Month: August 2018

My Journey to a Healthy Me, Days 233-243

So, it has been 10 days since my last post. My biggest hurdle, was overcoming my mental downswing.

I mentioned previously, that I do struggle this month. Sometimes, it isn’t as bad as other times. Overall, I did OK. I have been feeling much better this week, just not wanting to get online to post anything.

Last week, was a real struggle. I still kept it keto, at least. Calories have been all over the place though. Monday I did do some body weight squats, but no other working out, or walking. Sleep was a bit all over as well.

This week started off better. I have done two workouts this week, but no walking.

I have also been able to get back into bowling. Last Thursday, I bowled without pain. Monday night was sweepers night. I made a little money there too. Tonight is sweepers night in my other league. So here is hoping I bowl well.

As far as my weight, I have been really stalled the last couple of weeks. Though, I am getting back to for this week. I am starting to see the scale move in the correct direction. 😉

One other thing I am trying to deal with now, is getting into a rhythm. I am taking my son to school, and picking him up now. This means getting up earlier. I am going to try getting to bed earlier, so I can sleep a bit more. Feeling tired sucks!

Just figured I would pop in to say at least I am still around. I should get a proper normal update tomorrow.

My Journey to a Heathy Me, Days 229-232

Eight year ago today, my Mom died. It seems every year around this time I get into this mental funk. For a few years, I didn’t realize it, but eventually I figured it was always around this time. Even though I know it may be coming, I just can’t seem to get past it.  So part way through last week, it hit full steam. If I get myself distracted, I seem fine. I’ve had many a moment this week though, of me just sitting here. Last night, it was a little better. Today, it is a little better.

Things that didn’t help this week. I had to get rid of my best friends facebook page. He died in 2012. So I had to dig though files. I tried to make the best of it, and found some of the funny stuff we use to talk about. Then, I had my arm to deal with. I am trying to figure out the new insurance stuff that my wife has, so I can get an appointment. Until then, I am out of bowling. All this added in with the other stuff, just had me really down. Not fully out, but just not in the mood for anything.

With all that, this week will be a bad one. You know what though, that is OK. This battle I have is a long one. There are going to be moments that don’t go perfect. My job this coming week, is to get myself back on track as best I can. There is no way I am snowballing all the way back up to 388 lbs like I did before.

The Mental game is struggling pretty hard, but I feel like I am slowly getting it back.

Weight Loss

I’m at 286.2 lbs. That is a 1.4 lbs gained this week. Technically, I had got to almost 285. So,  at least I am coming down off of that. I did have surplus calorie days, plus mind and body stresses.

Food
08/13 MyFitnessPal – 1662 Calories, 25 net carbs (13 net minus the quest stuff) IF Done
08/14 MyFitnessPal – 1576 Calories, 20 net carbs (8 net minus the quest) about 23 hour fast done
08/15 MyFitnessPal – 1793 Calories, 18 net carbs (16 net minus quest) IF Done
08/16 MyFitnessPal – 1681 Calories, 22 net carbs (10 net minus quest) IF Done
08/17 MyFitnessPal – 2023 Calories, 17 net carbs (14 net minus quest) ate late, no IF
08/18 MyFitnessPal – 1659 Calories, 18 net carbs (15 net minus quest) IF done
08/19 MyFitnessPal – 1673 Calories, 23 net carbs (19 minus quest) IF done

My attempt at a really long fast was a fail. Right before I ate, I was getting pretty bad headaches, so I decided I needed to eat. Might have been my blood sugar getting low. I don’t think I am ready to fast that long yet. I think instead, Tuesday will be the day I try to eat One meal. I hope to fast as long as possible. Like no food until after 3 pm that day.  If I can get use to doing it, then maybe I can move it to other days as well.

On the 18th, we ate at the smoking pig BBQ place. I could not find nutritional information anywhere. Nothing in My Fitness Pal, nothing online, not even their website. So I had to kind of guess. I stayed away from sauces. Just had fatty brisket, hot link, and a side salad with vinaigrette. The dressing did seem very sweet. I think it had sugars, but it was mostly just lettuce and a few peppers. I didn’t eat the croutons.

Exercise
08/13 – Exercise done, followed by a walk
08/14 – walk done
08/15 – Exercise done, followed by a walk
08/16 – walk done
08/17 – nothing
08/18 – nothing
08/19 – nothing

3 days of me doing nothing. Today isn’t much better, but I did at the very least do some squats. If I can, I will try to bring up the will to go for a walk tonight. Even if it is down on the treadmill or something. Right now though, mood is to skip it.

Sleep
08/14 – 1:30 am to 7:39 am. 5 hrs 22 mins. 19 x awake for 47 mins. No reading
08/15 – 12:41 am to 7:30 am. 6 hrs 12 mins. 21 x awake for 37 mins. Reading done.
08/16 – 12:54 am to 7:52 am. 6 hrs 9 mins. 11 x awake for 49 mins. Reading done
08/17 – 12:20 am to 7:14 am. 6 hrs. 19 x awake for 54 mins. Reading done.
08/18 – 11:59 pm to 8:57 am. 7 hrs 52 mins. 17 x awake for 1 hr 6 mins. Reading done.
08/19 – 12:56 am to 8:30 am. 6 hrs 52 mins. 16 x awake for 42 mins. Reading done.
08/20 – 12:23 am to 6:51 am. 5 hrs 43 mins. 13 x awake for 45 mins. Reading done.

This week was really rough for me sleep wise. Many times I just stayed awake. doing nothing other then sitting here at my desk. I wasn’t gaming or anything. There were a few times I went to bed, and just took awhile to get sleeping. My mind was going full steam ahead. I am trying to bring it back in. I need to get up early to take my kid to school, so I need that sleep.

Tomorrow and this week

My main focus is to get myself back in gear. The youngest will be hitting up school now, and I’ll be driving him there and picking him up. I am going to have to get re-adjusted with some time management. Plus, I need to get my head right. Hopefully, I will start getting better each day. One day at a time.

 

My Journey to a Healthy Me, Days 227-228

Well, I didn’t get here to blog yesterday. Just ran things really late, and it was 11 pm before i knew it. I elected to get into my wind down routine. Unfortunately, it wasn’t working for me. I ended up stayed up till 12:30 am before getting to bed.

Mental game

I’ve been in a little funk the last few days. Moments where I just sit here and do nothing. It has been hard to motivate myself as well. I have been getting in my walks and workouts this week. Today’s walk was just a little fight.

I’m not 100% why I am this way right now, but it is very much the kind of funk I get into around this time of year. August is the month my Mom died 8 years ago. As much as I try to prepare for this, it will still just randomly hit me.

I am fighting it. Dishes and things just may suffer with me not wanting to clean them. haha. Just staying focused on one thing at a time.

Bowling

I tried bowling tonight. Yeah, my arm is still messed up. No idea how long it will be like this. 😦

Food

08/14 MyFitnessPal – 1576 Calories, 20 net carbs (8 net minus the Quest) (23ish hour fast)
08/15 MyFitnessPal – 1793 Calories, 18 net carbs (16 net minus erythritol) IF done.

Tuesday I made it to about hour 23 on my fast. Just couldn’t do any longer. 🙂

Sleep

08/14 – 1:30 am to 7:39 am. 5 hrs 22 mins. 19 x awake for 47 mins
08/15 – 12:41 am to 7:30 am. 6 hrs 12 mins. 21 x awake for 37 mins

So three nights in a row that I am not getting to bed when I want. Tonight, I need to change this.

Exercise

I have walked each day this week. Wednesday was workout day.

Wednesday workout:

3 x 15 calf raise hold
3 x 20 seconds One leg balance
3 x 20 sitting twists

I expected the balance one to be super easy, but I struggled to balance on my right leg. So I suppose I do need to work on it.

Tomorrow

Workout day in the morning, and I need to get a walk in. I am also off to meet my son’s teacher. He starts next week, but we are going to have him pick out his desk. He will have the same teacher from last year. She moved up to 2nd grade.

Maybe, we will get some other shopping done for a few items. Otherwise, we really need to get more things unpacked, and moved in.

My Journey to a Healthy Me, Day 226

I’m late tonight, so just going to do a quick little post.

I’ve been a little busy playing World of Warcraft. The new expansion, Battle for Azeroth,  launched on Monday for my region. So I was playing late last night, and didn’t get off in time to really do my normal wind down routine. That is also why I am running a little late tonight. Though I did at least give myself some time.

Today, I got in a morning walk.

So at least on that front, I am keeping at it. Exercise was on Monday. I will also get to exercise tomorrow.

Fasting

Today was the day I was going to attempt my no eating day. It didn’t quite go as I planned.

Monday night, I ended my eating at 5 pm. Today, I was going strong for a long time. I even cooked a bunch of chicken for myself. Made lunches for the kids. Got a little hungry, but was doing fine. Then about 4 pm, I couldn’t take it. I wish I had tested my blood (still need to unpack the meter). I felt like I was hitting low blood sugar numbers. I was getting a headache and such. So I gave in and ate food. I think it might have been too much of a fast to try for. I think I will switch make just a longer fast, and maybe build up each week. I’l have to fine turn it before I try jumping in to a big fast I think.

Yesterday

Food:
08/13 MyFitnessPal – 1662 Calories, 25 net carbs (13 net minus the Quest stuff). IF done

Sleep:

1:30 am to 7:39 am. 5 hrs 22 mins. 19 x awake for 47 mins. No reading done. I had some other issues, besides gaming, that kept me up a little later. One part was getting a email from my friend’s Uncle. My friend died in 2012. We had kept his facebook page up. I guess they wanted to get it taken down now. So, I did that today. A little bit of a downer mood, just because I had to go digging though the old files to get the information needed. I did take some time to read some emails and chat conversations that I did have with my friend too. I still miss him. Was my best friend for like 13 years or something. Hell, my only in real life friend that I ever really did stuff with. I suppose I do have other friends. I consider many people online as friends. Some of the people I bowl with are my friends. Just not best friend type level I guess. It’s kinda weird.

Exercise:
I walked, and did a small workout. (I am feeling some soreness today!)
3 x 15 squats
3 x 15 crunches
3 x 20 sec planks

Not too big of a start, but that is OK with me. This is a good base to get me going.

Tomorrow

Get up and get my workout in. I’ll change it from what I did on Monday I believe. I will also get a walk in. I’ve prepped some food, but I may make some wings or something tomorrow. I’ll also be playing plenty of World of Warcraft. 🙂

My Journey to a Healthy Me, Days 223-225

Here it is, the start of a new week. It has been a couple of days since I posted. Really though, nothing too exciting over the weekend. Mostly filled with Pokemon Go community days.

I did finally get a chance to try the Quest Supreme frozen pizza.

View this post on Instagram

Time to try the Quest Supreme pizza. 😁

A post shared by William R. Tate (@wrtate) on

Once again, very tasty for a frozen pizza. You probably wouldn’t think it wasn’t a normal frozen pizza. I think I probably liked the supreme more then the pepperoni version.

This morning, is the start of the new challenge over at NerdFitness. I started off this morning with a little workout.

3 x 15 squats
3 x 15 crunches
3 x 20 sec planks
Next I was off for a walk.

So at least the day is starting off well. My arm is still sore, so I am avoiding putting any stress on it for now. Thursday, I might try to see if I can bowl a game. I have Match Club this weekend. I need to know if I can bowl or not. 🙂

Weekly recap

Where would my Monday post be, without some recap of the week! 🙂

Weight loss

Only down 0.7 lbs from last week. I was down more, but notice my weight was trending up the last couple of days. I have had a couple of surplus calories days this last week. So time to make sure I am good there.

Food

08/06 MyFitnessPal – 1735 Calories, 31 net carbs (19 net minus the quest stuff) IF done
08/07 MyFitnessPal – 1727 Calories, 18 net carbs. IF Done
08/08 MyFitnessPal – 1687 Calories, 16 net carbs (14 net minus the quest) IF Done
08/09 MyFitnessPal – 1712 Calories, 12 net carbs. IF Done
08/10 MyFitnessPal – 2358 Calories, 14 net carbs (12 minus the Quest) No IF (ate late)
08/11 MyFitnessPal – 1620 Calories, 21 net carbs (19 minus the quest) IF done
08/12 MyFitnessPal – 1833 Calories, 26 net carbs (24 net minus quest) IF done

There were high calories this week, and I got over 20 net carbs yesterday. I thought for some reason I was in my net carb limit. I know the pizza and quest bar I had in the day meant I had a lot of total carbs.

Sleep

Sleep this week has been OK. Last ngiht was later then others, but this week, I am going to strive to get my rest. I’ll need it with the added exercise!

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the fast day.  The first time I am trying it out. wish me luck! 🙂

My Journey to a Healthy Me, Day 222

Man, today was really busy. Felt like I was always off doing something. Even almost forgot it was so late. Better late then never I suppose.

Today, I have eaten at a surplus. Food was just weird. I was off shopping for foods, but wan’t really coming home to make much. Eating nuts and fat bombs for most of the day. So tonight, i was hungry.

When my wife was off work, we went to a couple more stores to get food. This is after my normal eating window, so I guess no Intermittent fasting today. After grocery shopping, I had some pork cracklins, Italian sausage, and sunflower seeds. Net carbs will still be fine, it is just a 2000+ calorie day.

All this is OK though in the long run. Days like this will happen. Tomorrow just has to be a better day. 🙂

Injury

So my right arm got messed up while bowling. Not sure the extent of the damage, but even today it has been pretty tender. I am trying my best to not use it for holding anything. Hard to do, when you are carrying groceries up the stairs!

I was looking at the workouts I wanted to do starting on Monday. They are simple, but a few of them are using the arms. My choices are really to do my own thing. Either find some lower body or core type workouts, or focus on cardio.

I know I can do squats, and maybe lunges. I worry doing things like kneeing/standing push ups or even Planks will hurt my arm more. I’ve got a few more days to try to decide on what I should do.

Yesterday

Food:
08/09 MyFitnessPal – 1712 Calories, 12 net carbs. IF done.

No Quest numbers to work out yesterday. Just Chicken crust pizza, and chicken with salad for dinner.

Sleep:

12:34 am to 7:36 am. 6 hrs 18 mins. 16 x awake for 44 mins. Last night was a little rough. I woke up sweating, and I really hate that.

Tomorrow

Day 1 of Pokemon Go community day is tomorrow. Day 2 on Sunday. The oldest and I will be heading to Alviso to try to catch all the Eevee we can. 🙂

My Journey to a Healthy Me, Day 221

Well, I survived today… almost.

Food wise, everything was fine. I made myself a chicken crust pizza. I did not have an egg, but I had egg whites. That seemed to work out OK. Not as good, but good enough. 🙂

My problem tonight, was with bowling. Last Monday night, I was felling some pain in my throwing arm. It was in my bicep area. Nothing major though, just was weird to have soreness there. Tonight, the pain returned in the first game, but it was fine. I bowled really well. A few frames into game 2 though, and it was murder time. I had taken some Advil, but it didn’t work. I could manage OK the first ball. I was just throwing slower, and not as accurate. Then spares were killer. The last two frame on game two, I was hurting the most. I decided it was best to drop out for game 3. I would be no use to the team in this condition. I also did not want to make it worse.

I believe I will be skipping bowling on Monday, and possibly next Thursday as well.

Workouts

Monday is going to be the start of my workouts. I am worried that this will effect the start of my exercise program. I need to review the movements, and I might have to modify what I am doing. I know my workouts are starting off with body weight. Though there are some that will use arms, and I may have to avoid that. Exercise is happening either way! 🙂

Yesterday

Food:
08/08 MyFitnessPal – 1687 Calories, 16 net carbs (14 minus the erythritol) IF Done.

Sleep:

12:42 am to 7:49 am. 6 hrs 25 mins. 15 x awake for 42 mins. My mind was racing last night going to bed. It took me awhile to get settled in. Then of course I was up by 7. I tried to get more sleep, but my brain was hitting active mode once it knew there was daylight.

Tomorrow

It is grocery day. I’ve go a Costco run to hit tomorrow. Then probably FoodMaxx and Target runs. Maybe Sprouts and/or Whole Foods too. I also have a Pokemon Go EX raid at 1 pm. A busy day for sure, and this isn’t even adding in around the house items to get done. whew!

My Journey to a Healthy Me, Day 220

Happy Hump Day.

I actually went out for a walk today.

Just a little test run to see how long it takes to get to the library pokestops. Seems about 10 mins one way. For now, I think this will work out fine. Once I progress a bit, I can see exploring around a little more. Lake Elizabeth is right near by too.

I got a couple of meals cooked today, but they were just to eat today. No extra cooking for the week. Tomorrow, I’m down to pizza day I believe.

Running

I was thinking today, that I weight about the same when I could run 3 miles. I looked at my old RunDouble stats. December 15, 2014 I ran 3 miles. Looking at that day on Fitbit shows I was 285 lbs. That was on the way up in weight too.

My ankle hasn’t been bugging me recently, so maybe it is time to try running once again. I would like to be able to say I could run a 5k again. It is one of my goals to get in that 5k.

Yesterday

Food:
08/07 MyFitnessPal – 1727 Calories, 18 net carbs (16 minus the Erythritol) IF Done

Sleep:

12:37 am to 8:05 am. 6 hr 29 mins. 18 x awake for 59 mins. I got to sleep a little later. I did get my reading done.

Tomorrow

I have bowling at night. I need to get more things done around the house. I will probably just make myself some chicken crust pizza to eat.

 

 

My Journey to a Healthy Me, Day 219

Tuesday went pretty well I suppose. I did get some chicken cooked. Of course my oldest ate some of it already! I will need to get more cooking done tomorrow. I have some chicken breast strips I will use with some Alfredo sauce with Zucchini noodles. It may just be chicken crust pizza day too.

Yesterday

Food:
08/06 MyFitnessPal – 1735 Calories, 31 net carbs (19 net minus the quest stuff) IF Done.

Sleep:
08/06 – 12:50 am to 7:34 am. 5 hrs 44 mins. 12 x awake for 1 hr. Dog had to go out just as I was going to sleep, so that took awhile. Then, I had to get settled in to sleep.

NerdFitness

I got up my new NerdFitness challenge thread. “Tateman: The Pain Train is comin’, baby! Woo! Woo!”

Food:
I am still going to be focusing on my Keto way of eating. Tracking all foods in MyFitnessPal, and continuing on with Intermittent fasting. My new twist this challenge, is that I will finally try doing the day long fast. In my case, it will be a 39 hour fast. Possibly more. Depends on when I do finish eating on Monday nights. My current plan is to finish eating on Monday night by 6 pm. Normally, I am done by 5. Then I do not eat on Tuesday. Wednesday, I pick my eating back up at 11 am. I will at least give this a try. If I fail, that is OK.

Sleep:
I am back with my sleep goal. It pretty much is the same that I have been doing. I do have some concern for when my son starts back up at school. I will have to get up early to drive him there, and pick him up when he is done. I might have to move my bed time up if I can. Time will tell, and I will have to play it by ear.

Exercise:
It is also time to bring back some exercise! I am going to walk every day for at least 15 mins. I have a Pokestop I can spin at the Library that is near. It isn’t too far of a walk. I plan on walking there and back each day. Eventually, I may extend the walk, but I want to focus on just this little bit first.

I am also going to incorporate some body weight workouts. Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays will be my workout days. I am going to follow the guild in the NerdFitness Academy. This should get me slowly started off again, and I can build up from there.

Tomorrow

I’ve got more cooking to take care of. Otherwise, I need to get more unpacking done.

I’ve also been thinking about doing videos, or at the very least some pictures, to track progress with workouts.

My Journey to a Healthy Me, Day 218

Happy Monday! It is time for a week in review post.

This week was a bit tougher mentally. I really lost my focus on getting things done around the house. I still did get some things done, just not what I should have been able to do.

I have been keeping track of my food and doing Intermittent fasting. It seems like I have settled into 11 am to 6 pm for my eating window. I am tempted to try to incorporate a bigger fast once a week, just to give it a try. Say on Tuesdays I wouldn’t eat. That would mean going Monday night 6 pm to 11 am Wednesday morning. Something for me to think about.

Weight Loss

I am down to 281.8 lbs today. That is 3.2 lbs this week. 83 pound gone since January 1st.

I had a thought last night, that I could get to 100 lbs gone before my birthday on November 2nd. Only need 17 more lbs for that goal. That also puts my into striking distance of my lowest recorded weight of 253. (I was like 225 in middle school like 30 years ago)  Maybe, just maybe, I can get to the 250 range by the end of the year. It might get tough with those holiday’s coming. Right now though, I feel like I can do it! 🙂

Food
07/30 MyFitnessPal – 1726 Calories, 16 net carbs.
07/31 MyFitnessPal – 1680 Calories, 33 net carbs (17 net minus the quest stuff)
08/01 MyFitnessPal – 1761 Calories, 19 net carbs (15 net subtracting the erythritol)
08/02 MyFitnessPal – 1605 Calories, 25 net carbs (13 net when subtracting the quest stuff)
08/03 MyFitnessPal – 1528 Calories, 31 net carbs (15 net when subtracting the quest stuff)
08/04 MyFitnessPal – 1773 Calories, 29 net carbs (17 net minus the quest)
08/05 MyFitnessPal – 1538 Calories, 33 net carbs (17 net minus the quest)

I have been having lots of quests products this month, and they haven’t seem to have a negative impact on my weight loss or anything as of yet. I do limit it to one bar per day at least. I still want to keep the total carbs lower, even if it is part fiber and such.

Sleep
07/30 – 11:56 pm to 6:57 am. 6 hrs 4 mins. 12 x awake for 57 mins. Reading done
07/31 – 12:28 am to 7:07 am. 6 hrs 6 mins. 11 x awake for 33 mins. Reading done
08/01 – 12:39 am to 7:00 am. 5 hrs 31 mins. 13 x awake for 50 mins. Reading done.
08/02 – 12:17 am to 7:30 am. 6 hrs 35 mins. 20 x awake for 38 mins. Reading done.
08/03 – 12:18 am to 7:01 am. 6 hrs 5 mins. 13 x awake for 38 mins. Reading done.
08/04 – 12:17 am to 6:44 am. 5 hrs 46 mins. 20 x awake for 41 mins. Reading done.
08/05 – 12:28 am to 8:32 am. 7 hrs 36 mins. 18 x awake for 28 mins. Reading done.

My biggest problem this week, has been waking up too early. To help curve this, I really need to get the window tint put on our window. Then hopefully, that will help it not be so bright in the room.

I have been using my kindle for reading each night for a few weeks now. I feel like it did not make anything worse for me. Like starting at a screen before bed. It is also night not having to buy books and store them someplace after I read them. Not as much of a problem when I have space, but in this apartment, not so much.

This week

It is time once again, for me to attempt to add in some exercise. Things are still not all moved in here at the new place, so I need to get that going too. I believe I will start off with body weights mostly, then start adding in more.

I need to get a new Nerdfitness challenge thread up as well. More accountability is a good thing. 🙂