It's now been 2 months since I began this journey with all of you.
I began it with the scales showing 240 pounds. Here's what I weigh as of today.
My percentage of body fat started out at 25 percent and it's now 20 percent. My target is anywhere between 12-15 percent. Nutrition has been the main difference-maker, as always. Consistency has become the rule of the day, though I still enjoy a cheat meal from time to time. Three total body workouts per week have helped. Then there's all the walking I did until my body told me in no uncertain terms that I was over-training (= under-recovering). Everyone who reads this blog knows how much I enjoy training and working out, especially when I have a specific goal in mind. Training can, paradoxically, actually impair physical performance and even your health. Having taken a week off, I can tell you that my body feels fantastic. Rest, as they say, is the ultimate performance-enhancing drug. It's the age-old struggle between the satisfaction of constant training and the satisfaction of optimal training results. Call it stubbornness or blindness or whatever, but I allowed my body to face a constant battle with exhaustion, soreness, and joint pain. When you exercise like that, you never fully recover. Sometimes you gotta experience it yourself to believe it. Fatigue management is one of the most important principles in athletic performance but it's so blithering easy to overlook. Going forward, I hope to do a much better job with God's help. Training needs to be smart, and part of that is not running (or walking) yourself into the ground on a constant basis. I've given my kids explicit permission to call me out if and when they think I am pushing myself too hard without taking sufficient breaks.
Most athletes are overachievers. This trait can come in handy when you've got to be productive at work or in school. It keeps you on top of your game. The challenge is to keep all of our goal-setting-ADD from getting out of balance. Really, the trick is to do an inventory of your physiological state and then just shut down the afterburners until homeostasis has returned. I'll say it again: if we don't take care of ourselves willingly, then our bodies will force it upon us in the form of injuries or illness. Determination may be inspiring, but lots of times we fail to prepare ourselves mentally and overdo the physical. I just keep smiling like a fool whenever I think about it. At the same time, I am now, more than ever, convinced that nothing can separate me from the love of my God. Not trouble, not pain, not weariness, not frustration. My stupid choices have no power over him. No matter how hard I make things, he always makes a way for me to move forward again.
And I am now, more than ever, thankful.