Steve's USN challenge: Sunday 21 September

Most of the day was spent recovering from the party ... and this being my usual 'day of rest', nothing to report on the fitness front.

Why this blog?

On Tuesday 12 August 2008, I started the USN challenge.

It's something I'd been pondering for a while, but I never really got round to taking the plunge. However, the realisation that on our first wedding anniversary (11 August), I weighed over 10 kgs more than the year before was a painful one.

I felt bloated, really unfit, and generally fairly lethargic. It's hard to convince yourself that you're a 'winner' when the person looking back at you in the mirror tells you a different story.

The clincher came when I read a quote by Plato in 'Why we want you to be Rich' by Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki. The quote goes: 'The first and most important is the victory of self'.

Looking at my body, it was clear that I was not in charge. Someone had obviously been stuffing me whilst I wasn't looking ...

I needed to do something about this. Get a grip on myself and the way I look. Not just get thin, no - I want a nice, lean, muscular body.

The USN challenge came to mind. I decided to check it out. Those 'before' and 'after' pictures on the box sure looked encouraging.

But is this really feasible for Joe Public? I haven't been really active in 25 years ...

And is it easy to stay in shape afterwards, or do most people just relapse into their old, bad habits?

I tried finding answers to these questions online. Surely someone would have written a blog about this experience?

Well, if someone has, then I haven't come across it ... The closest thing I could find was this blog by a Jacaranda DJ, but it looks more like a promotional stunt than a day-to-day account of what the USN challenge entails and how it gradually changes your life.

And no mention of life after the challenge either.

So I decided to write that blog that I was looking for myself. I started on Tuesday the 12th of August, when I went for an assessment with my personal trainer, Des Coetzee.

Turns out I weighed over 92 kgs and had a body fat percentage of almost 25%. That called for drastic action indeed.

You can read all about how it went from there on your left.

This is what I looked like at the start of the USN challenge

At first, I didn't want to put up a 'before' picture as it's really just a bit horrible. I've only ever been this heavy once before, about 5 years ago (actually, I tipped the scales at 100 kgs back then - now it's 'only' 92.7 kgs) so this is not a proud moment.

My weight has always fluctuated. I used to be a chubby kid. Then lost a lot of weight as a teenager. Which came back gradually in my twenties. Until I went back-packing in Sout-East Asia for 9 months, got sick of eating rice all the time and 'forgot' to eat. When I came back, I weighed 60 kgs. A skeleton, basically.

That's a far cry from where I am now though. I reckon my ideal weight will be just over 80 kgs - that should give me some nice lean muscle without looking like one of those guys on 'roids ...

So feast your eyes on this 'before' picture. I'll probably post updates after 4, 8 and 12 weeks so you can see how I've progressed physically ...

Steve's USN challenge

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Sunday 21 September

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Why this blog?

This is what I looked like at the start of the USN challenge

Tuesday 12 August - Start of the USN challenge

Tuesday 9 September | 1 third behind us

Tuesday 4 November - 12 weeks later

My stats at the start of the challenge

My stats at the end of the challenge - 12 weeks later

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