Dispelling Misconceptions

in

I saw my endocrinologist yesterday.  My second visit with him, and it was much more productive than my first one.  In my first appointment with him we mostly just discussed current symptoms and possible diagnosis, however this visit we actually had test results so we were able to actually discuss what I'm trying to do in this "getting healthy" thing I'm trying to do.  Here's what I learned:

Your weight is best thought of as a spring attached to a ceiling.  The point at which the spring is attached is your max weight or starting point.  As we reach a new max weight that point is ratcheted up further and it doesn't ever come down.  Now imagine that you are standing under that spring and pulling it down is you losing weight.  Pulling that spring down at first won't be too difficult, but the further down you try to pull the spring the harder its going to be not only to get it down to that point, but to keep it there.  You ever noticed how at first the weight comes off easily and quickly, then it slows down and gets harder and harder?  Pulling that spring down and holding it there by 5% is going to be a lot easier than 10%, so on and so forth. 

With this analogy in mind it makes it easy to see notions such as BMI, height/weight ratio, and dropping your weight by 50% as the bullshit that they are.  In the obesity medicine community 5% sustained weight loss is considered successful weight loss, and 10% sustained loss greatly reduces health risks associated to obesity (such as diabetes and heart disease).  10% is about the most maintained weight loss that most of the population can reliably keep off.  Medical intervention (bariatric surgery, medication, etc.) can and will get people below that 10% point, but the average for these is 20-25% sustained loss; and even then the majority of participants will see their weight increase back to that 10% loss point.  None of this should be discouraging, in fact it should be encouraging.  Weight loss should be about getting healthy, first and foremost.  So what if you don't have a six pack or a 28" waist? You've brought your weight down by 10% vastly reducing your risk of obesity related disease.  Anyone who says that isn't good enough because you don't conform to the visual ideal of what successful weight loss is can fuck off.

I know most people have heard that BMI is bullshit, and it is. It was created as a mathematical way to gauge insurance rates, turning people into numbers that can be quantified.  Height/weight ratio is just an extension of that.  I can't speak to men, as I'm not one, but when it comes to women it's pretty easy to see how these ratios and indices can't be trusted.  Using me for example:  I'm 5'2" and I weigh 177.  That puts me at a BMI of 32.  If you compare me to another woman who is 5'2" and 177 we'd look identical on paper.  Now, say that woman has A cup breasts while I have an F cup; now there's a very apparent difference between the two of us, but if you're just looking at BMI or height/weight ratio you'd never know.  All I'm trying to say here is that these systems are detrimental and shouldn't be used as a gauge for weight related health.

Well, moving on: here's my weekly personal update.

I reached a new low this week! I feel pretty good about it, but I'm tweaking my routine a bit.  For breakfast and lunch I'll be eating a meal replacement bar (previously I was only eating them for lunch), and weather permitting I'm going to start walking at lunches.  I hope to see an increase in the rate of my weight loss with these changes.

No Excuses (93 days to #SDCC2017) #100daystoSDCC

Every other Monday, is when we have our D&D gaming group and it is the easiest day to "not have enough time" to actually work out. We generally have about 90 minutes from the time we get home to workout, shower, and make dinner before head over to our DM's house. Today would have been really easy for us to not push ourselves to workout but we managed to do it.

Stay Strong, Stay Focused

Jacob

Kelly's Addition: It would have also been very nice to skip because this was possibly one of my most pathetic workouts.  I was honestly shocked that I was as coherent as I was during D&D.

Feed the Soul

in

Yesterday my day looked like this: 

So much yard work..  

So much yard work..  

So obviously I deserved a treat. The hardest thing about this diet and "get fit" thing I'm trying to do is to change my attitude towards food.  Previously a "treat" would have been a big bowl of pasta followed by ice cream, aka a diet killer.  However last night I treated myself with a steak and a salad. The treat came in the form of a loaded baked potato. Celebratory potato.  It was delicious.  Not 100% diet friendly, but like my doctor told me sometimes you have to feed the soul.  Things that aren't diet friendly can still be enjoyed, just in limited quantities.  Besides, what fun is life if you don't get to have your favorite things from time to time. 

Did you miss me? #SDCC

in

So life continues to be life.  Last week was a completely lost cause.  Jacob was in LA on a business trip and I sulked around the house while he was gone.  No working out happened, though I did mow the lawn and it took forever so I'm counting that as a successful workout.  Its the little things.  He got back at like 230AM Friday and then I spent Friday night in a sleep lab and left for Texas that weekend to say good bye to my little sis who's shipping out to Norfolk, VA.  Needless to say, last week was a long one.  However, as you've read; Jacob got us tickets to SDCC!! This will be my 6th time going and I'm pretty pumped.  On the other hand, Jacob noticed that from the date we bought the tickets we had 100 days until the show... hence the 100 day project.  We're 3 workouts in and although I know it's a good thing that we're doing and I'll be so glad (and my doctors will be too) that I've done it, I can't help but dread it every day after work.

I spend all day putting my brain through the grinder to get home and do the same with my body.  Its so tiring! Not to mention all the other home things (dishes, laundry, guinea pig maintenance, etc.) that has to get done on a daily basis I just don't know, those fit moms do it.  I swear they must get some kind of super power infusion while they're in the delivery room.  If that's not what happens, don't tell me... that will just further discourage me from not wanting children.

Anywho... here's my weight chart.  You can tell I've not been working out.

100 days to #SDCC2017!

in

Alright, all you loyal readers out there, you can tell I've been slacking, and it's true, I haven't been the most dedicated person to my health, but that's about to change. 

Over the weekend I was able to get San Diego Comic-Con tickets for me and my wife, and I have decided to use this lead-up time to double down and focus on getting shredded by the time we go out to Cali. 

Here's the plan:

  1. No more booze
    1. Alcohol is so very very tasty, but it is full of calories and is hard on the body. So for the next 100 days, I will be giving up all forms of alcohol
  2. 4 workouts a week
    1. I will dedicate myself to 4 workouts a week, with an additional stretching session on the weekends
  3. Eat Healthier
    1. My diet really isn't all that bad, but there is room for improvement and I will make the changes needed
  4. Blog Daily
    1. This will probably be the hardest part, but I'm going to update this blog daily to track progress
  5. No excuses
    1. The easiest thing about working out is finding excuses to not actually do it. For the next 100 days, there will be no excuses for me.

So here we go

-Jacob

Weight Update and Priorities

in

Things have been difficult to keep consistent recently.  Work has been crazy busy lately and I've been having to stay late more and more often which has made it harder to stay consistent with working out.  This week though Jacob and I have made a real effort to get the work out done regardless of what else we've had going on.  I think you can tell in my weight chart.  

Staying positive is hella hard

in

I've been in a rut the last few weeks, as an be seen by the lack of updates, I've managed only 4 workouts in the last 14 days which is just unacceptable. I'm doing my best to stay positive and not get into that "screw this" mode of "well I've already missed 3 days this week, I'll just wait until next week." 

Even a second day per week is helpful, and if I can manage a third, a third will be helpful too

-JAcob

Sometimes it's just not meant to be.

in

Remember how I said in my last post that I thought I'd pulled a muscle in my calf?  Well I'd taken it really really easy that week, and this Monday my calf was feeling much better.  I was all excited to get back to working out on Monday and not even 10 minutes into our plyometric heavy workout I feel the pop and seize again and down I go.  Joy.

Now that I'm in PT for my shoulder I went ahead and used the opportunity to talk to my therapist about this just to see exactly what it is and make sure I haven't done anything permanent too it.  Good news, I didn't pull it.  Bad news, my therapist (who is the sweetest girl ever) said that I have an incredibly angry muscle.  There's a knot in my calf about the size of my fist (and a somewhat smaller one in the other calf), and she advised that I stop all plyometric movements until I can get these (essentially) permanent charlie horses in my calves to release.  So I've not worked out (aside from my PT) since Monday, and I've spent a lot of time with my heating pad wrapped around my calf.  The knots have become less painful and a little more pliable, but they are definitely still there.  I hope that I'll be able to start working out again soon, but knowing me I'll get impatient and push too hard too early and be right back where I am now.  In the mean time I'm focusing more on my diet, which has been going well.

I've lost about 15lbs so far and I continue to feel better.  I spoke with one of my doctors yesterday about how since I've cut simple carbohydrates out of my diet I've noticed that my appetite in general has really gone down. I asked if this was a placebo effect or if there was something actually happening there.  He told me that since I'm not spiking and crashing my blood sugar over and over throughout the day that my body is at a much steadier pace and I'm able to better feel my bodies energy needs, as opposed to constantly trying to balance my blood sugar out.  I feel like I should have guessed that.  It seems like a pretty obvious effect of not eating simple sugars.  So anyone out there thinking about kicking the sugar habit, it sucks at first... a lot; but once you give yourself enough time to get equalized you really do feel better.  Less cravings, and a much steadier level of energy.

On the PT front, my sessions continue to hurt like hell. We continue to focus on retraining muscles that haven't been used correctly in decades.  My external rotator muscles are so incredibly weak that I can only do the bare minimum on exercises.  My therapist said that its unusual in that most people don't have the issues in the places where I do, but it makes sense given that I was a swimmer for so long and during the years of my life where I went through all my growing and hormonal changes.  Posture continues to be one of the most important things for me to practice and improve upon, which has been hard because my shoulder blades really don't like to sit where they're supposed to sit.  Instead they like to fall down.

Well I'm just rambling now.... TL;DR talk to your doctor if something hurts, posture is important.

Start slow, Stay Focused

in

The hardest part about working out, is actually taking the time to work out, so here are a few tips help you easy your way into it.

  1. Start Slow, Start Easy
    1. Problem: a lot of people, me included, have got that big burst of energy to workout, we feel like we can change everything all at once and 9-10 days later we are burnt AF and we stop working out all together. 
    2. Solution: take the first 2-4 weeks as your intro to working out, even if you've spent a lot of time in th gym before. lift low weights, lower than you can easily lift, just to get into the routine of doing these exercises. Also only workout twice a week for the first 2 weeks, and then 3 times a week, and slowly build into your desired number. This will slowly help you remake your schedule over time
  2. Be happy with failing
    1. Problem: We make goals, some unrealistic and some that are actually do able, and then we start missing deadlines. Maybe we aren't losing weight as quickly as we think it should, or our bench press isn't going up fast enough, whatever it might be
    2. Solution: The journey is almost as important as the destination, for example, your goal was to work out 5 times in a week, but you only made it 4 times. You failed, oh well, but if you look back to before you started this process, 4 is a lot more than the 0 you were doing. This same thought process goes along with food as well, don't cut things out right away, slowly move them out of your life
  3. Remember there is no end
    1. Working out never ends, you might hit your goals and the work outs you do might change to reflect that, but if you are committed to this, it is something that will be in your life on some level forever. Allow yourself to embrace this idea and slowly work through until you can look at the mirror and be happy 

It's never easy...

in

I started physical therapy this week.  I'd forgotten just how much it freaking hurts.

I've had trouble with my shoulders since high school.  I was a competitive swimmer for 9 years, I started when I was 8 and went without a break until I graduated high school.  I loved swimming, I loved competing, and I loved being part of a team.  I was never especially good, but I was good enough to be on the high school's varsity team all 4 years.  When I was a sophomore I started experiencing shoulder pain during workouts, it felt like someone was driving nails through my shoulder joint.  This being the early '00s before we as a society had really dedicated much into studying sports related injuries I just pushed through it (thanks to my coach not letting me taking it easy).  I went to an ortho once to tell them that it hurt, they gave me a cortisone shot and told me to start doing PT.  I did the PT multiple times a week, but all the while I was working out just as hard as I ever was; effectively nulling any progress that the PT made on healing my shoulder.

Fast forward to now, I haven't swam for fitness in well over a decade.  I told myself it was because I didn't have access/time to dedicate myself to it, although I have tried a couple of times and always had to stop after a few weeks due to shoulder pain.  After moving to Pittsburgh I got my very first job where I'm required to sit at a desk all day, and surprise surprise it's started doing a number on my shoulder.

It started as what felt like a muscle knot over my right shoulder blade.  Jacob says that he can see it and it's about the size of a small orange (dayum!). So I saw a chiropractor (read: voodoo doctor) for a while and they tried to use stim therapy to get the knot to release but it did nothing but cost me a co-pay twice a week.  I've had regular massage for about a year now and that hasn't moved it either, so I finally mentioned it to my primary care doctor (who is amazing) and she prescribed PT.

I saw the PT for the first time this past Tuesday and she was immediately able to tell me what was going on.  My right shoulder has "swimmer's shoulder".  Which is where, due to all the swimming I did, as caused the capsule that holds the shoulder joint in place has become incredibly loose allowing my right shoulder to become a "trick" joint.  It flops around and just has not stability at all, I have about 120 degrees of backwards rotation in the joint.  Combine that with my desk job, the shoulder flops forward pulling my posture forward putting a large amount of strain and impingement on my biceps tendon.  This has also caused the large muscle knot in my back, and the neck pain I've been dealing with.

They've set out to train my muscles to compensate for my poor shoulder stability and increase the coordination in those muscles, and also to strengthen/train my posture muscles so I .  It hurts like a real bitch since I've basically not used those muscles in years.  

Moral of the story: If it hurts mention it to your doctor. They get really annoyed when you tell them that you've just been "dealing" with the discomfort.  Also listen to Jacob when he gives advice, because he's right an annoying amount of the time.