This is sort of a continuation of my April 2016 wrap up post, but in the midst of this rough period of my life, one thing that’s remained positive is my journey to healthiness. Today’s workout was led by a trainer that I’ve never met, and afterward he gave me a pat on the back and said, “you killed it man!” I noticed during the workout he kept a watch on me in the mirror and seemed to be surprised at what I was doing, that someone my size shouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing, and that’s a real testament to the work I’ve put in over the past year and change. Continue reading “A Testament To My Progress”
Author: David
Being Tested Early
I promised myself I would be an open book with the blog, to show an accurate journal or something going through a weight loss journey. I knew there would be triumphs, and I knew that I would be tested.
Just a few days have passed since I posted What I’m Up Against in this whole weight loss journey. Let’s take a moment to reread the 2nd to last sentence of that post, “It’s time to put in the work, stay disciplined, stay focused, and not let my emotions get me off track.” I had no clue that the true test of that statement would come so quickly. Continue reading “Being Tested Early”
Wrap-Up: April 2016
It’s about time I started these again! I’ve been putting it off because of the shame of the weight I’ve gained back. Speaking of, we have a new geeky reference for my slip-ups. Joining the Oregon Trail wagon bursting into flames I present to you, the Shame Nun from Game of Thrones!
Now that that’s out of the way and I’ve faced the music (because of the bell, get it?!?!) Let’s begin this recap of my current status. Continue reading “Wrap-Up: April 2016”
Weight Loss Journey – What I’m Up Against
I believe it’s Sun Tzu that said something along the lines of, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.” It’s no secret that the weight loss journey is long and grueling, a battle that many lose. In order to be successful and keep motivated to fully attack this head on, it’s good to know your enemy. So I’m going to examine exactly what I’m up against in my battle to be healthy.
I’m going to split these up into two general categories: internal and external factors. Continue reading “Weight Loss Journey – What I’m Up Against”
Weight Loss Journey – My Long Term Vision & Motivation
I’m going to be honest for a second, this past year and change has been rough. Since starting this blog/journal, I’ve had many high points and many low points. In the end, I can say a few things confidently: I’ve lost a net 10 lbs, I’ve learned a ton about my body and the biology of fitness, and I’ve battled motivation and a ton of injuries that in hindsight seemed inevitable for someone that’s been my size for as long as I’ve been.
While I wish that net loss number was higher, it would have been amazing if I maintained that net 40 lb loss (which I had almost a year to the date from today) and extended beyond, I need to learn from those mistakes and continue to move forward.
As of right now, I’m considering this a reboot. I am re-dedicating myself to this blog and doubling down with social media and more to come.
Bbtp Facebook, Twitter, Instagram! Continue reading “Weight Loss Journey – My Long Term Vision & Motivation”
Slowly Learning
I still have to think and write out my long motivational post, but wanted to write a quick post about a baby step of progress.
Last night, in the middle of the night, I woke up with some discomfort in my right heel. Going into today the discomfort stuck around and I felt some in my lower calf as well. Very strange thing considering I took the past two days off, so you’d think if it was an injury I’d feel it right away.
In those two days, I was lazy with stretching, in that I didn’t do any on Sunday and I didn’t do anything until rolling out on the foam roller last night (foam roller you say? There’s a post about that coming up very soon!). So chances are it’s tight calves.
The baby steps of progress is that I took my own advise for once! Continue reading “Slowly Learning”
The Psychology of Weight Loss
Everyone says that the weight loss journey more mental than physical, in fact, many will say that it’s ALL mental. I always heard that phrase and understood the journey would be difficult, but I never truly understood the psychology of weight loss until recently. I also never realized how much of a mental battle it’s been until I started reflecting and reading old posts.
Last year, when I lost pound #40, I remember thinking that it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be, I was confident and maybe even a bit cocky. But anyone that’s read more than one post of this blog has seen that every time I was at my most optimistic I would soon have a stumble or fall.
It’s really surprising just how extreme the highs and lows have been, and the dichotomy really takes it’s tolls. Continue reading “The Psychology of Weight Loss”
5k #2 – Night Nation Run
This is a dramatic reenactment of a conversation between me and one of my friends:
Him: It’s really cool that you did the 5k and everything, it’s really inspiring.
Me: Thanks man, I really appreciate it. Any motivational tool is great!
Him: I’ve been thinking about maybe doing a 5k this summer.
Me: Nice! That’s awesome, you should totally do one!
Him: So…which one should we do?!?!
Me: ….oh…….
So, guess what? It’s time for 5k #2! This time, instead of the more traditional/competitive race of the Bucktown 5k I did last September, we’re breaking out the glow sticks, blasting the EDM, and doing the Night Nation Run in Chicago on April 16th.
Lolo 10-lb challenge, because why not?
If there’s something that I learned the past year, it’s that I have a competitive spirit and need something to work towards to be successful on this health journey. Knowing that, I need to keep setting mini goals to have. I think I have to revisit some of the motivation factors I wrote about last year, and really figure out my game plan.
Something I stumbled across is the 10 Pound Challenge from Lolo. If you recall, Lolo was one of the apps I first downloaded when I started training for the Bucktown 5k, so they send me periodical emails. This one was promoting the challenge, here’s the rundown: Continue reading “Lolo 10-lb challenge, because why not?”
Trying Out A 21 Day Cleanse
I’ve definitely gained weight since the 5k. My rest/recovery period turned into a full on break from everything, which is very bad. So when the opportunity presented itself for me to try a 21 day cleanse, I figured why not. A few people at my work were doing it, we’re all trying to get healthier, so why not and do it as a team!
Something to take of note, this is a cleanse/purification system. So the goal of this is NOT to lose weight, but to detox your body. Weight loss may be a part of it, but the whole point of this is to rid yourself of toxins, so you have to go in with that mindset.
We even decided to do pre and post cleanse blood drawing to see the improvement. Here’s how everything went down. Continue reading “Trying Out A 21 Day Cleanse”