENSE
yeah all this sounds hella weird, but in my head, when it happens, its a different story. i'm also just glad i developed a way to distract myself, doing cardio fucking sucks
Inspirational Videos Playlist:
these are a few videos that have inspired me throughout this year. I'm not the type to spend a lot of time looking for inspirational videos, but the few times i looked some up on youtube, these are the ones that really stood out to me
at #1: Muhammad Ali - Ima show you how great i am
I've seen this video so many times that i can recite it word for word, its also on my Iphone. watching/listening to this brings out a feeling in me, a feeling thats just so damn hard to explain. Great, great video.
i stop ranking once i have my #1. so the rest of these videos are on the same level
-I am a champion- this just takes me to the next level, like i can climb a fucking mountain. so intense
-How bad do you want it?- this video took me by surprise, started a bit slow but his build up is amazing, not what i expected. could easily contend for #1
-Will Smith - Don't "Settle"- Words of wisdom, goes straight to my heart. this also started a bit slow for me but the next thing i knew, i couldn't stop listening, especially the part when he talks about work ethics and pushing yourself.
CONCLUSION:
I could add more to this update on whats taken place so far, its been a year after all. I am too tired so i'll do this instead, if you find yourself wondering or have any questions about this weight loss/Muscle gain Journey so far, please feel free to ask.
you know, People find me inspirational, throw comments at me and talk like i just moved a mountain or something, like they cant do what i've done. this is something that shouldn't be so hard to do, i think we just make it harder than it is, like many things in life. i remember sitting at my desk in January, about to start this whole thing, sitting there wishing with all my heart that i could take a peek, peer into the future for just a moment, to see what i would look like at the end of the year, should i succeed. the funny thing is, i've been sitting here wondering the same thing, wanting badly to take a peek, to see what i will look like in the summer, 7 months from now. heh, guess not much has changed. but the truth is, i'm not even worried about it, i "hope" to succeed, just like i "hoped" to succeed in January. I embraced failure a long time ago, you must accept that you'll fail, many of the greats in history failed before they succeeded, it took me 3 years of making new years resolutions before i finally stuck to it at the beginning of this year. I'm proud of the rapid progress i've made, just 11 months, proud that I took the pain, the hardships because it was so worth it and thats what you should focus on. ask yourself if its worth it and do not get discouraged should you fail, accept that you'll fail, but have the heart to get back up when you fall, it might take you less than 11 months or maybe it'll take you twice as long to do whatever it is you're aiming for, who cares. it doesnt even have to be losing weight, whatever it is that you are aiming for, just dont stay down too long or you'll find it harder to get back up and achieve it.
i'm ok at developing deep thoughts but suck when it comes to expressing them, but hey listen, thanks for reading. I'll end the update with this quote.
“He Who Says He Can And He Who Says He Can't Are Both Usually Right” - confucius
I'll hopefully update next in January. yeay for new year resolutions and another chance for us to get it right.
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PHOTO ALBUM POST
August 6th update:
wow, has it been a month already since Pokemon nationals?
with school starting soon i know i wont have as much time, so i went back into "hardcore" mode right after the fun events of nationals. lately it seems like i've been doing nothing but work-then-gym or Hanging out-then-gym, i've also changed my Diet/workout up a bit
The change up
- in order to bring down my body fat percentage, i've been doing intense HITT cardio workouts on my non lifting days[sigh, and here i hoped i was done with cardio]
- diet change up is basically: i'm only eating 1400-1500 calories a day[this is temporary] and I've started using Whey protein
- i have FINALLY gotten P90x although all i'm doing at the moment is the ab ripper X. on my lifting days, i've been focusing more on my problem areas [chest and abdominal]
so i know some of you are wondering what my total weight loss number is so far, well, although I've been going at it hard, i am only at 91 lbs total. I'm not complaining though because in the last 3.5 weeks, i have seen my biggest weight loss since my days of losing 20 lbs a month, hard work definitely pays off in one way or another
Picture time [the 1st before and after ]
alright for this update, i have decided to show some before and after pictures.
BEFORE [part 1]: i posted this picture in my April update
AFTER [part 1]: i think it's now safe to say that I'm half way there xD
someday i'll be on lee's level
BEFORE [part 2]: i've only ever posted 1 Jeans picture
AFTER [part 2]: ok so i decided to dig out those jeans and take some updated pictures.
they are so big now, i can easily fit this xbox 360 game in, the game kept sliding into my pants haha. A few more from different angles
as you can clearly see, i had a little too much fun taking the pics
I know i always do this at the end of each update but, once again i would like to thank you guys for the support, it's always appreciated and i mean it. Some days, when i feel lazy, i come and read the comments in the thread xD.
the next update[probably in 1-1.5 months] will be the biggest because its the 100 lbs update. i'm going to include so many things, its going to be ridiculous. i'll throw in stories and some of the silly things i've done to motivate/stay motivated, you'll get a laugh out of the next update that's for sure.
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PREVIOUS UPDATES :
THE UPDATE[June 16th]= hello smogon
so its been a little over 2 months since i last updated this thread, i hope all is well. those who've been following this thread from the start will know that I've already started body sculpting, i achieved my under 200 lbs goal a while back and started building muscle etc. i'm not going for a bodybuilder type of body but rather something smaller but sexier, like my avatar.
so I've been asked a few times "hey Jesus, are you buff yet?", "hey whats with your new avatar? how do you look now dude" and "so how much do you weigh now?", so here is the update. well i am at 176 lbs now :), its been 6 months since i restarted in January and I've lost 78 pounds, not bad for a lazy guy like me. as for how i look now? well here is a picture
yeap, i decided not to reveal too much this update. since i am officially in the "get ripped" phase, i want to have a big reveal and i think holding off[was hard ] for now will make it better next time i update :). just picture this, i am somewhere between the pictures from my last update and the person in my avatar.
once again i would like to thank you guys for the comments/support, it's always appreciated. hope to see you soon in Indianapolis, Pokemon nationals is shaping to be even better than last year.
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THE UPDATE[april 4th] = [original OP can be found if you keep scrolling down]
Achievement earned
hello smogon, let me start off by saying how awesome this thread has been to me. the first 2 weeks when ever i got lazy and did not want to workout, i just came here and read this thread, comments and all. Thanks
so its been a month[or rather 5 days till] since i made this thread. i hope your time was put to good use, as for me? well i've been going at this weightloss thing really hard, giving up even more delicious foods and dont even get me started on how i've been killing myself at the gym [its like i am at my own bootcamp]. anyways i am posting this mini update because the plan was to update after every 20 pounds and i've lost another 20 pounds :D.
Warning: i posted 2 pictures because the first picture i took i had some EXTREMELY weird thing going on with my shirt...so be warned. it seemed like a good idea at the time ok, please dont ask :(. i took the 2nd picture planning not to post the first but then decided fuck it, i'll slap a warning on there and post both.
as always, the pictures are never edited in anyway.
also i have not cared enough lately to take care of my face so excuse the beard/bad non cut hair and stuff. next update i will make sure to give you
guys my sexy face
man i cant wait to get under 200 pounds so i can start working my pecs, they NEED to look better.
now for the weird shirt pose picture
yeah laugh it up, I KNOW OK :(. but i love the progress i've made :)
also i have not cared enough lately to take care of my face so excuse the beard/bad non cut hair and stuff. next update i will make sure to give you
guys my sexy face
man i cant wait to get under 200 pounds so i can start working my pecs, they NEED to look better.
now for the weird shirt pose picture
yeah laugh it up, I KNOW OK :(. but i love the progress i've made :)
next update will be :
thats right, my BIG "under 200 lbs" update. right now i am at 204-205 lbs and i have to be 195 lb for that update, so 10 pounds to go. i wanna say atleast 2 weeks from now... but just incase lets say mid april :)
PS: if you are wondering why i went with a World of Warcraft theme for this update., well lets put it this way
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ORIGINAL OP =
no but seriously i don't think there has been any "i'm putting myself out there, personal" threads since "a Forum" was born[not counting threads like the one ballad made about advice to get more friends in real life....still cant tell which are trolls and which are serious, hope he's doing well] Infact the last thread i remember that was so personal, etc, was Flamewheeler's "Seeking advice on coming out" thread. so smogon allow me to pave the way by posting the first "a forum" mushy, touchy-feely yet serious thread, i know this is also firebot so i expect some trolls/haters but hey what can i say? i have already left in real life haters in the dust and those people would only motivate me more anyways.
so Ninahaza what's all of this about?
well smogon please bear with me as i give you a summary/background story and build up to what this thread is REALLY about, i Promise it will just make the thread that much more enjoyable.... i PROMISE. so grab a cup of coffee and read on.
So a little over a year ago at the start of 2010, i once again for like the 4th year in a row made the same new years resolution. i wanted to lose the weight i had put on over a span of 5-6 years, i was an average size guy and all of a sudden BOOM, at the age of 14 i started blowing up. long story short i was 270 pounds[maybe a little over] at the start of the year 2010, dude i was so ashamed of myself...how did i let it get this far. so my new years resolution for 2010?....well fuck my new years resolutions because for the past 3 years they had been the same and yet here i was.
so after thinking long and hard i came up with 2 reasons why i should finally lose this weight and i added a butt load of motivations to that, at last my weight loss journey began foreal this time. i started losing weight and even went down from 270+ pounds to 251 pounds by summer of 2010, then FUN[aka VGC season] happened and i forgot all about my weight loss. now this is where this thread starts to come in
the 2010 vgc season was so much fun and i was in the middle of it all from the start[first regional] till the end [worlds championship] that i slowly forgot all about my personal goals. i stayed at 250-254 pounds from May of 2010 ALL THE WAY until january of 2011 :(. at the start of this year i was reminded of my weight loss plans and my 2 big reasons for Needing to finally lose this weight, unfortunately for me those 2 reasons did not motivate me as much as they had done the previous year and i knew it was time to add a 3rd reason. after thinking long and hard my 3rd reason became the very thing that stopped my progress in 2010 lol, i wanted to be under 200 pounds by 2011 VGC nationals/worlds. this new 3rd big reason to lose weight worked better than i hoped because i started dropping the pounds, today[2 months later] i have gone from 250+ to 226 pounds.
ok NOW here is why i have decided to make this thread. lately i have been losing my motivation to reach my 2011 VGC goal and i started thinking, well why not make a smogon thread about this issue. after all my 3rd goal for wanting to lose this weight ties in directly to smogon because after all i don't really go to the vgc events for the battles, its fun because of the people you meet[old and new]. i have been going to these things since JAA and the people you meet...well they make this event fun. i look forward to meeting them again more than i look forward to winning pokémon battles. so smogon help me stay motivated, also by just having this thread i will stay motivated because even thinking about smogon will now remind me of this thread, its like i have forced myself into seeing this through by making this thread.
OK to add more commitment to this thread i am now going to post some pictures to give you guys an idea of where i am at. Go easy on me smogon.
this picture i took on thursday when i was getting ready to do my Karaoke entry for Hipmonlee's awesome karaoke comp.
QUICK NOTE: when i started getting big i stopped taking pictures of myself because....well i didn't like what i saw so there are barely any pictures of me for a proper before/after comparison. instead i have gone through smogon's photo album/facebook/laptop to find a few pictures and those will have to do for "before's"
BEFORES:
this picture was taken when i was just under 200 pounds [around 190-198], its also like 5 years old lol.
this is when i was a Youth leader at my church and we took a trip to city hall, my church is AWESOME. i am the the one in a black vest
this one is taken straight from smogon's photo album. my face looks fatter because i was kinda shrugging.
OK so the biggest part of my body losing weight is my stomach. at 270 my stomach was HUGE, i am not talking about beer belly huge but big enough to make any fat guy proud. unfortunately i don't have a good before picture but combine this next vgc 2010 nationals picture with your imagination and you should get a good picture of my stomach before.
remember the before picture you have now formed in your head because the "after" pictures are coming up
ok to finish the "BEFORE" section, here is an awesome video i took during my stay with Jason when i went up to canada to meet some smogon people. remember i was still aroundd 250 pounds in this video. EPIC just dance video
AFTER SECTION:
please excuse the pictures where my hands are really ashy, i wash my hands a lot and i don't lotion up after each time.
also none of these pictures have been altered in any way.
Once upon a time these were my go to jeans. now they don't even fit
lol i really love orange shirts. you will see
i am obviously doing something right because i love how far my stomach has come.
ok also this day i had my "HABITAT FOR HUMANITY" pants on, all the white stuff is paint not many years of jacking off to porn....yeah i volunteer ok.
ok so it looks like i am getting outlines of a V-CUT. i never noticed that when i was gaining the weight but i wont complain. my end goal did include V-CUT abs anyways so i have less work to do now once i get out of the weight loss phase and into the body sculpting phase. hey maybe if i'm lucky when i am done losing weight the v-cut would have come in naturally and i only have to work on abs haha.
ok also this day i had my "HABITAT FOR HUMANITY" pants on, all the white stuff is paint not many years of jacking off to porn....yeah i volunteer ok.
ok so it looks like i am getting outlines of a V-CUT. i never noticed that when i was gaining the weight but i wont complain. my end goal did include V-CUT abs anyways so i have less work to do now once i get out of the weight loss phase and into the body sculpting phase. hey maybe if i'm lucky when i am done losing weight the v-cut would have come in naturally and i only have to work on abs haha.
END GOAL:
really i just want to look like a normal guy but with ripped abs and a nice V-CUT to go with them, i don't want to become like a body builder or anything. i have to wait till my next weigh in date but i think i'm probably at 219-220 pounds at this very moment [226 pounds was at my last weigh in date]. once i get nice abs, nice chest and built arms i will stop. summer of 2012 is my cut off date but i am making progress pretty fast so i might reach my end goal early but only time will tell.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
well first off i want to give a HUGE thanks to fishy for getting me into dance games, especially "Just dance 2" because that game is a full workout and i love playing it lol. thanks fishy <33333333333333333.
also throughout this whole process i have not used any weight loss pills, diet pills etc etc, i have not been on any programs like jenny craig, this is just pure Dedication and Patience. i plan on updating this thread with pictures as i continue to try and achieve my 3rd big reason/goal of being under 200 pounds for 2011 VGC nationals/worlds, keep in mind though that this is weight loss so updates will be far apart. i promise at least one update between now and nationals/worlds [4 months?] and if it really is just 1 update then it will be an update worthy of 4 months, after all i have the hardest part in the patience department in this thread lol. thanks for reading smogon, wow i feel like i just got closer with the community :). again i know this is also part Firebot [and i almost didnt post this thread because of that] but please go easy on me people.
EDIT: some of you may have noticed that for a while in my signature the first line is "What? NINAHAZA is evolving!", well this is what it means, the hidden message.
