Yes, I am here to begin a journey. 

It may not be the most fun, but parts may be, and the outcome will be worth the effort.

This is a health journey, and while I’ve been through a few before, this may be the most challenging one to date because

1. I’m not a spring chicken(it gets harder to lose as we age)
2. Things aren’t great and won’t be changing anytime soon
3. I’ve got a ways to claw back from

Why am I writing this?

I’m sharing this for the usual reasons.

It holds me accountable 

By writing this and putting it out there for everyone to see, I’ll feel accountable for sticking with the process and achieving something. I can’t forget because the internet doesn’t forget.

It may be able to help someone else 

I always enjoy posting health and fitness content in the chance that it may inform or inspire someone else. If I’m learning these lessons or gaining this new knowledge, I might as well share it so someone else can too. So my journey is for me, but it’s also for you. 

Being transparent is good 

Being open and honest is usually the way to go in almost every situation. It just makes things easier even if it stings a little to do so. It’s also easier to gain support and not run into unnecessary conflict when everyone knows what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. I don’t know to not ask you to go out for ice cream if I don’t know you’re not eating ice cream. 

So where are we?

It’s been a tough 18 months or so in my world. A lot of this comes from things outside of my control, but that doesn’t matter. They still have the same effect and do the same damage. So regardless, I’ve put on about 20 pounds of weight on that wasn’t there this time last year. 

This comes from a mix of emotional and stress-eating and a lot of beer and post-beer snacking–I’m looking at you, White Castle, within walking distance…

Now there’s nothing wrong per se with putting on 20 pounds until there is. 

My 20 pounds is mostly not muscle. There is still some because I’ve kept up with my workouts(mainly lifting) to the best of my ability during this tough time. It does help with stress, but when you don’t feel like or can’t perform the workout for one reason or another, you lose out on that helpful outlet. 

For me, it makes me hot, and I, unfortunately, live in The Most Magical Humid, Hot, Tourist-Crowded Place on Earth. I hadn’t been this hot in previous years, but I do remember when I was, and it wasn’t fun. Imagine my surprise when I dieted and dropped a bunch of weight and suddenly needed a sweatshirt sometimes!

I also don’t want the combination of stress and excess weight to put a strain on my heart and cause me problems. Men in the U.S. already have enough heart challenges to deal with without adding fuel to the fire. So no reason to increase my chances for something I don’t want.

Lastly, I don’t have the money or patience(while shopping) to go out and buy bigger clothes. I don’t want to have to spend that time or money, so I’m not going to. It’s a waste of clothes that someone else probably needs. 

The Plan

The plan is 3 tiered:

Step 1

First, I’m going to increase my exercise with a focus on cardio. While it’s true you don’t need any “cardio” to lose weight-I do. I also enjoy it. I’m a big believer in finding an exercise you enjoy doing because that may be the only way you do it. –You have to do it, of course, though, for it to work. 

I plan to run, swim, bike, box and include some explosive full-body movements in my weight-lifting sessions. FACT: The best shape I was ever in was when I was training for a Triathlon and biking, swimming, and running multiple times a week in lieu of lifting five days a week. 

I’ve been keeping up with my exercise, but no to the extent I want to if there were no extenuating circumstances. It shouldn’t be hard to get back into it and make this transition as long as I keep up with tiers 2 and 3.

Step 2

Cut the beer. Yes, that’s right. I’m planning to cut all alcohol from my diet. Even on cheat days, I’m going to try and avoid it. It adds calories, doesn’t help muscle growth, and it can keep me from getting a good night’s sleep all night every night. I know there will be times here and there will it will be appropriate, but even then, I’ll try to keep it to one. This, of course, will make for some awkward social interactions and probably some FOMO, but I need this. 

Step 3

I need to tighten up my diet. It’s not that I’m eating bad foods all the time, but I’m making poor choices enough of the time. Add those poor choices with circumstances that don’t allow good choices and the above-mentioned stress eating, and it equals where I’m at now.

The plan is to stay high protein, eat multiple small meals, and come out with a calorie deficit for the day or week as often as possible. To lose weight, you need to burn more than you consume, and that’s what I plan to do. Treats and empty calorie foods will have to be limited to when necessary or cheat meals.

The diet aspect will take the longest to really get into check. This is okay if the other two steps are up to par, as overall results will be positive. It’s not going to happen overnight either, so doing what I can and staying consistent is key.

Timeline

I want to have all three of these aspects in check and running together for two months. I began yesterday on July 1st. That means I will be reevaluating on September 1st. That gives me time to get into a rhythm and make progress. Losing a pound a week between now and then would equal about a 9-pound loss. I think after a few weeks losing 2 pounds could even be possible based on my previous diet experiences. 

Aside from the weight loss goal, I want to set a fitness goal. I want to be able to run at least a half marathon in the fall. My birthday is October 10, so before the end of October is probably a good estimation. I already have a cardio/running base, so this goal is a challenge but not hard if I stick with it. 

The Challenge 

The real challenge will be sticking with this plan when things get tough. The steps and goals are challenging, but if they are all I was dealing with, then it’d be easy and fun. It’s everything else that’s been going on that presents the real unpredictable and hard-to-overcome hurdles.  I don’t exactly have a plan for making this easier or actually work except that I know it’s coming, and it’s what I want. So when it gets hard, I shouldn’t be surprised; I should be resilient. 

We’ll see what happens, but this is the plan. Now I know it and have a written reference for it, and so do you. Hopefully, it helps. I’m sure I’ll check in along the way with more insight from being in the thick of it. Until then…

Check out my wife’s journey at losingitagain.com