Still Making Progress

The challenge of losing weight and getting healthy is to be consistent and to not become discouraged if your OVERT progress is not as phenomenal as desired. This week is a perfect example. Due to weather and "life concerns", I only made it to the gym once this week. It was, in fact, one of my better workout days, but was "only once". I am a bit bummed about that, though I intend to do some home yoga to compensate a little.

When I weighed in today I had only lost "1 pound" for the week (7 in 3 weeks). It is my hope to lose 10 lbs a month, and it looks like I'll only hit 8-9 this month. That being said, I don't depend upon my "weight" alone as the deciding factor in my measurement of success. In addition to the 1 lb, I shaved another 1/2" off my waist and what appears to be another a reduction of another 1% body fat. That would put my total since New Years at -7 lbs weight, -1.5 inches waist size, -3% body fat. These results seem fairly reasonable as I've found 5lbs of body fat equals approximately 1" of waist size, and a reduction of 7 lbs from my starting weight is about 2.7% of my body mass, which leads me to think I've lost 8 lbs of fat and put on a pound of muscle.

So, at present, these shifts are not very noticeable, in my appearance or physical health... but I know that slow, little changes have amazing long term effects. I am pushing more weight on the machines and am walking at a higher intensity longer -- all good signs. By May I want to have my mid-year physical and see significant improvement in my cholesterol and blood pressure

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And yes, I still daydream of being able to do sexy cosplay again... before I'm 50!

A Hopeful Beginning!

Week 1 - 257lbs, 41% fat, 48.5" waist

I was a good, health conscious person this week. I didn't starve myself. I minimized my sugars and simple starches (but didn't eliminate them). I avoided drinking caloric fluids... most of my drinks were sparkling water infused with flavor and a touch of fruit juice. All my meals had significant fiber, protein and complex carbs. I had at least one fruit a day. I made it to the gym twice, and did yoga at home 5 times.

I am trying to arrange my day so I walk at least 5k steps outside of the gym, and then get another 3k on the track in the gym 3 days a week. My goal is to get to 7k of steps daily outside of the gym with 3-5k steps in the gym 3 days a week, and yoga daily by February.

I dropped 4 lbs, 2% BF (that's questionable), and 1/2" off the waist. My goal is to lose 3 lbs and 1/2" a week, which should result in a reduction of 6% body and 2" off the waist per month... so that by August I can hope to be under 20% body fat and under 36" waist :)

On to Week 2!

This year will be better!

So, with all good intentions, I went into 2015 believing I'd start taking control of my health. Sadly, between motorcycle accidents, recovery, stress-comfort-eating, and surgery I've slid further out of the "healthy body" zone than I ever have.

I now have 85 pounds of fat to lose, 14" to remove from my waistline, and 15 pounds of muscle to restore/recover/rebuild before I am back to a "healthy" weight/size/composition. That isn't a goal to look like a fitness model... I wouldn't even have ripped abs... but that'd put me at 190 lbs, 35" waist, 15% body fat. hmmm... what did I look like when those were my stats?

Oh Yeah, that's what I looked like!

I believe I can do this... in fact, I MUST do this... I can't allow my health to deteriorate any further... it isn't an issue of age (though that is a factor on the difficulty and the importance) but an issue of quality of life.

I started today!
I believe I can achieve this goal by September 2016.
So mote it be!

Six weeks of slow recovery

I sit looking out at the swaying pines, the rippling lake waters, and the cloud laced sky and realize that as harsh as the land is, our little getaway in the northern wilds of Maine is something close to paradise. The beauty is not friendly, or is friendly in that challenging way of "if you can handle me, you can find enjoyment in my company." I know winters here are intense and long, and the beauty of the place is not the soft and comfortable kind we find in the mid-Atlantic piedmont, but the stark and edgy beauty here has a kind of zest for life and drive for being which is appealing.

I have not read as much as I'd planned. I have not written as much as I'd planned. I have not created as much physical art as I'd planned. I have not lost the weight I had planned. I have not recovered as much as I planned, though that is due more to having slipped on the stairs and re-injuring an already recuperating shoulder joint -- possibly enough to warrant therapy, hopefully not surgery. Yet, for all of that, I am mostly content with where I am (save the injured shoulder, which vexes me because it was avoidable and of my own making). Very little, in fact, has gone to plan... but in many ways, it is what I needed and as such is perfect.

If it were practicable... if I could find a rewarding vocation up here, turn our 2 season home (1/2 spring, summer, 1/2 fall) into a 4 season home, and enlarge it to make it comfortable for us to live in year around, I would move here without pause or trepidation. I do not fear the isolation, which is not so isolated as it was 50 years ago, nor do I fear the challenges of climate or the need to restructure our lives to flow the seasons instead of  fairly ignoring them in our present residence. It would not be easy, but I find my mind turning to the possibility distractingly often, and I have done 4 floorplans for a revision or rebuild of the cabin to become a year around home. All dreams, idle for the most part, but compelling none the less.

Next week we return to Pawsville, and responsibilities, and duties, and a world of demands and needs and expectations. I do not dread it as my wife does, but I look toward the inevitability with a pang of regret. It would be such an amazing life here... for five decades or so, not simply the 5+ weeks a year we manage now.

I won't be putting my life on hold for the improbability of making it real... I'm done with existing in a life "paused". Time to get things done and live... even if that life is one of a man older, fatter, and not much wiser. I can still make it a remarkable life... if I pay attention.

Eating for Body, Mind & Soul

So, two full weeks here at the lake and I haven't lost a single pound. I haven't gained, but I haven't lost. In truth, I am only averaging 4000 steps a day (according to my Fitbit) instead of the 10k I'm supposed to be walking, but I am far more active than I was prior to our arrival and I am still dealing with tiring more quickly since the accident. I am also eating too much. Fortunately, I am eating "well", as in food that is high quality, fresh, nutrient rich, and mostly local. I LOVE getting my foods from the local farmer's markets, etc. but I'm enjoying the local cheese options, local pie options, and local fruits far too freely.

Eating is something that should nourish as much of us as possible. Science will decree that for optimal health we should consume XYZ macronutrients in order to achieve optimal health -- preparation, local or non-local, natural or man-made ingredients are all immaterial factors to what is good for you. Science, however, simply doesn't know everything. I have found that foods created by a person, consciously and with intention, is nearly always more satisfying when eaten than equally well prepared industrial foods (Stouffer's, etc.). I have found packaged foods produced in smaller batches (like mircobrew beers), by people who are proud of their products, are more satisfying than their mega-alternatives (Coors, etc.).

Food, however, nourishes more than the body. I have found there are foods which make me clear of thought, happy, or calm. I have also had foods which seemed to stir and infuse my soul with energy and light. This is why we use food to change our moods, as part of spiritual practices, and as part of creative endeavors. It is also why we over eat, or eat what is not good for our bodies... we eat in an attempt to fill a mental, emotional or spiritual void in our lives.

One of my spiritual foods, odd as it seems, is peanut butter and chocolate. I LOVE peanut butter and chocolate, and believe that the dark chocolate peanut butter cup could be a food served in paradise. It has been one of my tacit commitments to find the best peanut butter cups in the world. I have tried so many... and there are some awesome dark chocolate peanut butter cups. Sadly, the makers of these delights are usually focused on either the chocolate or the peanut butter... seldom do they put equal attention to both sides of the equation. There are a few... Justin's is available at many health food stores and Starbucks, but even better are Nectar Nuggets.

Rebooting spiritual and well as physical fitness

So, I came across the works of Christopher Penczak last week while exploring a local book store and was intrigued. I've seldom seen writings, especially on metaphysical topics, which align with how I might approach a topic. Mr. Penczak's Temple series of books approaches the study of magic (from what I have skimmed prior to buying the books) much as I would, and his aligning each book with an element/quarter just makes my elementalist soul very happy.

Do I REALLY need another set of books on metaphysical studies? Well, no. I am an initiated wiccan priest and have been studying/working magic since my late teens. But it would be the height of hubris for me to believe I have nothing left to learn. I expect a lot of this reading/study/practice will be review and revisiting of knowledge I gained a couple decades ago... but I hope from a new and insightful perspective which will give me the opportunity to fill out my knowledge/skills.

From what I can tell, these are each 1 year courses... so to get through all this properly it may take 4 years. We'll see. If a large section of the material is review, it may go faster.

Some day I may actually manage a full lotus! It is a worthy goal!

Regular physical activity doesn't preclude therapy...

The last two weeks I have been fairly active, but I have not been doing my yoga or concentrated therapy on my shoulder/wrist/thumb. I realize, much to my chagrin, that this is the precise trap so many people fall into who end up having only marginal or limited recoveries. It is great that I am being physically active, doing assorted construction tasks, etc. however, though keeping active is always beneficial to health, it does NOT replace therapy and specific practices like yoga, etc.

I have no desire to be caught in that trap. I wish I'd realized I was falling into it earlier, but better now than later. So I have worked on my shoulder and thumb tonight... tomorrow I'll be doing my first yoga since arriving in Maine. I must also do some rehab from a slip I had on the stairs a few days ago... no, I didn't fall down them, but I did have to grab quickly at railing/support and strained my shoulder in the process. Ah well, two steps forward... one step back is still going forward.

I have not lost the weight I would have liked in the last couple weeks. I know part of the problem was the 2 days of travel, sitting on my ass for 22 hours and having to eat what we could find on the way (aka. shit-fast-food). We have been eating well up here, as we always do, but the portions have been a bit larger than they should (the food is just so GOOOOOD). I haven't backtracked, thank the gods, but I haven't progressed either.

This too shall pass. I have added chaga-tea to my daily regimen. This has already begun helping with my aches, and it has also begun to influence my digestion... I hope all the additional removal of toxins/waste materials will start showing tangible (aka, scale/tape measure) results.

Another challenge to studying my progress is that my beloved Tanita scale has finally lost its little digital mind... we have had to replace it with a more modern, sophisticated scale... and as is typical, they don't read exactly the same. I really am not concerned as to whether the 242 or 243 is correct, I just want to have trackable results... so now I have to wait until my weight on the new scale reduces down to what my weight on the old scale was, then I can start tracking progress again -- such a bore.

I also need to get back to my spiritual practices... that will partly be fulfilled through yoga-meditation, and some by my art, but I need my "sacred space" in which to do ritual... that is, as yet, not available because it is being built into our new room. So much to do to bring fullness back to my life... and during all this, I must remember to take time to LIVE, and be AWARE, and APPRECIATE the process.