Weekly weigh in

3 more pounds down.

I wasn't nearly as on point as normal this week and still managed to stay on track, because I was consistently hitting most of my daily 'must do's' and not letting small things derail the process.

I had burgers. A ton of cheese. Too much bread. Cheesecake. Chocolate. Fried chicken. Things I have made it a point to avoid or at least limit to once in a blue moon.

Not overt amounts of any of those things, but more of them than I've had in the 3-4 months prior - just in a week.

Slacked on steps compared to the standards I have established, too. But kept lifting hard, and still got enough steps in to be considered 'very active' - i.e. to burn fat and improve my fitness.

Shared that in the name of transparency and accountability. It was more of the 80/20 rule some love to adhere by, whereas I've been 100/0 - 95/5 since May.

It was cool to see that relaxing my rules didn't thwart my progress, but that experiment is over.

Back to being more hard-core.

Burn the ships, as the saying goes.

Lets. Effing. GO.

The groove is deep

It wasn't exactly a neat and tidy return to the routine...

Even after recovering from my bout of tummy trouble, I wasn't getting up at 5am. Wasn't getting my supposedly non-negotiable 20k steps. 

Still got in my protein, water, vitamins, and resistance training, but sleep was poor.

Today I got up early, despite not getting enough sleep. Got an early start to cardio and steps, and just hit 20k. Ate one big meal at midday, but won't eat again till midday tomorrow. Still crushed all the other must-do's. And laying down before 10pm.

So yeah, I'm thinkin' I'm back.

Squashing bugs

Been dealing with an upset stomach since some poor choices this weekend.

No, not alcohol - just bad food choices.

On the one hand, I hit my protein goals. But it was countered by too many calories, too much saturated fat, too many carbs, and too much sugar in general.

I've gotten decent steps in but nowhere near my standard amounts. I've cleaned up my eating mostly. And as hard as it was to get going I lifted weights just now - way late but better than never.

Tomorrow I will get my groove back. I believe I've gotten over the funk now... At least I hope so. It took some of the wind out of my sails but I still motored through.

Consistency wins again. Can't stop, won't stop 

Weigh Day

Down 3 pounds this week.

I didn't have my best week overall. Poor sleep, some high-calorie meals, lower step count, and stress.

But I came out the other side having kept up with most things - no missed resistance training workouts, hitting my water goals, hitting my protein goals, and still getting at least some daily cardio and mobility work in.

This is a long-term process, and I'm still tracking towards my long-term goals.

LFG

Pro Tip

Control cortisol, don't let it control you.

And don't let your elevated and unchecked cortisol levels cause you to introduce undue stress to your loved ones.

Carry on.

Rest day

I reached another weight loss milestone this morning, then promptly got in 70+ minutes of cardio.

For my 1st meal at noon, I had 2 slices of pizza + a big green salad topped with some sliced chicken breast.

For dinner I'm working on a big pot of carnitas, some yellow rice, and refried beans. Not sure if I'll eat all of those things, or have a protein shake and some type of healthy carbs.

Not really ready for the weekend to be over, but im prepared for it nontheless.

Weekend Update

Woke up today a pound lighter than yesterday.

Had errands to run early. Came back and got in 74 minutes of steady state cardio in the blazing sun. Stayed on top of my water. Drank some electrolytes. Took my vitamins. Getting my steps in.

And I ate the damn baked egg bites, chicken breast, and green salad. And today, they were delicious, and all that I wanted.

I will finish my gallon of water. Crush a leg workout later. And have something high protein, nutrient-dense, and with moderate carbs and calories for my 2nd and last meal of the day.

This is how I've been winning. And it is how I will reach my goals.

LFG

Choices and resilient adaptations

I wanted to try a new-ish place today; they had an interesting menu and I didnt necessarily want baked egg and spinach bites, chicken breast, and a green salad again.

I got a burger that was made from 2 8oz patties, what felt like six strips of bacon, and a truck full of produce. Served with a boatload of in-house made potato chips.

It was awesome, but I estimate it was around 2300-2400 calories, conservatively. So right then and there I decided to enjoy it fully, and that it would be my only meal today.

I got 24k steps in. Took my vitamins. Drank my gallon of water. Crushed a back and triceps workout. Did an hour of mobility work. And enjoyed the heck out of my one meal.

Wont be doing that again anytime soon, but I am at peace with both my choice to do it, and the way that I adjusted to accommodate my choice and stay locked in on my goals 

Weekly Weigh-in

4 more lbs down.

About to cross another milestone.

LETS GO!!!!

Grinding on

I did a fridge cleanout today, in the sense that I ate the leftover takeout that no one wanted anymore. Ended with around 1400 calories for my 1st meal, so my post workout 2nd meal was just a protein shake made with some coconut sugar and fruit.

Under calorically for the day, didn't get my normal big bowl of greens in, but I hit my protein totals and dont feel like a failure... So that's a win in my book.

Water on point. Steps on point. Resistance training on point.

Sleep is meh. A couple days overdue for a full on mobility training session as well. But I'm still improving each day, so again, I'll take that vs. the alternative.

Numbers

It is easy to get caught up with the various numbers associated with the effort of becoming fit or maintaining fitness. And, with that, it is also easy to lose your way due to fixating on the numbers that matter less in the grand scheme of things.

Especially when starting out, seeing the number on the scale dwindling downwards motivates us, feeds our sense of accomplishment. But when things slow down and the weight loss gets tougher, we often become disappointed, discouraged, and lose perspective.

We lose traction in the larger war that we're fighting with ourselves by obsessing over a perceived lost battle.

The goal of getting fit and/or maintaining fitness is a life change based on multiple decisions that power a steady effort, day after day, across months and (preferably) years. You may have goals to reach, but there is no finish line - the pursuit is, by its very nature, ongoing. If the point is to be your best, then the idea is to work at it even after you've hit your target weight or fitness level.

Even on the days where you don't hit your step count, or don't increase your rep count, or don't nail your macros, but you still show up and make an effort, you are winning the race. You are outpacing the version of you that didn't want to put the work in. You are forging a better version of you than if you hadn't done those things to make yourself more fit.

That is progress that won't always show up on weigh days, or in the mirror, or with a set of calipers.

Regardless of what the voice of self-doubt may whisper in your ear, don't stop or give up - push yourself forward. If you don't have much to give, then give yourself enough grace to be OK with doing what you can, however little that may be, and realize that it is enough.

You may find renewed strength after you get things underway, but you'll never know until you take that first step forward.

Just keep moving forward, and don't ever, ever give up on yourself.

You are worth it.

Weigh Day

4 more pounds down.

Monthly weight loss target reached, and just barely.

It's been one of the worst weeks in recent memory, due to a close family member having an emergency health issue that's required hospitalization.

My schedule has been impacted, I've been stressed, and my sleep has been poor. I missed a workout on Wednesday when it happened, only got just over 10k steps in, and had Chinese takeout that night.

But I didnt fall off a cliff. Instead, I've rebounded.

Despite everything that happened that day I still made some good choices. Getting in as many steps as I did (10k is more than most people). Eating reasonably well for my 1st meal (eggs, a bit of brisket, rice cakes, peanut butter, and an apple). And my takeout choices that night were respectable, given the circumstances; over half of my plate was veggies, I had lots of protein, the carbs were moderate, nothing was deep fried, and the overall portion size was reasonable.

Daily calories ended up being higher than was ideal, and I felt as though I'd let myself down with the lack of exercise. But this is a marathon, not a sprint.

So yesterday I got 22k + steps in. Did 2 weight training sessions - morning and evening - to get back on track. And I ate at the very bottom end of my caloric allowance to make up for the transgressions of the day before.

I got up at 5am to do my first hour of cardio, but after a few minutes went back to bed. I knew my body needed that extra 2 hours of sleep before my workday started, and boy was I right.

After getting up a second time today, having weighed in and hit my target weigh, I'm ready.

Ready to get my steps in, ready to have a solid day of eating, ready to crush another workout tonight. Ready to deal with the stresses of everything that's happened this week.

Ready for the weekend.

Ready to hit another weight loss target next month.

LFG.

Struggling

3 nights of too little sleep is kicking my ass.

Workouts have been awesome this week. Getting to 20k daily but barely. Water intake steady. Eating has been sketchy - upper caloric range too many times.

Discipline needs to resurge if Friday's weigh in is gonna go well.

So This Is What It's Like?

I got 8 hours of sleep last night.

Precisely. 

Took about 9 hours to get it, but I got it.

I started my day with a hundred minute, just over 5 mile walk... Now I'm mowing the lawn.

I feel superhuman.

Is this normal? I don't have enough data to know if it can wholly be attributed to the sleep... But I'm gonna try it again and see if that is indeed the case.

I ate dinner prior to lifting weights, which was also not part of my normal routine. I had a sandwich for three meals in a row (chicken salad for dinner night before last, a burger yesterday 1st meal, a blackened chicken sandwich yesterday evening) - but I still didn't exceed 100 carbs on either day.

I am confounded. But let's see how this plays out by day's end.

Stubborn

I still got over 20k steps on this damn tracker, which puts my actual total at approximately 28k for the day.

Yay me.

Weekly Weight Check

Down 3 lbs this week.

Happy with that, especially given that 4 of those days were spent vacationing and relaxing the rules a little bit.

There is a dark cloud over today, though: my tracker battery died just as I started my morning cardio. Roughly 7k steps and 60 min of activity unaccounted for, which is a pity.

But the work still got done - knowing that will have to be enough.

I think there is a lesson in there that applies to more than just fitness metrics...

P.S. the pesto chicken salad and homemade bread was AMAZING. That is all.