Mark Gilroy

It’s fun to blog about weight today because I’ve dropped 45 pounds this year, most of it in the past four months. There have been other days when writing about weight gain and loss would not be nearly so much fun. A few of you know what I’m talking about.

I’ve been trying not to be “that guy” who thinks about and talks about his diet 24/7, but two factors work against that:

1. When you are on a strict diet, the regimen is almost by definition an obsessive undertaking; and
2. When you lose a lot of weight, people notice, say nice things, and ask a lot of questions.

I truly admire those disciplined – or metabolically blessed – few who maintain a very trim, healthy, and consistent weight year in and year out. I’ve not been that person.

Right after college, I put on a quick 30 pounds – I worked full-time, kept crazy hours, and completely stopped all exercise. After seeing a picture of myself – I closed my eyes when I walked past a mirror – I got back out on the tennis court, but more importantly, learned to work out both anabolically and aerobically.

In my early thirties I hit my college weight again (a little lower than my senior year), much of that due to becoming a biking fanatic and getting rid of most breads and sugars from my diet.

In my late thirties and early forties I put weight on but worked with some guys that were really into weight lifting, so I actually had some muscle (that showed) for the first time in my life. I mixed the lifting with racquetball, basically ate whatever I wanted, and stayed in good shape. [Read more…]