November in December...

 It has been an amazing past several weeks, weather-wise, and I feel like I've managed to get quite a bit out of the outdoors. Thanksgiving Day I realized I couldn't smell anything so I ended up getting an impromptu 6 days off of work to go along with my positive COVID diagnosis. I was blessed by not having any other symptoms, so I was able to accomplish quite a bit in general: a walk or run every day, organizing my basement (and getting rid of a good deal of trash to boot!), finishing the assembly of my workbench in my shop.

A day or two before Thanksgiving I ordered a Garmin Forerunner 45S, and it arrived the Thursday after Thanksgiving. I can already say it's been a great addition to my workout routine! I'm about halfway through a 10K training program and it's been phenomenal to have tons of data beyond "you went this distance in that amount of time". I was able to obtain this device at a significant discount through a friend, but I would gladly have paid the full $200 price tag.

This morning was probably the first major hurdle in my daily workout routine. It rained pretty much all day yesterday and turned to snow overnight; by the time I woke a little after 4, there were at least 3 inches of snow on the ground. I went out to give my walk a shot, but with no sidewalks cleared and my shoes letting snow in, I only made it about a half mile from home before I decided to turn around. I needed to get some clearing done in my driveway anyway, so I was able to tackle that and still have plenty of time to enjoy my coffee before leaving for work. I'm hoping things are cleared off enough for my run tomorrow morning, but if I have to put that off a day or two I guess that's just life.

I'm thinking I will have to invest in a new pair of running shoes soon. Parts of the soles on my current pair had separated, although I was able to use a combination of super glue and Gorilla glue to hold them together. And then there are the holes over my toes where the snow was getting in this morning. The loop near my house that I use is between 4 1/4 and 4 1/2 miles, and I've managed that almost every day for several weeks now; I think it's safe to say I've walked or run over 150 miles in the last 5-6 weeks, and these shoes saw a lot of use 5-7 years ago before I pretty much put them away.

As of two days ago I finally dropped below 200 pounds. Except for a brief time in 2003 due to some depression issues, I haven't been this light since my freshman year of college in 2000. I was thinking about that year yesterday, remembering how I had to do a food-logging exercise for a couple of days for health class. I thought it was so funny that I decided to take those days to eat an entire roll of Pillsbury cookie dough. Maybe not as bad as the drinking binge my high school anatomy teacher told us about from when he did a similar exercise in college, but still, pretty disgusting when I think about it.

Sorry, this post is a bit stream-of-consciousness, but I hope you found it entertaining.

Keep on keepin' on...

Persistence is key to achieving success, and I'm starting to see some solid results. I've almost finished my second week of the C25K program and am hopeful that the weather will allow me to get all the way through by the end of November. Super cool! I'm managing to get close to 10,000 steps most days. Today I took advantage of being at work 30 minutes early by getting in a 25-minute walk before my shift started and another 15 during my morning break. I don't want to overdo anything, but at the same time I wouldn't mind my full hour-long, 4-mile trek around my neighborhood. Tonight, though, with an appointment for me and a class for my wife, I will be content with even doing a few laps around my backyard.

I'm also down to 227.8 pounds, and my pants are getting quite loose at the waist. Not enough to fall off, but enough that I have to cinch my belt pretty good to keep my shirt appropriately tucked in. Another 10 pounds and I might have to seriously consider some new pants. Nothing too crazy, I don't really feel like replacing my wardrobe multiple times if I can at all help it. I've also noticed that my neck has slimmed down, which I expected as that's where my weight loss has been most visible during the early stages of the process when I've done this before.

This week I added dumbbells to my morning routine and so far that's going well, too. The soreness is real, and it'll probably take another week or two to get over that. I might need to tweak the order in which I work the major muscle groups, too. Still a lot of experimentation going on.

My wife took pictures of me last week, I haven't even looked at them yet. I'll probably have her take new ones in 2-3 weeks and then maybe I'll put up a comparison post.

I'm enjoying how much better I feel overall so far and I have real hopes about making some lasting changes in my life. I hope you can find your inspiration and do the same!

Progress update

Hey all, thought I would share a bit of an update.

So I started with Noom on 9/23/2020. I shared a bit how it works, looking at the mindset behind how/why/when a person eats. And, of course, there's the calorie counting and exercise tracking. In terms of actual weight loss, the app asks for a daily weigh-in, and with 9 weigh-ins recorded, I have not yet had an upward spike, which is pretty cool. I started at 238.8 on 9/23 and this morning clocked in at 229.6, which is a lost of 9.2 pounds in 9 days. It's interesting that despite the reduced calories and increased exercise, I have not really felt abnormally hungry, just what I would consider a healthy "Hey, lunch is in 15 minutes" little rumble; I'm not sitting here 2 hours before my next meal in agony over not having something to eat.

I was inspired by Jonathan Pritchett, cohost of the Trinity Radio podcast (Trinity Radio in iTunes, or on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzBRc0afgrS-PCrm6nka1_A) and contributor to the new Theology Geek Fitness YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3He2-tSeKpL0xv1CCduC2g). He lost 60 pounds in 6 months in 2019 and was highly regimented in his exercise and nutrition routines. While I have not gone as extreme as he did (he was consuming 1500 calories/day but also spending what I figure was an hour at the gym for weights five days/week and walking 6-8 miles seven days/week), I can see that a no-nonsense, don't-have-to-think-about-it approach to meals in particular is something that should work well for me. Except for dinners, which my wife usually makes, I have more or less eaten the same thing at the same time every day since Thursday, 9/24. And right now my body is loving it.

Today marks the end of a seven-day stretch at work for me (I rotate weekends, working about one a month; when I work a weekend, I get the Thursday before and the Friday after off), so with a three-day weekend ahead of me that will hopefully include time for some reflection on how I will proceed, I am planning to treat myself a little bit. Not crazy, but I'm looking forward to a buffalo wing substitute recipe I found: take a bunch of cauliflower florets, shake them up with some buffalo sauce, and bake at 400 degrees for 38 minutes. I should also have time to do a bit more grocery shopping. I've been having a banana at my morning break (about 10 AM) and an apple at my afternoon break (about 2:30 PM), and I'm thinking to switch one of those to some baby carrots and hummus on occasion. Again, simple changes.

I believe I am prepared for the eventual stalling out that is inevitable, although we will see when it hits. And there will be times when calorie counting will not be possible or my counts will exceed my daily allowance. I'm not super concerned about that as long as it doesn't become a habit, nor do I have plans to punish myself the following day. It's nice to have a feeling of freedom. Tuesday night I was at a class at my church, and the refreshments during the break included Papa John's pizza. I had enough calories in the bank to cover two pieces, but I only felt like I wanted one, so that's all I had, and I ate it without feeling guilty. While I enjoyed going through the Whole 30 several times in the past (heck, my family still eats several of those meals on a regular basis), the feeling of missing out is real and can be a serious struggle, even if you only follow such a strict protocol for 30 days (and I was initially considering doing it from now until the end of the year).

For my exercising, I have so far only been walking and using the C25K running app. My plan is to do C25K M/W/F until it's too cold to do it outside (I won't do it on the treadmill again after my back flare-up in 2014), and walk for an hour, either outdoors or on the treadmill, Th/Sat/Sun, with Tuesday being a cardio rest day since Tuesday afternoons and evenings are totally filled for the next several weeks. I am going to add my dumbbell exercises M-F mornings before I go to work starting 10/5, which will mean exercising some new self-discipline (in bed, lights off, phone off, no later than 10 PM, ideally by 9:30, and waking by 4:30 AM).

I'm still in what Noom calls the Honeymoon Phase of this journey, yet it is very exciting. I think this is the first time I've looked at weight loss and overall health with a fully positive attitude.

Quick Update

Okay, I've been to the gym twice this week and haven't posted about it yet, so I figured I'd better get that out of the way before I forget.

Monday morning I managed 3.77 miles in my hour, which comes out to a 15:54 pace.

Today I pushed 4.03 miles, which is a 14:53 pace. I'll admit, I threw in a few 6.0 mph jogging intervals...I just couldn't help myself as I've been feeling so good! I'm going to shoot for similar distances at least twice more this week.

Somewhere along the way, I'm looking forward to incorporating strength training again. I'm still a bit nervous about my low back and wand to add weights in slowly, though I am still hopeful that I might even get into P90X before the end of the year.

Goals are important, and so is flexibility. The key is to keep doing something.

Stay on target!

Back at it this morning with a nice brisk walk. I can definitely tell my legs are getting used to activity again, which is a good sign. I was also itching to up the speed to a moderate jog, but I'm wanting to hold back on that for a few more days at the very least, preferably a couple weeks or more. I'm feeling good, though. The only thing that would be better would be a treadmill in my apartment so I could come straight home after work and not have to deal with the 20 minutes or so of diverted driving. Oh well, I can't have everything in life.

Some numbers, if you care. I covered 3.62 miles in my hour, which comes out to a 16:34-mile. I'm anxious to see that number cut in half by sometime this summer.

What are your fitness goals? What will you do to ensure you achieve them?

Keeping it going...

I hit the gym again this morning after work and had an easier time of it than yesterday. I'm still not where I'd like to be, but that will come with time. Having a goal in mind is helpful...that, and patience.

There is definitely some loosening of leg muscles, but my lower back was still stiff when I woke up this evening. Part of that could be from the bed I'm sleeping on while doing this overnight schedule, but I'm sure it also has to do with the muscles back there being weaker in general and that I'm starting to stress them a little bit.

Again for those of you who like numbers (I admit, I'm one of them), I did 3.60 miles in 60 minutes, which is a 16:40 pace. I don't expect it's going to improve all that much anytime soon, but I'll still post values as I have them.

What stops you from adding activity to your life? What can/do you do to overcome such obstacles?

Back to basics...

With low-back pain continuing to be a problem for me, I decided that I needed to step back from actual running and work on simply getting movement into my routine. So this morning I went to the gym and hit the treadmill for an hour. The first half hour especially I could feel my muscles were very tight, not the most pleasant of feelings and something I definitely need to change. I'm going to try to get in most days for the next several weeks and log some walking miles before attempting to work on the C25K program again.

I admit, it's somewhat frustrating, but I have to realize that I'm not 20 years old and I've abused my body for so long that it's going to take time to get it to respond the way I want it to. I also have to keep things in perspective: I am still able to move.

For you number jockeys, I did 3.52 miles, which comes out to a 17:02 pace.

How do you face setbacks and discouragement in your workout routines?

A good long walk...

I went to the gym today to get in a decent walk. Since I'm paying for the membership, I might as well use it, and it's another scorcher today, so I wouldn't have wanted to walk outside anyway. I could have stayed home and done some strength training exercises, which I probably should be doing, but I think I'll see about getting consistent with that next week when I should be back on my normal MWF running schedule.


Anyway, I logged 2 miles today in 30 minutes. A brisk walking pace seemed like a good idea to get my metabolism fired up a bit this afternoon. I'm really looking forward to my run tomorrow, which was further emphasized by my wanting to crank the speed up today. How great is that? :D


Hope you're finding time to get some activity in today.

A new blog for a new life

Welcome to my new blog, devoted to my pursuit of weight loss and an overall healthier lifestyle. While I haven't ever been what I would consider obese (even though the medical height/weight charts would put me in that category), I've struggled with being heavier than I ought to be and a general level of unfitness. My goal isn't to be a muscle-bound he-man, nor to have a washboard stomach with six-pack abs. I simply want to be healthy so that I may serve my wife, my future children, and, most of all, God Almighty, to the best of my ability for as long as I am allowed to live on this earth.


There are two main aspects to my unhealthy life up to this point:
1) overeating, particularly of things like candy and pop
2) inactivity


The past few months have been a struggle for me. On November 21st, 2011, I started the P90X program for the second time. I had originally started the program in July and made it about six weeks in before being hired for a new job, looking for a new place to live, and moving some 200 miles interrupted my routine. It's a poor excuse, but I used it well. So, after 10-11 weeks of general inactivity, I restarted the program, having noticed considerable results in the six weeks from before. During the workout, however, I felt a twinge on the outside of my right knee while doing some push-ups. I figured I had overdone it and so backed off the push-ups, but finished the rest of the routine (two days later, when I could hardly lift my arms, I knew I had overdone it).


My leg was sore, and my gait was affected, so I decided I would wait a few days for it to improve. A few days became a few weeks, and finally on December 27th I got in to see a chiropractor, assuming my back was part of the problem (an additional symptom was that every time I rolled over in bed, pain would shoot down my right leg). X-rays showed a scoliosis-type curve to the right in my lower back, and that my right hip was significantly higher than my left. I went through a few adjustments and was starting to feel better, until January 5th. That morning I woke up in considerable pain and was barely able to stand, much less walk. I saw the chiropractor twice that day and twice the next, taking off of work because I wouldn't have been able to function. I didn't return to work until January 17th, but because of a delay in getting a work release from the chiropractor, I spent about three hours at work before coming home, never having set foot in the lab itself. While sitting around waiting, I called Iowa Ortho, an orthopedic center affiliated with Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. They couldn't get me in until February 6th, but I made an appointment anyway.


The next day I went to work and managed about 6 1/2 hours before the pain was enough that I needed to return home. The husband of one of my coworkers is a chiropractor, Dr. Crivaro, and seeing that my visits to the first one weren't resolving my issue, I decided to see him. I was able to get in on Thursday, January 19th, having taken the day off. I stayed home on the 20th, too, and on Monday the 23rd and Tuesday the 24th. I saw Dr. Crivaro both of those days, and I was doing quite a bit better by the time I walked into his office Tuesday. At that point he felt comfortable enough writing me a work release.


I generally only made it two or three days at a time before I needed to take a day, sometimes two, off from work, but I was definitely seeing progress. I continued in this fashion until my appointment at Iowa Ortho. The visit was short, but the Physician's Assistant and the Doctor both made a preliminary diagnosis of a herniated disc in my lower back. They recommended an MRI, and in order to help me be capable of lying down for it, I was giving a six-day prescription for Predinsolone, a steroidal anti-inflammatory, and a ten-day prescription for Cyclobenzaprine, a muscle relaxant. I was in some discomfort when I went in for the MRI on the 8th, but with some adjusting and putting pads under my right leg, I was able to make it through the half-hour scan. Until the results came back, I was told not to go back to work. I was able to see the doctor on the 13th, and the diagnosis of a herniated disc was confirmed. The doctor wanted to wait four weeks and then see me again as herniated discs can often resolve on their own.


I went back to work, making it full days but not full weeks at first. I had the doctor's office prescribe more muscle relaxants and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, which seemed to help. I ended up not taking either on Sunday, February 26th, and felt pretty good. I went to work on the 27th without taking any, and made it through the day with little trouble, though my muscles were tired by the end. At some point in the week, I started taking the muscle relaxant in the morning before going to work, but I made it all five days, a major blessing.


Then, this past week, my wife, Abi, got sick (as did many of the people at our church, and since we had had a potluck on Sunday, we're wondering how much sickness was going around and then got picked up by others). I started feeling sick yesterday and ended up coming home after three hours with a massive headache and some terrible nausea. Much to my relief, after a couple hours' sleep and some food, I felt pretty much 100% better.


So that brings me to today, the beginning of this blog, and choices that need to be made. I still occasionally feel a bit of tingling down my leg, so I'm guessing the disc issues haven't fully resolved, though things are getting much better. With that in mind, a full-blown workout incorporating weights doesn't seem like the smartest of choices to make at this point in time. The weather has been phenomenal lately for mid-March; today it's supposed to reach 67 degrees, and except for tomorrow, the rest of the ten-day forecast has highs no lower than 60 degrees, many days 70 and above. With clear skies predicted for most of the ten days, too, it seems that getting outside would be in order. I have in the past embarked on a running program, the Couch to 5K program at www.c25k.com, but I don't know as I'm quite up for that yet, either. That leaves me with getting out and walking, and that's a great place to start.


I invite you to follow me as I begin what will hopefully not be just a few week or few month endeavor, but rather a lifetime of good choices leading to an overall healthier lifestyle. Your comments and encouragement are most welcome, and I encourage you to start making choices that will lead to a healthier life for yourself.


God bless!