So I have some goals that I’d like to achieve. It is now summertime and, to be honest, I expected to have achieved my goals by this time. I was well on my way, and then I got sick. The illness was many months ago, but it was a major setback. I had never experienced that degree of pain in my adult life. This was no ordinary flu. I genuinely wanted to cease existing due to the physical pain.
During the first week, I didn’t eat much of anything. I only took in some bread to take my pain meds with. But in the second week, it was like I had to make up for lost time. I ate in abundance, and I ate poorly. During that second week, I put on over 20 pounds, going from about 190 to around 220 pounds. Since then, I have been unable to get back under 200 pounds. Though I’ve hit 205 and flirted with going under 200, it’s been many months since I returned there.
Today, I feel bloated, soft, and pudgy. I’m disappointed in myself for backtracking after putting in so much work and effort into my craft. However, though down, I am not defeated. I have identified my setbacks and come up with solutions.
One major factor that helped me move forward was meal prepping. However, my cooking skills are lacking, so I had stopped doing that. Recently, I have been eating clean, but I believe my caloric intake is far too much. Even though I have continued training, my weight loss has stalled. To address this, I’ve decided to return to meal prepping but with a twist. I’m trying out a company called Trifecta, which delivers healthy meal prep with macros and all that good stuff. No more guesswork on calories and no more terrible home-cooked meals.
In addition, I realized I must reinstate frequent cardio sessions. I tried to dial it back to increase my testosterone and let my legs heal from overuse. But without cardio, it’s clear that I gain weight. Like I said before, the lightest I’ve been during this weight loss round was about 190 pounds, and now I’m back around 210. I had backed off cardio to let my legs rest because my calves and Achilles tendon were giving me trouble. But they feel better now, so it’s time to get back to work!
I’m not thrilled about the weight gain, but sometimes you have to take a few steps back to go forward. I’m not happy, but I’m still motivated and focused on my goals. I’ve got my meal prep lined up starting at the end of this week. I’ve taken the time to heal my legs, and they’re better. Starting next week, I’m going to significantly increase my cardio. Along with that, I’ll do at least three days of Brazilian jiu-jitsu a week. I’ll also squeeze in about 2 to 3 days of yoga and add one or two days of heavier strength training. I’ll do all this alongside teaching my conditioning and Zumba classes.
To do all that and hit my fitness goals will require some strategic planning. I’ll have to figure out my fasting, manage my time, workouts, and recovery. All of this has to be done while optimizing my nutrition and cutting carbs and overall calories. I’m not going to lie, it feels a bit overwhelming right now, but I’m confident I’ll figure it out.
Here’s to the next phase of my transformation!
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