Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Benefits of Spinning...why I just can't stop

I usually consider myself lazy when it comes to physical work. I can spend hours on the internet or watching TV but even the thought of getting up to do something sweaty makes me feel tired.
I am not exactly sure when I became lazy because I was very active in sports when I was going to school. I remember playing small goal in the street for hours. We played half court basketball from morning until we couldn't see the ball in our hands. I even used to breakdance and every party was the opportunity to start a burnout. I used to sweat and enjoy it.
I can remember a sports day in secondary school when I took part in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 and I came home afterwards and catch cramp in my whole body. I couldn't stand up...I couldn't lie down... cramp in my legs, cramp in my belly, cramp in my arms... I had to drink a whole glass of salt water and wait for it to pass.
Fast forward some years later, I graduate from UWI, get married, have a child, building my career and suddenly I become a fat boy.
I even start to think a big belly good for my career. It make me look older and more like a manager because I in charge of people older than me and they resent the fact that a young boy in a more senior position. Working Point Lisas at the time didn't help because after 6 or 7 in the evening all it have is KFC and every day I working late and eating dinner special.
I realise I getting real bad and I need to exercise but is how to start. One day I say I going to treat myself and I buy a real nice mountain bike because as a youth, I used to ride all over the place and I used to enjoy it. Well boy I waste that money because after a short while, bike park up against the side of the house and even start to get rusty. Meanwhile belly getting bigger and my face getting more and more round. I eating late in the night cause my wife cooking big meals and I can't stand the thought of throwing away food... after all people starving in Africa and India. Every now and then I getting a reminder of how bad it getting.
I remember a company sports day where I line up with the other men. I remembering how I used to win race in school so I feeling hopeful that I will smoke them fellas even with a big belly. Well imagine my suprise and embarrasment to pull in dead last. Another clear sign of a spiralling situation was that I constantly had to buy bigger and bigger clothes. At my worst I was at a waist 46 pants with 48 right around the corner. The final straw was bending over to tie my shoelace and having to raise back up because I get out of breath and I was only 30 years old.
Nah boy, something had to be done but what to do...
Then one day my saviour say to me that he pay for a session for me in a spin class and I better don't make him waste his money. He start to talk about how nice this spinning thing is and how I will enjoy it. I reluctantly agree and I went to the gym in Gulf City not knowing what to expect. They show me how to set up the bike and I start. Well boy that first class was pressure and I feel to done after about 10 minutes. I riding out of time and I feeling like I cannot continue this thing. I want to come off the bike and walk out. The only reason I finish the class is male ego because it have a woman with gray hair and if she eh stopping, I eh stopping. The next few days my legs hurting like mad. Pressure to walk up stairs, pressure to walk down stairs.
Anyway, I decide to go back because, other than the pain, the class was nice. Besides, the pain pass after about 3 days so I sign up again for the next class. That went a little better and I decide I will go at least once a week. After the first month, I feeling more fit and being an ambitious guy, I say I going twice a week. One month later I was going three times a week and I was feeling really good about myself.
I start to weigh myself everyday and I was losing 2 to 3lbs every week. I make up a diet I call my cucumber diet. I started to eat cucumber instead of rice and I eating any amount of cucumber and lettuce and plenty meat. I was eating a half a chicken at times but I cut out the carbs. No more macaroni pie, no more huge butter bread sandwiches, no more pot spoons of rice ...even pelau cut out.
I began my research into supplements and I bought every weight loss supplement I saw on TV. I would go into the drugstore and ask them to show me each bottle so I could read about it. I went on the internet and read all the reviews. Eventually I was bringing in the supplements myself because the drugstores did not have what I wanted.
Between the spin classes, the diet and the supplements, I lost about 42 lbs and I am now at waist 34 pants and size smedium shirts. My endurance is amazing and my abdominals are somewher around a four pack and looking better every week.
My life has changed forever and I cannot and will not stop spinning.

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