I am Jon Seymour, a software developer who lives and works in Sydney, Australia. I am 53 years old.
I am 172cm tall. As of January 2021, I weigh between 65 and 66 kg and now have a runner’s build.
This video is from December 2019. I clearly need to work on my weight training, but what I am lifting is a case of beer and a few bottles of wine, all of which weighed about what I had lost in the preceding 21 months (e.g. around 21kg)
In March 2018, I weighed 87kg and was what is affectionately known around these parts as a fat bastard.
I was, of course, on the left.
This blog is a personal project of mine to give me a space to write about a subject that has become increasingly important to me: how to become fit and stay that way.
As I grew older, I gained weight but it happened so slowly that rather than doing anything about it, I just got used to the idea that I was getting heavier and losing my cardio fitness. Just part of getting old, I kept telling myself because that was the easiest thing to do and the alternatives looked like too much hard work.
Then something changed, and I started to lose weight. Slowly. but consistently. Once I realised how easy it was for me to lose weight, I got addicted to the results, to the process and to learning about the process.
What changed in detail are stories that I will write up elsewhere on this blog, but suffice to say I gathered enough resolve to address some red flags about my health that my GP had raised so that I was able to control my diet and increase my exercise for just long enough to realise I was making a small, but definite, difference to my weight. Linear regressions can be misleading, but they can also be very motivational if abused in just the right way. I became convinced that there was a path for me to walk backwards, literally, from being borderline-obese to regaining a normal weight.
So, I took that path.
This blog is about documenting that story and the things that I learned along the way. I hope, but am by no means sure, that it might inspire others who have been procrastinating about getting started on their own path to being fit, to bend over, pull on their walking shoes and literally take the first step towards doing the same - being fit and staying that way.