I haven't been overweight since I was 16, but having been fat through childhood, I was always terrified I'd put on weight again. Since my last years of high school, I've worked out four or more times every week, but because I'd become fearful of eating, I never really put on any muscle mass. I'm 5'7", and in early August I weighed just under 145 lbs.
That was about the time I realized that I was unhappy with being that thin. To change that, I transitioned from a workout heavy on cardio to one based primarily on weightlifting, and at the same time altered my diet for an increased caloric load while remaining high in protein. I've seen great results following the weightlifting regimen
prescribed here. As of Sunday night, I was up to 162 lbs and feeling very good about things.
From the beginning, I'd been terrified that I'd actually put on weight in the form of fat when I started eating more, but that hasn't been the case; my waist size has actually
decreased some. I now have a pair of size 29W jeans that is loose on me!
The best part of the whole thing, though, even better than the self-confidence, has been the extra free time. The regimen I linked above states that lifting more than twice a week (he recommends going every fourth day) is actually detrimental to muscle growth. Who knew? Anyway, I now spend about 6.5 hours in the gym each month (including sauna time), as opposed to the 18+ hours I was there before. That's a pretty serious perk.
