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Monday, April 27, 2015

The Century Mark

Sunday, 4/25/2015, I hit my 100lbs lost. To the day, it was almost exactly two years since my high point of 440lbs, when I went in for knee surgery.

When I started my Whole 30 on September 2nd, I don't know what I weighed. A month later I'd lost enough that my home scale could begin reading me. Based on my rate of weight loss, I estimate I was 420lbs on Sept 2nd. That's 80lbs lost, in not quite 8 months!

That ain't too shabby...

In the beginning I was losing more each month, and it's gradually winding down. I figure that's ok, very likely my body naturally resetting it's self. It'll be interesting to watch how this progresses as Spring turns into Summer & I can be a bit more active.

I also did another large batch of clothes donation! My closets & chest of drawers feel empty, which makes me nervous & excited.

My security blanket of 'just in case' larger sized clothes is totally gone, but that's ok. I'm moving forward, and not looking back!

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Damn The Torpedoes

The first bump is the Disney Trip, which was just about one week post A-Fib relapse. The second bump is past week, where my A-Fib got reset.

A-Fib isn't an excuse, or a free pass. It's a serious heart condition with side effects ranging from shortness of breath & exhaustion to blood clots & stroke.

I've experienced everything short of blood clots. It's felt at times like I have an angry fish flopping around inside my chest, and there is NO doubt that exhaustion has played a big part in my recent fitness inconsistency.

...but I kept plugging at it, as best I could...

I stayed on-track with my eating, which continues to be an excellent habit. I have returned to Aqua Fit, but I'm not yet back at the level of multiple visits per week.

This week I intend to pick up with my bodyweight exercises, and begin some light bicycling. I intend to start lightly & work up slowly, both to minimize exhaustion and adding any stress to my system.

Stress is the big issue. First, I believe it was a combination of stress & anger that helped push me back into A-Fib.

Secondly, I 'think' that the week at Disney resulted in a weight bump due to a stress response. My body was already stressed w/ A-Fib, and then adding a ton of exertion probably bumped up my Cortisol level, which is well known to affect blood sugar (which has historically been the root of my weight issue). After all, the proof in the pudding is that the week following Disney I did nearly zero activity & my weight began self-correcting!

THAT may actually be the golden nugget of good news inside this messy 30 day roller-coaster. Being able to self-correct during a recovery period is fantastic news, and that's hopefully where I am now - on the downslope of bump #2, and hopefully back on track with my rock-steady decline in weight.

So, I've got that going for me...

The bummer is that I did not meet my weight loss goal for April Fool's Day. I still lost weight over the last 30 days (HUGE WIN!), but it looks like I'll hit my 100lb halfway mark sometime in the next week or so.

...and that ain't too shabby...


-Lee
-----------------
R. Lee Putman, Jr.

Email:
leeputmanjr@mac.com

Phone / Text: 847.687.7291

Saturday, April 11, 2015

A nice win

Today I took the Spider for a it's first serious spring drive. I put 100 miles on, and it was GREAT for the soul to get some wind in my hair & the smell of Italian exhaust in my clothes!

...but even better? After a long winter in storage, the old car suddenly 'fits' differently! I had to move the seat up several notches, and STILL had to cinch up the seat belt!

I've NEVER fit this well in this car!

Sticking with the basics

My daily walking has been inconsistent, but now that my heart has been rebooted, that will hopefully get back on track quite quickly. Today I went back to Aqua Fit, and I just went half-speed, I don't want to push my heart too-far / too-quickly.

In the meantime, I'm keeping the 'intake' side of the equation on the straight & narrow! I love my egg frittata breakfast muffins, and I genuinely look forward to my daily salad.

I love eating this way, and there just ain't nuthin' gonna sway me from THAT!!!

Turn it off, then back on...

Just like a computer, once in a while my heart needs a reboot. Kind of eye opening to see the before & after shots of my heart rhythm...

Traction Control

It's been tough trying to maintain consistency since my A-Fib kicked in.

Shortness of breath, exhaustion, and heart palpitations (that feel like a fish flopping around in my chest) all conspiring to keep me less active.

You can see the inconsistency in my daily step count, and in my weight graph.

I continue to push, but my heart needs to cooperate...