How Live Like A Viking Began
To make a long story short, I'll start at the part in my life where I weighed 375 pounds. I'm not even sure how it happened. I mean, I know HOW it happened, but the actual process is still a blur. In retrospect it happens so fast, yet it happens slowly enough that you don't even realize you're getting fat until… well… you're fat.
I'm going to take full responsibility for the actions taken that allowed me to slowly get unhealthy. I ate too much, I had a couple of drinks every night, I led a relatively sedentary lifestyle. That was my fault. It wasn't like I didn't notice it though. In fact, if I had a dollar for every Monday I was going to go on a diet, I'd have a sizeable amount of cash. Usually by Tuesday, Wednesday at the latest, I had messed up that weeks' diet so much that I'd decide "next Monday" would probably be a better time to start. And I promised that "next Monday", I'd get serious about it…
So that turned into high blood pressure, back problems, sleep apnea, lethargy, and I'm sure a list of other negative health consequences I simply hadn't taken the time to get diagnosed. I looked unhealthy, felt unhealthy, and I couldn't seem to change any of it on my own. I read about the consequences of hormone imbalances in middle aged men and I decided to try Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT). The results weren't immediate, but it wasn't long before I was feeling like a New Me. I felt stronger. I felt more confident. It wasn't that I lost a lot of weight initially, but I finally wasn't getting bigger. That was a win in my book. As I continued with my TRT program, I eventually was able to build muscle and lose fat. I got down to around 320 pounds over the course of about a year or so. I had been researching Human Growth Hormone (HGH) as a way to feel even better and stave off the speed of aging so I decided to give it a shot (no pun intended). It took about 3 months to really start seeing results, but the synergy between Testosterone and HGH was amazing as far as I was concerned. I slept better, which meant I recovered from workouts and I had more energy throughout the day. My skin got better, my hair darkened a little, my sense of overall wellbeing was vastly improved. And yes, I got stronger and my muscles seemed to harden.
Still, that pesky weight thing was my nemesis. As hard as I tried I couldn't ever seem to get under 300 pounds. I did Keto, I felt like I starved myself, I did high protein, I tried NutriSystem. No matter what I did I couldn't get the results I was looking for. Even so, I was still FAR healthier, both physically and mentally, at this stage that when I began. I finally admitted defeat and decided to solicit the expertise of a professional bodybuilder. If there was any group of people that could transform their bodies, it was bodybuilders. I did some research and I found one with great credentials.
From that point forward I've been able to finally get under 300 pounds. I've gained muscle while losing fat at the same time. I couldn't be happier with the results. I'm still a work in progress, and I have a long way to go, but you have to get here before you can get there.
And so my journey continues…