Dallas Dahms

Remember that scene in the first Spiderman movie when Toby Maguire responds to his aunt’s question about whether he noticed any changes in his condition the day after he came home, wiped and feverish from the spider bite? He looks in the mirror, flexes a muscle and smiles. Yes! Changes!

That’s kind of how I am feeling now. I am a lot stronger and fitter than I was when I began this 12 week transformation program a month ago. I’m already more than 5 kilos lighter and after this morning’s surprising increase in the weight of the dumbbells I am using for doing flies (doubled!) like Spiderman I feel ready to take on just about anything that gets thrown at me.

There’s still a long way to go, but the thing that’s fuelling my passion for the transformation process is actually seeing (and feeling) the results of all the hard training. It inspires me to want to go to the gym for every cardio session and literally crippling weight training sessions. My belly is less than half the size it was on 9 January and that in itself is more than enough cause for me to feel myself swelling, not with beer, chips and chocolate, but confidence. And that is the most powerful force in the world. Not only do I see new muscular definition in places like my legs and arms, I can feel bones that have long been covered with the flabby blanket of a sedentary lifestyle. I’d say I need to lose about another 8 kilos or so of body fat and then I can really focus on building proper muscle mass and tone.

On the nutrition side of things it remains difficult, but not impossible to stick to the plan. I have begun taking much more whey protein than I have been doing in the past, which I think is the catalyst for enhanced muscle growth. Hey,  I’m also surprising myself with my culinary skills. I made an amazing chicken curry yesterday, using those skinless, boneless chicken breasts, peas, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and coriander. I was hoping to feed myself for a week on the leftovers, but it proved too popular amongst the family so there was only enough for one leftover serving (which got frozen before anyone else could get their gums over it). I’m also eating a lot of fruit in-between meals which keeps me going nicely. Could become expensive…

So, with the transformation well underway I think it’s time to begin looking for other things to occupy my time. Maybe I’ll audition for a role in the next Spiderman movie?