Author: David

David's Journal

Making A New Plan

| David

I feel like I’m finally getting into the swing of things. Maybe that old “3 weeks to develop new habits” cliche actually has some merit behind it. I feel like my body has now flipped the switch and is in prime burning mode.

One of the fun things that happens when you’re my size is sometimes things happen in chunks. Yesterday was suddenly a phenomenal workout, when I’ve been dragging the past 3 weeks. Then, as I was complaining about not getting the usual initial water weight dump a couple days ago, I lose 4lbs overnight.

Now, I know not to take too much stock in it as I could easily weigh myself tomorrow and have gained everything back and then some. Or it could be my muscles were holding onto the weight as it adjusted to working out again, who knows.

The lesson to be learned from that is that it’s a good reminder that weight loss is never a linear process, and sometimes when things are stagnant you just have to keep chugging along.

Continue reading “Making A New Plan” →
David's Journal

Re-Introducing Myself

| David

Hi there! I’m David. I’m on a journey to make myself healthy, sometimes I post here and it’s been a heck of a long time!

Now, it’s no secret that breaking decades of poor habits is no easy task. Pretty much everyone says the mental aspect of it is more difficult than they physical aspect. I knew there would be bad days, weeks, even months.

But considering the rush I had out of gate, even with my stumbles along the way, I never would have guessed I would have a bad YEAR, heck year and a half!

Here’s the TLDR since the last post. Had some ups and downs. My inability to handle work related stress got the best of me and I gained everything back and then some. To the point of “largest ever” status (Or at least largest recorded, since I didn’t step on a scale for so long before starting this blog. But considering clothes fitting and whanot, it’s close if not largest).

Continue reading “Re-Introducing Myself” →
David's Journal

Bucktown 5k Again & Acknowledging Negative Mentality

| David

*People say a weight loss journey is more mental than physical. I’ve had a few of these posts, but I’d like to have a very open conversation into the negative mentality that can often plague me.*

Oh hello! My name is David. I write in a blog sometimes, but have been slacking a lot lately. My Instagram and Facebook have been pretty consistent though! A lot has happened in the almost 3 months since my last post: participated in the Sundowner 5k, been pretty consistent with training, and did the Bucktown 5k again today!

I’ll (hopefully) write another post catching up with everything soon, but I’d like to start with recapping today’s race, plus some things that’s been on my mind since. I came to the realization that I’m far too mean to myself mentally. That mindset has helped get me to where I am, but I strongly feel that it’s also preventing me from being where I want to be. Continue reading “Bucktown 5k Again & Acknowledging Negative Mentality” →

David's Journal

Down 20lb Again (Finally) and Bears 5k Training Continued

| David

I have some good news, after weighing myself this morning, I’m finally officially down 20lbs from my “official” largest point! I’m exactly half way between my largest and smallest, although I can say my athletic performance is the best it’s ever been.

However, I did get some of the wind knocked out of my sails when verifying my pre-weight loss challenge weight. I’m just going to bullet point my thoughts.

  • I wrote that a couple months before the challenge I weighed 287, and I was disappointed that I let myself get to that size. Now I’m celebrating a 281 weigh-in.
    • Although, I didn’t know the grasp of everything then, so take that as it is.
  • With this, I can’t let past failures diminish my current accomplishments. Although I do allow it (all the freaking time)
  • Another aside, losing weight has been more difficult this time around, maybe I’m not as aggressive as during the weight loss challenge. Then again, that nutrition plan proved to be unsustainable as it derailed as soon as I got into a stressful situation.

Continue reading “Down 20lb Again (Finally) and Bears 5k Training Continued” →

David's Journal

June Update: 5k training, progress, pace, and gear!

| David

Why hello everyone! It’s been a couple months since I’ve written here, and I do regret that very much. A lot has happened since the last check in, so here’s another update.

My social media presence has been solid, but I’m not writing posts here, I’ll make it more of an effort to write here as it serves a better journal than Facebook or Instagram.

Big picture update: Signed up for the Chicago Bears 5k again, which will be in 2 weeks, had a minor hiccup in May, but I’ve bounced back with lots of momentum on my side. As of writing this, my weight is just a pound less than in April, but my performance (especially cardio) is the best it’s ever been! Continue reading “June Update: 5k training, progress, pace, and gear!” →

David's Journal

Progress Report: April 2017

| David

Yeah, I dropped the “monthly check in” name in exchange for the more vague “Progress Report.” I know I should be more diligent, especially since the whole point of me making this blog is to keep me honest and on track. But it ended up just frustrating me more in my shortcomings, and even though my goal will be to check in monthly, simply calling it a progress report helps me out more mentally.

The last check in of this type was in January, and it’s been an interesting couple of months. Continue reading “Progress Report: April 2017” →

David's Journal

Self Visualization and Motivation

| David

Any of you that know me in real life know that it was just a matter of time before I took a gym bathroom selfie. I was particularly feeling it today at the gym, even though I took a couple days off because the ankle was feeling funky. I was itching to get back to the gym, showing my motivation is doing well.

That got me thinking, I’m taking a lot more pictures of myself now than when I first started. Maybe it’s because I’m more comfortable sharing myself with everyone in general. For example, at the beginning I was hesitant to share specific numbers regarding weight, strength, mph, etc.

Maybe I just hated looking at pictures of myself, maybe the denial was that strong back then. Maybe I just didn’t want to see things as they were.

Perhaps it was that mentality that led to my inability to visualize myself successful. I even think I’ve written in this blog before that I can’t visualize myself thin since I’ve always been large. As my motivation and confidence improve, that statement becomes increasingly false. Continue reading “Self Visualization and Motivation” →

David's Journal

My Journey So Far: Crunching the Numbers

| David

Baker by the Pound started just over two years ago and what a journey it as been. After much number crunching from my workout/weight log it really brought many things into perspective.

Look at this guy after his first workout at Orange Theory, feet standing outward, huffing and puffing after his first workout in years. The journey from this guy to what I am now has been long and full of ups and downs, but one thing’s for sure: I’ve learned a ton about myself, my body, and my abilities.

For me it started with a “what the heck, why not,” instead of a lightbulb motivating moment.

 

Continue reading “My Journey So Far: Crunching the Numbers” →

David's Journal

Check In: More of the Same, but Different….

| David

Now that we’re 10 days into the new year, I’m actually in somewhat a groove and thought I would check in quickly to document where things are right now. I’ve finally undone the damage done over holiday eating and I’m falling back into good habits.

In other words things are the same as last I checked in, however, for some reason things feel a bit different right now. Continue reading “Check In: More of the Same, but Different….” →