I am no different than anyone else that has had weight issues since high school. I used to be a quite active fellow that participated in all kinds of sports including scuba diving, hang gliding, rock hopping, and even karate! As many know that read this blog, karate has been my lifetime love as well as the chief way I used to stay in shape.
I owned a karate studio in the mid-eighties and through constantly demonstrating the moves and preparation for kick boxing – I was in great shape! Well responsibility caught up with me and after I had married into a ready made family – I had to sell my karate studio and go get a real job. The thing about real jobs is they suck the very life force out of you and you come out a shell of a man! At least in my case without a college education (I eventually corrected that) I could not make enough money and I was always taking a second job to make ends meet.
Enough of my pity party, I am just trying to say staying in shape for many of us is a chore. Well in middle age I have been focusing on getting back some of what I had when I was younger so I make it into old age. Here is a video I uploaded of my karate tournament days for your perusal so you can see some of what I was able to do 30 years ago. I am in the black top and red gi bottoms.
Ahh the good old days of wine, women, fighting and song! Well I’d at least like to get back the fighting and song! As you probably noticed I look a good deal thinner. My fighting weight was about 165 to 170 pounds. I don’t really expect to fight tournaments again but I still do enjoy karate and want to be one of these tough old gizzards that take out a mugger at 90 years old!
I am finding what is working for me is jogging and bag work for the most part. That coupled with my newest addition of a low-sodium diet – is slowly melting the wight off. I experience plateaus for a couple of weeks here and there but If I just stick with it – so far it is working.
Over on Mr. Low Body Fat’s blog, Muata encouraged me to show my “bare chested” pictures with the probable reasoning that it is encouraging to see and share. Well I am a ham but I knew as soon as I put the pictures out there – it was going to commit me to my path. Don’t get me wrong – I am already committed but now I am really committed. 
I created a “Before and After Pics!” page that I will update as I make substantive changes but here are the initial pictures, side by side poses, from January 1st, 2008 to July 25th, 2009. There have been some gains and losses that I have not included because that is not where I am today. The before pictures I weigh 260 pounds. The after pictures I weigh 237 pounds.
John W. Zimmer, Pose 1
John W. Zimmer, Pose 2
John W. Zimmer, Pose 3
John W. Zimmer, Pose 4
John W. Zimmer, Pose 5
Well I can see a little difference but really the way I know I am losing is how much more I am able to do when working out. When I started, I could only run for 10 minutes (if you call it running) but now I can go for an hour (more If I wanted to risk knee injuries)!
I hope you are doing well in whatever method of achieving lasting weight loss. I believe I will be successful because I am not just dieting and exercising to lose weight but rather I am trying to achieve health and fitness goals that will never be finished. After I get to my goal weight I will not stop anything… just increase my calorie intake but the exercises I like will continue till the day I die.
Hey my friend. I’m glad that you posted the pics! Focus on that fact that you have maintained your loses. Then, move on to lose more; you’re doing fine and you’re more of an inspiration than you know just by posting these recent pics.
Hey Muata!
Thanks and your blog is one of the inspiring blogs out there!
John, it’s up. See, there’s nothing to fear. You’ll notice that as you have these pics up for folks to see that you will do 1 of 2 things.
1) When you mess up on your eating and working out, you will feel like crap. Like a failure, a fraud. Which will make you get off your butt and do the right things that have led you to losing those 20+ lbs
2) Or you will dive deeper into your self pity and feel like crap. Eat worse, Makes excuses and delay the inevitable, which is getting back on track at some point so that you can be happy with yourself.
I ‘ve done both. Good stuff!
That’s great, John!! Really like seeing your match!
Jim Stewart has a photo of our tournament winning team from one year, but he can’t find it to send it to me.
I wish I had taken more photos/videos from those days
Hey Israel!
Yep – I’ve done both too… but I’ll go for option # 1! Thanks man.
Hi Dr. J!
I like you did not think of pictures back then. I’m slowly finding some who did take them. Thanks!
I did the first one on Is’s list. Love the Karate match, but was the guy suppose to run from you? Glad you put the pics up they will keep you honest, trust me.
Hey Freddy,
The first one is harder – why I went for a run at 9pm last night.
The guy I fought was trying to get a good counter attack going. He can run if he thinks he can get the points. I generally tried to mess up the game plan by being aggressive.
Yeah I think the pictures are a good thing… I’ll have to workout unless I get good at photoshop!
Thanks Freddy
To comment on your comment about fighting style. When I am asked about how to have a good defense in a fight, I usually suggest an attacking style, like you, and to let your opponent worry about how to be defensive
Sounds like sage advice Dr. J!