Total Wellness Transformation: Hank's Journey - Making Progress

The Diary Of A (more than) 50lb Weight Loss

It's Hank here!

It was a mixed week for me. Some progress, some setbacks. No...challenges is the right word. Did everything go the way I wanted it to go? No. Shocker! My progress this week was not just in continuing to eat clean, but in finding (more like forcing myself to find) a little more work/life balance.

I went to a friend's charity event one night, had dinner with another friend and proven that I am not "off grid" as my friends have accused me of being. Sounds minor, but compared to recent months, that's progress! I put out one of the wicks on my double-sided-burning candle.

One of my goals to support my transformation (and as such, help my health transformation be more holistic) is not to work such insane hours. I usually end up coming in earlier in the morning and not leaving until after 7:00pm. Part of this is to beat traffic. I could come in at 9:00am and leave at 6:00pm, but then I'd be sitting in traffic for both trips of my commute. Sitting there, unproductive.

So I choose to come in before traffic gets crazy in the morning and stay a little later until it dies down somewhat. (This is why I have to workout early in the morning. If I waited until I got home, I'd find some excuse and end up not doing it. I did that for too long - those days are gone!)

But I'm going to continue to leave at a decent hour. Working well into the evening is not healthy. Sure, there is work to be done, but it can wait until the next day. I'm going to get things done and work smarter - not just longer at a lower level of effectiveness. Progress! Here is one of my favorite quotes by Emerson - I'm putting it into practice every day:


This week, I made sure I was fueling my body at regular intervals to keep my metabolism up. I was also battling the winter cold bug that's going around, along with a sinus infection. Breathing and sleeping well were challenges this week.

I encountered another challenge in the form of an injury - nothing severe, but enough to force me to take it easy for a few days. My Coach reminded me to listen to my body. They say "no pain, no gain" but there are different kinds of pain.

There's the temporary pain that you have in a workout and you dig deeper and push through it, feeling better, stronger and more accomplished as a result. This wasn't that kind of pain. It was more like a sharp cracked rib-can't move suddenly-can't breathe deeply-ouch that hurts! kind of pain.

It was enough to make me go to the doctor. Nothing serious, no punctured lung. Just got too overzealous and pulled something, so I'm resting this weekend on doctor's orders. Frustrating, yes, but I'll be back with a vengeance next week!

As I've said before, this is not about the numbers on the scale for me. I'm making healthier choices and lasting changes. I am always tempted to dwell on the the numbers on the scale, but I retain my perspective.

This is a journey. A total wellness transformation. A work in progress. And progress there is...because I'm down another 4.4 pounds...bringing my total weight loss to 51.8lbs since September 17th! Nearly 52lbs. WHOA.

This could not have been possible without Carl and Team Beachbody...and Shakeology. Period. They give me support, inspiration, motivation, nutrition - they have helped me succeed thus far. And it ain't over yet...this is just another milestone. There's still work to be done. But I'm on my way...

Until next time,
Hank


FOOTNOTE: Hank, this is Carl. You started this journey with the goal of losing 50lbs. I let you go with that number because I know you don't need more pressure and you don't want to focus on the numbers. But the numbers reflect the state of things, and I am proud to see you not just achieve the 50lbs of weight loss, but to surpass it with nothing more than a nod on the journey. You have not seen anything in the numbers as a finish line - an important lesson for anyone doing Power 90 or P90X or Insanity. We've seen plenty of success stories that lost the weight, then we see them a year later, and their new "after" is their old "before". You have not built that kind of weak foundation that was purely end-goal motivated, and because of that, this truly is a transformation on the most important of levels. I salute you, and thank you for showing us all the importance of the long horizon!