Discipline for Dummies: Get Real. Real Fast

Prepare yourself, this post is longer than usual, and it’s about me. (Vanity o'clock!)

I treat my body like a machine. I fully control its desires, needs and cravings. I do not cave in to desserts laid out on a table at the office. I do not crave a pizza at 3 AM. I do not indulge in candy. I do not indulge in the local delicacies while travelling. Most of all, I do not consider myself a normal human being.

How I’ve come to be so strict in regards to my fitness and nutrition discipline spans over the course of more than four years ago when I started this fitness craze. Little do many of you know, but I was not always the self-proclaimed fitness Messiah I am today. In fact, I was quite the opposite. I was the guy who’d order the extra Chicken McDoo alongside their Double Big tasty combo with supersized fries, coke and an extra chocolate sauce Sundae. I was the guy who’d chill in front of the TV with a tub of zalabia and other sweets completely oblivious to the meanings of the words “calories”, “body fat %” and “cardiac arrest”. Yep, I was that guy. I was also remarkably shorter than I am today (by almost 10 cm) so weighing in the mid-80’s for someone who was barely 165 cm was not a pretty scene. I had the J Lo ass, the Fat Albert tummy and the Marilyn Monroe muffin-top love handles. Don’t even get me started on my B-cup man tits.

I don’t have any fat me pictures (definitely not topless ones) so the below will have to do for reference on differences between the past and present.

Moi, circa 2009/2010, about a year into my fitness journey (bad photoshop skills on display to remove someone’s head who would not appreciate appearing on this blog post)

One Summer vacation day (I believe the year was 2008/2009) I woke up utterly repulsed by the figure I saw in the mirror. I used to be quite into sports as a child, being on professional teams for Squash, fencing and martial arts. What happened? How did I let it get so bad? When did this even happen? How could I be so blind? So I made a conscious decision. To take a step in a drastically different direction and to never look back.

It was the stupidest decision I ever made.

Before you rush into thinking I regret being a fitness fanatic, take a minute to calm your tits and breathe. I’m not saying that. It was the best thing I’ve ever done and always will be the biggest gift I ever gave myself. That being said, the decision to embark on a fitness journey without the most basic understanding of the process was the stupidest decision I ever made to date.

I thought it’d be straightforward. Stop eating shit for food. Get moving. Right? No, not right. Not right at all. You see dear reader, I’ve always been a man of extremes. I do everything 110%. Eat junk food? Only eat that. Workout? Workout till I die. And die I almost did. I decided that the sensible way to “shed off the blubber” was to live solely on canned tuna and lettuce and to spend an average of four to five hours a day in the gym between the treadmill, Elliptical machine, stairmaster and stationary bike. I cut out all carbs. All fats. All soda. All candy. All pasta. All rice. And damn near all foods.

I lost 25 kgs in 45 days.

Never ever EVER do that. Sure, some of you reading the above went like “Well shit if I can drop 25 kgs by eating tuna and lettuce and just sweating it out for 6 weeks why the fuck not? Let’s do this!” Trust me on this, it’s not all pink roses.

Before you start off with the congratulatory high-fives and order a few shots to our metaphorical table, you should probably know - if you have the most basic inkling of understanding of health - that the above numbers signal bad news. The human body - unless obese and I certainly didn’t qualify in that category - cannot handle such drastic loss of fat at such rapid a rate. Not to mention the lack of nutrients with a diet composed of two food items. It’s simply unhealthy. It wrecks absolute havoc throughout your body in terms of energy levels, hormone response, immunity and other aspects. For weeks, I was deathly ill, my immunity made HIV positive patients look like they won the goddamn genetic lottery. My joints were aching. I had stomach ulcers. I looked like a death stricken Somali child. I had dropped from 84 kgs to 58 kgs in a mere 6 weeks. And it almost killed me.

Fun Fact: Losing too much weight too quickly can lead to a condition where your kidneys literally drop as they are held in place by existing body fat!

Bit by bit I recovered and started to do what I should have done before taking a single step towards my goal; to study. I read. I read so much I may as well had majored in a few domains in regards to nutrition and exercise. I would crunch through dozens of studies, published articles, peer-reviewed journals and books every week. Little by little, I understood what had to be done, how it had to be done and that - most importantly - it could not happen fast. It shouldn’t happen fast. Ever heard the phrase “What goes up must go down?”. That’s especially true for those who drop too much weight too quickly. It’s simply not sustainable. It’s not sustainable to spend hours in the gym and live on foods even street cats would deem inadequate.

I digress…

What does it take to make it? What does it take to make sure you don’t yo-yo around? What does it take to stop you from reaching over to your phone and weep dialing McDonald’s in your bathrobe at dawn? Aside from self-respect; a choice.

Modern day Ramy. Say hi!

You need to make a conscious choice to improve your entire lifestyle. You need to stop viewing fitness as a specific weight goal, body fat % or particular body shape which you can achieve within a set time frame then slack off till it’s time to re-correct it. You need to understand that a dedication towards fitness requires a dedication towards yourself. You need to be dedicated towards dedication.

The most important step in the process is leaving your ego at the door. Drop that shit behind son. For real. You can’t walk into the gym or track with your ego on your shoulder. It will prove to be your biggest setback. You need to talk yourself into understanding that the process will be - and ought to be - slow and controlled. There are no long term gains when it comes to shortcuts. You need to convince yourself that this requires an overhaul of your lifestyle, to become dedicated to bettering yourself through better quality nutrition and exercising to stay active and to quit unhealthy habits (smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, public masturbation etc.)

You need to understand that slow and steady will ALWAYS win the race when it comes to fitness and health. You need to understand that this is a decision that goes beyond a set time frame, this isn’t about a beach body, this isn’t about getting six pack abs before your next topless occasion, and it certainly isn’t about being a skinny bitch. It’s about a balance.

Once again I must reiterate that I am not a normal person, but thankfully I’m well aware of it. I do not cave to cravings. I do not indulge in “bad” foods. Ever. I’ve simply arrived at that place where I am in that much control, but it’s hardly normal or easy. Most of my friends and family frown upon my disposition and think I am torturing myself or denying myself the goodies in life. That’s just not true, as you’ve seen over the past week with some of the recipes I’ve shared, there are plenty of ways to pimp out your meals so you’re satisfying all your cravings without straying too far off course.

That being said, you aren’t me. You shouldn’t strive to be. What I do has to do with my aforementioned extremes personality. I do everything 110%. If I did cocaine I’d be the best white horse sniffer this side of Colombia. But for now it’s just fitness. One of the best things you can do to help with your dedication to this new lifestyle of yours is balance. You love pizza? Fantastic. Eat pizza! Just limit your frequency of intake and portion sizes. Don’t order a large stuffed crust extra cheese pizza three times a week at night. Have a small or half a large pizza and choose better quality toppings. Add some grilled chicken for protein, add some veggies for fibers, vitamins and antioxidants. Better yet, make your own pizza and control the ingredients from scratch. Here’s an amazing recipe for a pizza made entirely from cauliflower (no flour goes into making it!)

Another helpful tip would perhaps be to establish milestones and checkmarks. No plan is perfect from scratch. A lot of my learnings in fitness came from trial and error. You discover this food works for you while this one does not, this exercise format is better for your muscle growth but doesn't burn as much fat, etc. You need to take this as a learning opportunity as well as set up checkmarks so you can review your progress along the way on this lifelong journey and tweak the plan as desired. You must always re-evaluate, re-assess and re-program yourself. Never get stuck in a plateau, never stagnate and never settle for anything but more.

It's all about choices. You choose to be healthier. You choose to be stronger. You choose not to eat a doughnut. You choose to not let a cancer stick dictate your disposition and have you beg for it. You choose to control your progress. You choose to be a better you.

The most important thing I suppose is for you to find a reason. Something to compel you not only to start, but more importantly, to persevere, to maintain, to keep pushing your limits and to break boundaries. That reason can be anything. It can be a simply decision of bettering yourself. It can be because of a girl or boy you like. It can be because a family member's health was affected on account of improper nutrition/lack of exercise. Your reason is your own. But it must be a reason powerful enough that you could call upon it at times when you feel like you can't do it anymore or that you're about to give up. Your reason must compel you to never look back and to always crave and yearn for more.

I started off around 84 kgs at 166 cm with 30% body fat, went over to 58 kgs at 173 with 12% body fat and currently stand at 71 kgs at 178 cm with 8% body fat. It's a roller coaster, but all good things usually are. If anything it was a great learning experience.

I gather that's about it from my end. You could always share your own thoughts and feedback with me by commenting below. Until we meet again...

If you have any questions or inquiries or would like to read about a specific topic on my blog, please reach out by commenting on this post or by adding me to your circles on Google+ on +Ramy Kandil or by tweeting me @Foxicakes