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. 

Unmet Expectations

I know I didn’t post last week. I was planning to, but I didn’t have much to say (shocker, I know). So I guess tonight we can talk about the past two weeks. My expectations for week two were missed. In my past weight loss attempts, I’d have a pretty big drop week one, followed by a medium drop week two. It was usually an eight to ten pound drop followed immediately by a four to six pound drop in week two. This time, I dropped nine pounds the first week and then not even a pound for week two. There was a brief moment that I was discouraged by this. But I reminded myself that I had eaten right and worked out hard all week. If I didn’t lose more weight, it would be ok. I had made healthy decisions and stuck to them.

It would have been very easy to get stuck being upset that my expectations weren’t met. But I have started to focus more on making goals and creating plans to meet those goals. If the expectations aren’t met, but I’ve followed the plan, it isn’t failure. It just means my work produced a different outcome. 

So, let’s talk about week three. I made sure to follow my plan. At least four days in the gym (I had to adjust because I had a bug a couple mornings), eat at 100-130 grams of protein per day (this is tough), and eat at a calorie deficit. The last part of my plan is to walk 6,000-10,000 steps per day. That just isn’t happening yet. But I’ll get there. I weighed again this morning and came in at 340.6 lbs. That’s exactly three pounds less that last week! Bringing my total amount lost to 12.8 lbs! I hope to drop one to two pounds a week from here out. So, even if I have more weeks that don’t meet my expectations, as long as I keep putting the hard work in, I’ll eventually hit my goal of re-losing my butter half. 

It’s Been… One Week Since You Looked at Me

I can’t believe I’ve already hit the one week mark on my restart.

I really wasn’t sure how this week would go. Honestly, it wasn’t that bad. I hit the gym multiple days and stayed under calories each day. A few days it was even hard to get enough calories. I know that will change some as I drop weight, but I’m really excited about this past week. 

When you’ve accomplished something like I did seven years ago, it is insanely tough to have to restart it all again. I don’t know how many times in those blog posts I talked about it being “for good.”  Having wasted all that hard work is a real mind job. It’s emotionally, mentally, and physically tough to think about the progress I made, and where I am now. Still, I’m excited to be restarting and to have the accountability of both my brother and a good friend/workout buddy. Also, my best friend, and partner in crime, my beautiful wife is helping and encouraging me along the way. 

I’m not sure if I said where started last week or not. I had crept back up to 353.4 lbs!  I had been working out a lot this past year, but had just been out-eating my workouts. So I do believe there was more muscle to that weight than there was 8 years ago, but still… it is way too heavy. So after my first week I am happy to report that I am down to 343.8 lbs! That’s a 9.6 lb drop this past week. Now I know that is the typical “first week drop” that happens, but it was still very encouraging. I’ll probably drop 4-6 lbs. this next week, and then it should taper down to 2 lbs. per week. 

Anyway, if anyone is reading this, I appreciate your time and the accountability you provide. Here’s to another great week of re-losing my butter half!

Guess Who’s Back?

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been almost six years since my last entry. There is quite a bit I could fill you in on. In that time our family has increased by 33%. I’ve swapped companies. We’ve moved to a different home. And I’ve completely let my health go.

It’s been very frustrating. I mean the whole point of this blog was for the accountability I needed to lose the weight and keep it off. I find myself getting close to the weight I was when I first started nearly seven years ago. I have been strength training for about a year now, but I didn’t change my eating habits. So now I’m stronger, but also heavier than I was when I first started lifting. Thankfully, I have a great group of guys to keep me going there. So it’s on to the hard part. Building the habits that I had six years ago. Changing my environments, gaining self-control, and working hard towards my goals  

So today I’m starting over again. This time I have help from my brother who started with me today. I have accountability from one of my pastors and workout partners. And I want that third element back. I want to have all of you out there. I know there are others like me who have lost weight and put it back on. Maybe I can encourage you to join me as I’m going to try again to lose my butter half.