Day 90 (b): COMPLETE

Very sorry for the delay in posting my FINAL blog post, but needed some time to reflect, and also have been taking Patricks' advice to heart, to take a break and rest (read: been out on the piss almost every night).

So, without further ado:

Before/After:

Here again are the final stats:

-Final Weight 67.6kg, -7.1kg (15.6lbs), -9.5%

-Final Body Fat 16.5%, -9.0%

-Final Visceral Fat (gut) 5.5%, -3.0%

-Final Muscle Mass 35.1%, +3.6%
-Final Subcutaneous Fat 10.0%, -5.6%

Assorted pumped-up shots from Day 90:

Obligatory old pants shot:

Obi-wan and the Jedi Knight:

And...The Situation:

First and most importantly I would like to thank your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave me the strength and courage to see this through to the end. Next I'd like to thank the Academy, Team Running Rats, Patrick, my wife Reiko and baby girl Jessie, my family and friends, and all of you out there in PCP land. You love me, you really love me!

***

"You love yourself, go ahead, say it!" As many PCPers have blogged before me, at one point during the Project I found myself starting to wear very little clothing around the house. The wife, who on many occasions I have blogged about her extreme, undying support over these 90 days, started teasing me, trying to get me to say, out loud, that I love myself. It was all very good natured and we both laughed about it, and out of principle I would not say it, but it got me thinking, that yes, I DO love my new PCP body, both the way it looks and the way it feels. But it goes beyond looking lean, fit and trim, or feeling lighter and stronger. As Patrick has prophesized, I now understand my body better than ever before: how it responds to exercise and diet, and the signals it sends to adapt and adjust to changes, stresses and breakdowns.

Being in such a great state of body and mind, it is only natural to want to spread the gospel and get others to climb aboard the PCP Express. But it is a tricky proposition. As Patrick blogged about The Deflators, peoples' natural reaction to others' success or progress is to feel threatened, so they would likely be negative about the idea. I counterblogged about The Inflators, people who are very supportive and truly happy about others' happiness. But being an Inflator (or just NOT being a Deflator) does not make people automatically open to constructive criticism (you can call it what you want, but telling people how to get into better shape implies that they are NOT in good shape, or at least that is the way they might take it). No matter how good the benefits/results may be, being too pushy/preachy will only turn people off, to both the program and to the new you. It is a very fine line that we all need to discover how best to tow.

The question that I keep coming back to is who WOULDN'T want to look and feel as good as we do? Surprisingly, not everyone. Similar to my homework blog post about people in the gym, I think people can be put into 3 different categories. Category 1 is people who, like us, are not happy with their bodies and are motivated to do something about it. These people can start out in a very wide range of in/out of shape, but share in common the drive to do something about it. Actual results would vary based on the program they choose and how closely they stick to it (and some people invariably will NOT and slip into Category 3), but for starters they are the best candidates for PCP and would be the most receptive to our guidance/preaching. Category 2 is people who are content the way they are. These people also come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, although some would appear to need to get into shape more than others. Even though they are happy with themselves the way they are, as PCP alumni I feel it is our duty to share what we have learned, and hopefully some aspects of the PCP diet and/or exercise may make their way into their daily lives (if not the full PCP), for which they will be better off. A subset of Category 2 is the people that are so out of shape that their long-term health and lives are in danger, in which case it is everyone's duty to try to get these people to change their ways, but these people are probably the toughest nuts to crack. Category 3 is people who are not happy with their bodies but are not willing to make any kind of commitment to change. These people would not be open to any sort of advice, are probably Deflators, and are generally just grumpy and annoying. Not really sure what to do about them but leave them be...

The moral to the story is, you can teach or preach all you want, but even if people understand, it is impossible to impose these changes on them, especially when it requires such a high level of commitment in order to achieve the desired results. But if we believe in the system, and believe in ourselves, we set an example that hopefully will inspire others to come along for the ride.

The Peak is not a destination, it is a journey, and despite the stamp we receive after Day 90, it is never "COMPLETE". It is a commitment to a lifetime of eating and living and being well.

And with that, I will leave you with some inspirational words from our fearless leader, Obi-wan:

Don't suffer in silence, blog it out!
The road to Peak Condition has many paths!
So embrace the burn. It's your friend.
Hear the doubt, acknowledge its presence, and do the right thing anyway.
There is no merit in numbers, the only thing we value is pain.

Illuminate your own path, you already have all of the answers.

See you on the other side!