Author Archives: Sean

“No discussion of weight; I’m showing wins. A certain shirt is too snug? Un-snugging it is a win. Struggling with a bike ride? No long struggling will be a win. Less heartburn, less anxiety, better sleep….all are wins.”

Last week was simply a tough week. Work was busy, life was going on, all is fine it was just busy. No progress pics, no real work towards goals.

I have a lot of goals; build muscle, lose weight, fit better in certain clothes…the usual. Tackle heartburn because I couldn’t put the feedbag down. Maybe get running again. The big goal is to be healthy for the last 30-40 years of my life. (I expect a couple towards the end to be less than healthy…ok, I’ll accept that)

That doesn’t meant there weren’t wins. I got to work on some “good” eating habits (less snacking, less takeout) and there were even more vegetables of the green, orange and red varieties. Shirt I planned to wear was also looser than before. Solid wins that I’ll take.

Goals for this week:
Find a workout plan. Kicking around some 4 day workouts I’ve had luck with in the past, plus 3 sessions of up to 30 minutes on the Peloton.
No takeout this week.
Pay attention to my macro needs; don’t live and die by them, but make sure there’s more protein, carbs from veggies and ‘healthy’ fats.

I want to keep it simple. This is a change for life, not just a few months. I reserve the right to tweak anything; add a long walk, substitute a yoga session, enjoy some french fries if they’re from a place with really good ones.

No discussion of good vs bad foods and no ‘Disordered Eating.’

I followed a program, with coaches who are good people, that based itself on macronutrient calculations. They have a very active, private Facebook group and people support one another, discuss recipes, strategies and everything else that makes for a successful ‘diet’. I was able to see great results on this. But its not really a diet, it’s a way of living.

Think about that; a way of living. Many of us think of Diets (capital D) as a brand or formal title; WW, Paleo, Keto, etc. Then there’s diets; lowercase d and the way you eat; Vegan, Mediterranean or just whatever you want. I think any one of us who’s tried to lose weight has embraces a Capital D diet. Anyone who’s concerned about their health has likely looked into or followed a lower d diet. One is focused on losing fat while the other is about living your life.

SO back to this group. My goal was to make the Macro diet my lower d diet way of living. I wanted to get to a point where I wasn’t tracking, but knew about how much protein, carbs and fat I needed and make adjustments if I was trying to get stronger, lose fat, whatever. On it’s own, I don’t think it’s bad at all. There are no bad foods, there’s just a tradeoff. Eat those wings; but you’re going to go the rest of day without much more fat. Something about that never felt right. I get the reasoning; you have a budget, but is living your whole life on a strict, unbreakable budget really that fun?

Someone was ill. Just a cold and cough, and someone in the FB group reminded them how many carbs were in their cough medicine. That did it for me…that isolated what I felt wasn’t quite right. I get griping that bacon has so much fat, and anyone would agree it’s best in moderation, but to worry about how medicine will affect your diet plan??? That’s disordered eating.

It came into focus so fast. I love food. I love to eat. I stress eat. Thinking about food all the time; when’s my next meal or snack, can I have a protein drink, what about dinner? That’s not something I need to be doing! I need to forget about food! I looked through the group and there were so many people simply obsessed with what and how much they were eating. People who’d worry about attending a party where there would be cake. People going on vacation hoping there would be lean protein options. People who had a handful of carbs but no protein or fat, left wanting to know the best kind of cracker for them! I couldn’t leave that group fast enough!

Are there ‘sometimes’ foods? Absolutely. Is it the end of the world if I’m on vacation and have bacon with breakfast every day? Absolutely not. Should I eat bacon every day? Probably not. That doesn’t make it good or bad; just something that’s best enjoyed in moderation. That’s how I’m approaching all of this. If there are 2 birthday parties this weekend, I’m going to have the cake because I probably won’t have any until the next birthday.

I know what’s wrong with the way I’m eating and living. I know what types of foods need to appear more often, and which ones need to appear less. I’m not cutting myself off from any of them. There’s no 12 step program for buffalo wings. It’s simply better to make them a treat and enjoy what can be done with broccoli or arugula.

And isn’t arugula the glitter of the food world? It’s a license to charge more for whatever it is. Pizza: $5.50. Pizza with arugula: $9.50

No discussion of weight as a bad thing

The scale…oh the dreaded scale. Weigh in day; don’t eat, don’t drink, make sure you empty everything you can, and hope for the best. Your whole day hinges on that number. How crazy is that????

Visit the doc, weighs you, measures your height, you’re over such and such a number and are obese.

You join a new gym, take classes and find yourself lifting weights you never thought you would. You feel better, stronger, more confident; you’re getting compliments about how specific body parts look in specific clothes. You step on the scale and see you’re 10 lbs heavier than you’ve ever been!!!!

I’m going to make a bold statement: Assuming fitness of some sort isn’t your ‘job’, what the scale says is meaningless for most people. There are so many variables; muscle mass, bone density, water retention, fat; How do you trust that number is reflective of health? It’s one of several metrics, and if you’re at a ‘dangerous’ weight; your doctor has already discussed that with you.

Me? I gotta lose some fat. What will that mean in weight change? No idea. 50lb of fat is probably a good fuzzy metric, but it’s not a goal. My health goals are more specific: I have some shirts and shortsI want to fit into. I want to get that 500lb deadlift. I’d like to run a 5k again. I’d like to think that I haven’t hit my last max on ANYTHING.

What part will the scale play for me? Surprisingly little; as it should. I’ll weigh in every week or two; see how things are going. The only takeaway from that number is “stay the course” or “make some kind of adjustment.” That gets added into the mix with “how’s that shirt fitting and how’re the workouts going?”

A final, big part of this is being kind to yourself. That number is not indicative of your worth. Great people come in all shapes and sizes, and so do jerks. You’re human and you have human engagements, activities and expectations. Is winding yourself up over whether or not you should have a piece of birthday cake really worth it? It’s cake. One slice isn’t going to hurt you or set you back. Savor it.

Weight is neither good or bad; it’s one of several factors that indicate overall health. I like to think of it as the check engine light in your car. There might be a problem, or your gas cap may be loose; talk to an expert and address it. Don’t beat yourself, or the car up.

3 years away and all new Seannannigans are coming.

Look at this guy. He survived a pandemic, a kidney stone (I’d take lockdown over a stone ANY DAY), 2 strongman competitions, and way too much time not focusing on his physical and mental health. As I write this, I need to make changes, and fast. I need to do the things that fuel me, so I can do the things I need to do for others.

Baseline: I’m generally ok. Usual depression/anxiety stuff; nothing worrisome. Clinically obese, but my numbers are in range. I’m digging a hole, and realize I can still get out if I stop digging. So here’s me doing just that.

My rules:

No discussion of weight as a bad thing. 35 years of being in the gym, and the ONLY weight that should matter is what’s on the bar; not the scale. I’m not gonna tell you how much a weigh. It doesn’t matter.
No discussion of good vs bad foods and no ‘Disordered Eating.’ No Keto, no Paleo, no nothing. Ideally, I’m getting about 200 grams of protein a day, and plenty of fruits and veggies. Pasta? Sure. Wings? If they come down in price. Wine? In moderation. This is about making changes that last for my next 50 years; not 3 months till the beach.
Clear, demonstrative goals. No discussion of weight; I’m showing wins. A certain shirt is too snug? Un-snugging it is a win. Struggling with a bike ride? No long struggling will be a win. Less heartburn, less anxiety, better sleep….all are wins. Also, progress pics are a must.
No Blame: Yeah, I control every piece of food that goes in my mouth and every moment I spent watching YouTube instead of painting or working out or reading or doing things with the family. I’m 100% to blame. Where does that get me?

This week, I’m putting the shovel down. I’m not expecting total success in everything. But I’m prioritizing it; something I haven’t been doing. Here’s where I start.