In May of 2014, I weighed 225 pounds. I wouldn’t consider myself as unhealthy because I was working out five times a week, but I was definitely holding on to some extra pounds.
As an ROTC cadet, physical fitness is a top priority for me while in college. Not only is it important to stay in shape for training, but also your physical fitness plays a big part in deciding if you will be an active duty officer versus a reserve officer. I knew in May that I had the summer to whip myself into shape and prepare to be a leader in the United States Army.
I kick started my weight loss with a month long training exercise called cadet troop leading training. During this month, I trained with a real army unit and was exercising twice a day. My day would start with a distance run, train out in the field, then I lifted weights before dinner. I was thankful for this experience and ended up losing 12 pounds during that month.
When I got home from training, I knew I was just given a perfect opportunity to lose weight and that I needed to keep my foot on the pedal. I started cleaning up my diet by eating good carbs such as brown rice, lean meats including chicken and turkey, and green vegetables.
I kept my workout routine very simple with a distance run between 4-7 miles five times a week and an hour of weightlifting five times a week. However, the real key to my weight loss was persistence, patience, and motivation. If you believe that you can achieve your weight loss goal, you will achieve it. Most importantly you need something that will motivate you. For me, it was the fact that if I did not get into shape, I wouldn’t be able to pursue my goals of being an active duty Army officer.
My weight as of today is 183 pounds. Not only did I lose weight, but also I got into much better physical shape. I maxed my Army Physical Fitness Test with a score of 300 out of 300. I went from doing 55 push ups in two minutes to 80 push ups, 70 sit-ups to 85 sit ups, and from a 15 minute two-mile run to a 12 minute 30 second two mile run.
If you are trying to lose weight, I encourage you to find something that will keep you motivated. It will keep you on the straight and narrow.
