About This
Hello.
My name is Kevin Patrick Robbins and I am an entrepreneur, comedian, writer, photographer and body hacker. Now, I am adding personal challenger to that list. Oh, lists… they are what have led me to developing this latest version of my personal website.
Wait, I have to go back a bit…
It’s the end of December 2011, shortly after Christmas, less than a week after I weighed in under 200 pounds for the first time in 14 years. Wait, I have to go back a bit…
It’s Aug. 22, 2011 and for the past few months I have read a ton of blogs and books on weight loss. To be clear, I did not read books on dieting. I read books that talked about the science of your body and what actually goes on in your body when you choose to do certain things to it, certain things like put food into it, or submerge it in cold water, or just… don’t let it sit and do nothing. Doing nothing is a choice.
I wanted to arm myself with knowledge and scientific fact because I knew people would eventually notice and ask me about my weight loss. I knew a lot of people are misinformed about what actually goes on, or only have half the knowledge, or a rudimentary knowledge based on what they heard some person say once on Oprah, Dr. Phil or Dr. Oz. (I challenge you to turn off your TVs and actually read a book; actually learn about the human body.) What books? Start with everything written by Gary Taubes and The 4-Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss.
On Aug. 22, 2011, I weighed 249.8 pounds. On Dec. 23, 2011 I weighed 199.8 pounds. I had shed 50 pounds.
A quick sidebar to introduce the importance of semantics: I try to say “shed weight”, “dropped weight” or “burned fat” because I don’t like the term or idea of “lost” weight, or “losing” weight. I made the choice to get rid of it; I didn’t lose it and I don’t plan on looking for it again. Also, I did not go on a diet, I changed my diet. A diet is whatever you routinely eat. Even if you eat pizza every day, that is a diet; it’s not a healthy one, but it is a diet.
So, I changed my diet on Aug. 22, and by Dec. 23, a mere four months later, I had burned off 50 pounds of fat. And I would guess that it was 95 per cent dietary. I started lifting dumb bells occasionally throughout the day in my living room, taking a break from working now and then, but that was just because as the weight started coming off, my arms looked weak and lame.
Phase I started out as a personal challenge to lose 100 pounds in 100 days. A highly unrealistic goal, but one I was determined to achieve. I clearly didn’t reach that goal, but it got me motivated and halfway there. I had also promised myself that when I got below 200 pounds, I would join a gym and move into Phase II, where I am currently, muscle development. My goal has shifted focus from rapid weight reduction (accomplished!) to an athletic level of body fat, specifically: 9% body fat with the body of a fitness model.
Wait, I have to go back a bit…
It’s the end of December 2011, shortly after Christmas, less than a week after I weighed in under 200 pounds for the first time in 14 years. Since I’ve accomplished a weight reduction of 50 pounds, I feel like I need a new challenge. I’m preparing for my shift into Phase 2 and I feel like just focusing on the body modification is no longer enough.
New Year’s Eve is approaching and I’m thinking about resolutions. I’m thinking about how and why no one is able to stick to their resolutions and I don’t want to be that guy. What keeps people from achieving their resolutions is the ambiguity and immeasurability of those resolutions. So, instead of making resolutions for 2012, I decided to create a list of challenges for myself — challenges that are SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. To be precise, a list of 100 challenges that are actually… challenging.
I unveiled my idea on Facebook on Jan. 1, 2012. People immediately wanted to know what was on the list. It created a discussion and a stir and led to other people starting lists of their own. Since I had changed my body type so rapidly and become an inspiration to those many people around me (my Facebook friends lists already consists of 2600+ people), I was asked to start blogging about it. I added blog about it regularly to my list; arguably one of the most vague challenges, but I’ll have to refine it as I figure out what this is going to be.
So here it is and here you are, present day for you, Jan. 11, 2012 for me. This is blog about my ongoing adventures in body modification, my personal life and my 100 Things Challenge.