I guess this will be an experiment in learning in public. And public accountability and all that. I started buying a few nutrition books and am going to get back to kettlebells. But first, a quick Q&A on this…
- Why are you trying to lose this weight?
I got married last weekend (4/3/21) and had an amazing time. Looking back at the photos this week, I could see the amazing time very clearly. What wasn’t clear was my jawline.
- Wait, aren’t you supposed to diet leading up too the wedding?
I won’t do the “no excuses but blah blah blah”.
I’ll just point out my excuses: got a puppy so I was sleep deprived in jan, bronchitis for in feb, stress leading up to the wedding, and 25 days of travel (SF -> NYC) in March
The wedding was wonderful and it was great coming home to our (much larger) dog. It was all worth it, but I’d love to have skipped the bronchitis. Especially the few days before testing negative where I was definitely sure it was COVID.
- Wait, couldn’t you have worked out and still watched what you ate during all of that?
Yes, that’s why they’re excuses and not actual good reasons.
But here we are!
- What’s the actual output goal?
It’s tied to another wedding. In August, I’m officiating my wife’s cousin’s wedding. I’d like to look better and feel healthier for that.
The goal is 150 lbs by August 1. So it’d be trying to lose 20 pounds in 17 weeks. I’d say the first few pounds is travel bloat that can come off somewhat quick then I’ll be trying to lose a pound a week.
It’s a bit of a stretch but maybe if I blog about it then it’ll help me get there…
I’m at an age now where I really mean that feeling good is just as important (and not just something to say to not seem vain). I just haven’t felt healthy this year.
- What motivated this?
As mentioned, wedding photos.
Then Naval, in a way.
One of my favorite things to do when we lived there was walk around Central Park and listen to audiobooks and podcasts.
I got a chance to do that a couple times during the wedding trip, so I listened to the Navalmanack.
It reminded me of one of my favorite tweets about happiness:
A fit body, a calm mind, a house full of love. These things cannot be bought – they must be earned.
We’ve got a good start to the house full of love.
I overthink and have work to do on having a calmer mind.
But the one that’s a disaster right now is “a fit body”.
Hearing that during a long walk and realizing how rare it became for me to have that level of activity was a slight epiphany moment. Or a rain check on the epiphany moment which I’m cashing in now. I wasn’t going to pass up indulging a bit (ok, a lot) with my family and best friends in the city for the event.
- And what else?
Writing this reminded me of Tim Ferriss writing about putting health first in Tools of Titans
I’m currently typing this at 1:55am so I should go to sleep soon. I’m also typing it on my phone in bed (without my blue blockers on, drat!) so I should work on my sleep hygiene.
- Whats the general approach going to be?
Food-wise: It’ll probably look paleo-ish. Still working this out, but I’ve started cutting sugar and grains. Only in the past few years did I start to always look for something sweet after meals.
I’ve done paleo with very good compliance before. I always joke is that the worst thing is that it works so well. I definitely felt my best doing it. But it comes with knowing that my favorite foods to eat are also the least healthy.
I’ll do more cooking. One of my favorite fitness re-frames comes from “Fat Loss Happens on Mondays”: if you’re blocking time for 5 workouts each week, it could be better to block time for 4 workouts and 1 grocery + meal prep session.
It’ll also involve some fasting. I already do a 16-hour fast most days. Which might be the only reason I’m only trying to lose 20 pounds and not 50. I’ll continue that eating schedule.
Movement-wise: Kettlebells, walks, rucks, hikes. I’ll aim for daily, but lower intensity.
- OK, what’s next?
This is a good start to logging this. I’ll aim for a weekly update on this. I’ll share progress and resources. It’ll likely be more useful for me to write it than it will be for any readers. (Unless, of course, I do actually succeed and it becomes a good source of motivation for others starting a health journey.)