Taking a Plunge

So far I’ve been trying to post every two weeks, but this one is coming in a few days late. We’ve had a lot going on in our home. Several kids have been sick, as well as Bekah. I’m still dealing with my lower back issues, but thankfully with rest and the best chiropractic care, it is improving. The hard part is doing the right thing, and making the changes, but to be set back. I don’t like being out of the gym, and thanks to a fantastic online trainer I now have some workouts I can do that won’t hurt my lower back and keep the muscle I’ve built. 

I’ve also decided to add cold plunging to my routine. I know that the benefits may be questionable or minimal, but for me, the help with inflammation could be great. In the past two days my lower back feels better with a cold plunge than it did with icing it multiple times per day. And that’s only 3-4 minutes of cold plunge vs multiple 15 minute icing sessions. Other potential benefits are muscle recovery, improved circulation, immune system activity, mental well-being, and temporary metabolism increases. If nothing else, it’ll be good discipline in doing hard things (like I’m getting from learning to eat healthy, change my environment, and work out regularly). So far, other than the initial shock, it’s been very relaxing and energizing. We’ll see how it does. 

Now for my weigh in. I remained the same for one week, but when I weighed in this past Monday I was 333.6 lbs. That’s a 2.8 lbs loss from two weeks ago. So not quite the 2 lbs. per week I’m aiming for, but still anything 1-2 lbs. per week is success! I have some goals set, and the first will be to hit 25 lbs. down. I’m right at 19.8 lbs. lost right now. So I’m getting close. I’m very grateful for the accountability of my brother and good friends, and others who have been instrumental in helping me re-lose my butter half!

Welcome to Your Late 30s

 

In December of 2022 I had a small medical issue.  Nothing serious at all, but while I was at the doctor I asked him about it.  He checked it out, and let me know everything was good.  His next comment was a little bit of a reality check for me.  He said, “welcome to your late thirties.”  LATE THIRTIES! Why, I wasn’t in my late thirties.  When I got to the car I called Bekah and told her what he said.  To my shock, she chuckled (and not in a “he’s a crazy doctor” type of way) and said, “well, you are in your late thirties!” I really don’t know why, but to me late thirties meant 38 (my current age) or 39 (what I’ll be in Oct), and 35-37 were mid-thirties.  She set me straight, and I know now that I am in my late thirties, and I have all of the new issues that come with it.

It’s been a good couple of weeks. I’m now over a month into re-losing my butter half, and I am learning and adjusting to the changes I’ve put in place. Tracking my food is becoming a habit, and staying within my calories hasn’t been too hard. It took a little more effort this past week because we had family in town and it was Bekah’s and my anniversary. It’s a little frustrating to think that six years ago (our 8th anniversary) I weighed in 100+ lbs less than this year, but that just means I have the motivation to be back at that weight for our 15th anniversary. 

While the past two weeks have gone well in regard to food, I have had a set back with my workouts. I’m not sure if I did something while working out, or just being in my late 30s means I can hurt myself while sleeping. Somehow I have hurt my lower back. It started pretty light, but around Thursday it started really hurting. By Friday I couldn’t really sit much and had to stand up at my desk all day. I’ve been reclining on the couch and was able to get to my chiropractor today. If you don’t have a good chiropractor, then you need to see my good friend Dr. Dawson, in Benton, AR, at Apex Health.  I know he’ll have me pain free and back to exercising again in no time. 

Now for the update on my last two weigh-ins.  Since my last post I have done well with eating and getting more protein. The thing I was struggling with the most was increasing my steps. I was successful in that area a few days. I was able to increase to over 5K steps per day by adding a short walk after my workout, and getting up and walking around the office more throughout the day.  It hasn’t been every day (especially with hurting my back), but it should become more routine over the next few weeks.  My weigh-ins the last two weeks were very encouraging.  I weighed in today at 336.4 lbs.  That’s a 4.2 lb. drop from two weeks ago.  I lost 2 lbs. per week which is the ideal rate for me to hit my end of the year goal.  I may not hit this each week, and it will be ok.  Just like it’s ok that I am in my late thirties.  I’m still going to re-lose my butter half.