2023 Fitness Review
A pivotal year for my health and fitness.
After many, many years, I finally made progress on all fronts: losing weight, building muscle, sleeping more, and, most importantly, feeling like I could achieve long-lasting change.
Typical life priority lists include Health, Family, Career, Relationships, Faith, Purpose, etc., with Family being first. But, I've realized that health and fitness must be #1 because they deeply affect every other priority:
Family: It's difficult to support your family if you're not healthy. Being a good role model, providing financial support, engaging in physical activity, and much more.
Career: Poor health means work absences, not performing at your best, etc.
Relationships: You'll miss out on many fun experiences if you struggle with physical activity. It's tough to maintain friendships if medical issues take over your life.
Faith: "Your body is a temple" means treating it with respect.
This realization has motivated me to put immense energy into bettering myself and helps me "Stay on the Path" when I'm struggling.
Why Now? What Changed?
I’ve tried dieting. I’ve tried exercising. I’ve “tried everything.” For the first time last Fall though, I began working on my health with intentionality. This meant:
Exercising 4x per week.
Eating clean and tracking all meals.
Getting at least seven hours of sleep per night.
Researching and learning everything I could about health and fitness.
Call it a “eureka!” moment, perhaps. I realized that I’ve devoted an immense amount of time and energy to anything I've mastered. This includes computer programming, where, over many years, I read/wrote blogs, delivered talks, went to conferences, contributed to Q&A forums, and built side projects. Most recently, product management has been my career focus, and I’m obsessively learning as much as possible to become a great PM as fast as possible.
Besides intense focus, ultimately years of struggling came to a head. Other reasons that sharpened my drive towards better health:
Tired of being heavy. It is exhausting being overweight/obese. Every day, you are reminded that you're fat. Every year I would say, "This is the year," but it wouldn't happen. I was tired of disappointing myself.
Recognizing my current approaches weren't working. Over the years, I've had solid bouts of weight training, but I didn't really get stronger, nor did the weight come off. Why? I wasn't following a serious training program and still ate poorly! It took a long while to recognize that, though.
Being a role model for my kids. There are many complex feelings here, including:
How can I expect them to grow into healthy adults if I don't demonstrate healthy habits?
I don't want to embarrass myself physically by not keeping up with them.
I can't bear the thought of abandoning them by dying young.
Since the new year, I've lost 24 pounds and have gained a ton of muscle. I've never felt better!
What's working for me?
1. Tracking calories
Ugh. It's tedious and annoying to track foods. Guessing calories from takeout and restaurants will always be challenging. But most of us underestimate our calorie intake. The biggest win is helping me be mindful of the foods I eat so I don't overindulge.
2. Exercising multiple times per week.
You can't out-exercise your diet. Believe me, I've tried and failed many times! It helps with weight loss, strength, flexibility, better sleep, and more. I mainly bicycle for cardio and lift weights to build muscle (which burns fat).
3. Reducing fat and increasing protein intake.
Limiting fat intake helps with weight loss. High protein diets help build/repair muscle and satisfy you so you don't overeat.
4. Prioritizing sleep.
Weight loss is said to be more effective with 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night. It's tricky since it cuts into my limited free time (2 kids now), but it is necessary for recovery and energy. I feel my best after 7+ hours of sleep.
5. Getting lots of help.
Becoming healthy isn't easy; it's a lifelong struggle for many like me. My success stems from seeing personal trainers and nutrition/health coaches over time. My spouse is incredibly supportive. It takes a village! Don't be afraid to seek help.
6. Make it fun.
Serious weight loss takes time. I've had a lot of ups and downs, and my loss hasn't been linear. Focusing on staying positive and celebrating wins helps. Finding the activities you enjoy (for me, biking and weights) is crucial to sticking with it long-term.
What's not going well?
Overeating. While I did lose a decent amount of weight, throughout the year, periods of yo-yoing back and forth or stagnating for months were common. I'm not sure I have a full-blown "food addiction," but a lot of the behaviors are there: eating more than intended, feeling guilty, trying to quit certain foods, being unable to control the consumption of unhealthy foods, etc. Even when I commit to only having a small portion of unhealthy food, I find myself unable to stick to it. I'm working on some strategies to combat this in 2024.
Non-scale Victories (NSV)
Losing weight is great, but I've learned that it's the improved energy, the increased physical strength, and other changes that make the most motivational difference. Some of mine this year were:
My clothes fit better. I'm able to wear old T-shirts that don't fit now. When I went to a Summer wedding, the suit I’d owned for years fit better. It was a huge confidence booster since I was around family I hadn't seen in a long time.
Lifting heavy things by myself. It's such a satisfying feeling when someone asks me if I need help moving something like heavy furniture; I say “no,” and to their shock, I move it myself!
Ability to bike up hills. When I started biking, I couldn't make it up any hills without stopping to walk. It feels incredible to keep up with my peers.
My left knee pain is gone. For years, my left knee has given me trouble, but through proper stretching and weight training, the pain has disappeared.
Stats
I tracked various physical stats throughout the year.
Weight start/end: 281 and 257 pounds
Total weight lost: 24 pounds
Number of Henry's lost: 0.75 (One Henry, age 2 = 32 lbs)
Starting/Ending BMI: 40.0 and 38.0 (-2)
Starting/Ending PBF (percent body fat): 40.2 and 39 (-1.2)
Start/End SMM (skeletal muscle mass): 90.2 and 92.2 (+2)
VO2 Max: 26.8 or "poor" rating. Ran 1.06 miles in 12 minutes via the Cooper test
Body Circumference: Just a bit of change, though positive!
Onward to '24
2023 was a great year for my health and fitness journey. I'm just beginning, but I'm excited rather than intimidated by all the hard work ahead! I have so much to learn and put into practice. I'm ready to dive headfirst into 2024. LFG!