So today I’m starting a four month journey I am calling 4 months to change. This isn’t directly a photography thing, it’s a diet/exercise program, but it does have some indirect connections to, so I’ll explain what I’m doing and then how this is related to photography.
4 Months to Change
As far as I know, there aren’t any programs that go by this name, and I’m definitely not saying that this is a program by itself that I created because it’s not. I honestly don’t remember how I came up with this name. I knew that I had four months until school got out and four months until we probably went on vacation, so that idea stuck with me. The rest of the name is really the mindset that I am going with. I only have four months to make a chance, so it’s got to be a concentrated, controlled process. I’ve screwed around enough for the last year, and now I’m finally getting down to the finish line.
I’m dividing the program up into two parts: two months of muscle building and two months of fat loss. For the first chunk, I will be focusing on lifting weights and eating more calories. The idea is to gain muscle because muscle looks good and muscle burns calories. This is not one of those eat whatever you want to gain weight systems. I am going to be eating extremely clean, just more calories than normal. Hopefully I will gain muscle and very little fat. For the second chunk, I will be doing higher intensity cardio sessions with mainly body weight exercises and dropping my calories. Depending on how things went with my diet and weight loss for the first chunk, I might only drop my calories by 200 or so.
Besides the vain reasons for this challenge, there are also some benefits for photographers. Wedding days can be long, sometimes really long. We can be on our feet for 8-10 hours in one day. We carry 6 pounds around our neck that whole time and often drag some other heavy equipment from place to place. If for anything, being healthy can help with endurance. I’ve never, ever had to just stop and take a break during a wedding. I will often do that to eat, but that’s not because I am physically worn out. Another benefit is being able to move around. I climb up on ladders, sneak around during ceremonies, and weave through people all the time. If you can’t do this, you miss the shot. This last reason is again vain, but I believe it is true. People that are healthy are in general more attractive, and people are usually drawn to more attractive people. I’m not saying this is morally right, but it happens. If looking good can help me book a bride or help me get along with people better, I want that advantage.
Well, my first day of my 4 months to change has gone smoothly. I don’t know if I really update my progress on here that often, but I do plan on putting things on Instagram. If you want to see what’s going on follow me: strieglerphoto. If you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to send me a message or leave a comment.
