Weight Loss Update

So tomorrow is my final weigh in for the 12 week weight loss challenge that myself and several friends have been a part of. 

I'll tell you that this has definitely seen it's share of highs and lows for the last 12 weeks and I'm reaching the point to where I'm glad that there will be some degree of closure. 

So tomorrow I'll be posting a video update to the status that I've been able to achieve through this process. 

In the video I'll also go into what I've done to get there.  I promise that it hasn't been an easy road, but there are ways that YOU can go about it and achieve similar success! 

I'll be posting live on Facebook at Biblical Wellness!  Likely it'll be tomorrow night around 8 or 9pm EST.  

The wager

On Friday January 26th, I entered a nationwide contest, with a team of 5.  This wager is to win $10,000. 

In selecting the team, I chose teammates that are very familiar with how to exercise and what works best for their bodies.  We all have several pounds to lose and it doesn't hurt us in that.  Our team name is Dad Bod Heroes, which means that all of us are of course....Dads. 

My weigh in was 220lbs.  About what I thought, but nevertheless a moderately depressing number.  This isn't the heaviest I've ever been, but it is far from the best I've felt.  As I write this, over a week later, I'm down below 215 already.  Most of which was a combination of ketosis and intermittent fasting. 

In the next several weeks, I'll be going through how ketosis works and why the "fad" of this is so popular, even though figure athletes and many others have been doing it for awhile.  I'll also be going through intermittent fasting and why that works.  This is not to say that they're the best, but they generally work to reach a goal. 

The main part of my journey lasts 3 months, with a maintenance of 9 months after.  My target is 190 or below, so wish me luck.   Several weeks into my journey I'll share a time lapse of how I look (via mirror selfie...with pants on!).  So you can follow me in the process. 

Parenting "Bods"

If you've followed my blogs, my Instagram, or in conversation (some of you), you may have noticed the whole #destroythedadbod or the #fightthefluffy tags that I use sometimes.  And many of you that know me personally know that I have three kids.  This leads me to my next point, the parent "bods."

As a dad, and one who's battled with weight my whole life, I have at times a "dad bod." About 3 months ago, I had a radical change of direction on my training and diet and I'd consider myself to have a "dad-bod light" at this point.  I've been running, lifting, sparring, and actually monitoring what I eat. All of these things have allowed for me to drop, as of last week, 15lbs.  When in the midst of my heaviness, I didn't realize I was as heavy as I was and on top of that I got into the rut of thinking "I'm working out pretty hard, I need the calories."  How wrong was I?

Regarding the "mom bod," this is much harder to fight than the "dad bod."  Generally due to you know, having kids, the mother's body is under far more stress than a father's.  This stress can come from the generally interesting "pregnancy cravings," to the longer lasting effects of the variations in hormone productions due to pregnancy and possible lactation.  With all of this, the diet must be even more fine tuned for a woman than a man, and on top of that the exercise is equally important.

The final thing to consider, for both, is the stress of having a new child or in my & my wife's case, multiple children.  Things that you want to go ahead and try to do, like exercise and eat well, sometimes fall to the wayside so that the kids are properly cared for, or satisfied (chicken nuggets and mac & cheese isn't exactly healthy, but it keeps them fed at times.).  Allowing the time to exercise sometimes get's replaced by doing things around the house, or falling asleep.  There are many more challenges to keeping a reasonable physique with kids in the house than when there are none.

In the next week, I'll have a couple of posts to go into how to better prepare your time with the kids in the house and with a chaotic lifestyle.  

The adventures of the dad-bod

In early-mid May I peaked in my overall body weight.  It was the highest weight I had ever been and honestly I felt horrible.  There are several reasons to why this was so:

1.  Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of cardio.
2.  I had been lifting pretty regularly, like 4-5 days per week regularly.
3.  I wasn't exactly eating all that great.
4.  I honestly didn't realize that I got there.

Truth be told, my pants still fit, I still could spar, and I really didn't see myself as fluffy as I was.  This was about 2 months ago (I write this on July 25 and will post on July 26th).

Now, I'm down about 12lbs from that point.  There are several factors coming into play with this.  They are:

1.  I'm running regularly, and enjoying it.
2.  I'm still lifting, but only hitting the major lifts so that I don't reduce my strength.
3.  I'm paying more attention to my calories.  The nice part is that I can have my kryptonite (oreos)at night if I'm under my target.
4.  I weigh in almost weekly.

My pants fit better, I fight faster, but am still somewhat fluffy.

It's just that I got lazy, like many people who work all the time and have kids.  My drive wasn't really there, and the discomfort that came with it didn't help at all either.  I'm glad that I've taken hold of what was needing to happen for me to change, otherwise I'd be even heavier and perhaps more rundown.

I'm motivated by losing my dad-bod.  I'm motivated by having people hold me accountable for my weight.  And I'm motivated because of the cadences found on Spotfiy.

I fight the same war as many of my clients.  The difference is that I'm the crutch for them to lean upon, and not vice versa.  This war will be won, with small victories eventually leading to large victories.  

Being acquainted with the evils of war.

 It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on. 
- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

If you've followed my blog for awhile then you know my perpetual war on the "dad bod."  There are many reasons behind this war and it's many battles, but I assure you, I'm very acquainted with my enemy.  With this war, I'm also familiar with how to fight it, complete with the successes and losses.  

Even with the knowledge that I have pertaining to exercise and nutrition, sometimes it's hard to wage the battles necessary to win the war.  So for those of you who remain in a constant struggle with your weight understand this, I do and many other fitness professionals do too.  The major difference is in the knowledge that we have.  I know how to teach an individual how to do something, I can hold you accountable for your actions, and I can reach out to the network that I have created to help you achieve your goals. 

Those are what I bring to the table as a fitness professional.  On the other hand, holding myself accountable is something much more difficult.  Having the knowledge is an asset, as I don't have to go look for things to guide me, what I generally need more than anything is someone to give me shit when I do or don't do something I'm supposed to.

Regarding Sun Tzu's quote from his text, I fight the war on an ongoing basis, and thus I know better than many how to fight it.  I empathize with my clients going through the same fight, as opposed to someone who has never had to undertake the fight.  I value my empathy and use it to help guide my coaching.  The war is ongoing and I'm still learning how to fight it better.  

I train so I can drink beer and not be fat

It's a lot true.  There's many reasons to why I train, one of which is so that I can drink beer and not be super huge.  I really don't drink all that often either, mostly just Fridays and/or Saturday nights.  This is a far cry from some time ago where it was most nights, with perhaps those two being the nights off (I doubt it).

However, most of what I desire as a result of training conflicts with alcohol.  There's research out there on the effects of cardiovascular responsiveness and red wine consumption, which is generally positive.  However, the effects on strength is generally negative, usually resulting in either the reduction or stagnation of it.

This isn't to say to go out and only drink wine because you want the cardio benefits, it's just a side effect of the wine consumption.  I just enjoy the taste and relaxation effects of beer, which is why I generally choose it.  However, I attempt it strategically so as to not sabotage my lifting, or weight management for that matter.

So think about the real reasons that you train.  Is it to look good?  Is it to lift heavy things?  To beat the zombies?  Or is it realistic, to keep up with your kids and to not feel like every little thing you do hurts?  

Fight the dad-bod! Nutritional journey

My nutritional challenge for myself.