Throwback Friday, Sidelined, and The Letter D

We have a lot to cover in today’s post and only a little bit of time. Let’s get right to it!

Sidelined

I haven’t really brought it up much in the last few days because I don’t want to be a whiner, but I’ve been sidelined since Wednesday. I haven’t been able to workout at all! YUCK! Back in the day I would have loved any excuse that got me out of pumping iron or running a few miles, but it looks like things have changed because I feel like a slug from my current lack of activity.

My ailment is not a torn ACL or an amputated right arm. It’s not even a cough or a cold. It a thumb injury. How lame does that sound? It’s not what you think though. Somehow I ended up with some bizarre staff infection in my thumb. I’m sure you’re thinking “Yeah, but how does that keep you from running or riding the bike?” Well it turns out that exercise moves the blood through your body more quickly and greatly increases the chance of the infection spreading. An infection in your blood stream can mean bad news if it’s not treated immediately. My thumb looks gross and huge! It is getting better so hopefully I can start exercising again tomorrow.

I’m not sure how well the photo illustrates it, but apparently the dark red color is a bad thing. Also the fact that it’s about twice as big as my other thumb is a pretty good indicator something’s wrong. Notice how there are no wrinkles on my left thumb. The skin is stretched to the max! I feel like a total wuss sitting out because of thumb drama but I’m also a fan of living so I’ll do what the doctor says.

Throwback Friday

This week has been full of craziness. I have been so busy with so many different things that I haven’t had too much time to keep up on current happenings. Being so busy is a good sign that awesome things are coming!

Webcam

I did get a new webcam this week to help simplify vlogging or logging (it may be a soft v). That’s bad news for all of you because you’re probably going to have to watch me work instead of just getting the polished written final product. Yes, this is polished.

Dailyburn

I got free stuff from Daily Burn! Woohoo! All my crying to them finally paid off! I must say that it really is superb exercise and nutrition tracking software. Go check them out if you haven’t yet. They sent me this email:

The Elite Membership itself is like 180 bucks for a year so this is one fine hookup!

Autism Awareness

I don’t talk about this much and some of you may already know, but my 3 year old Collin has Autism. This past week we attended a meeting for an event we have coming up on May 1st to help raise money for research and awareness of autism. April 2nd is Autism Awareness day so I’m in the process of getting some fun things going for that. If you have any questions about autism or would like to share any ideas for how to spread the word I would love your suggestions. Email me at ryan [at] nomorebacon.com or just leave a comment.

Spring Clean the Letter D

The letter D is chockfull of words that can be detrimental, disastrous, and even devastating to our weight loss and healthy living goals. That’s why the letter D is actually going to get two days. Wow! I’ll do half of the words today and the other half tomorrow.

Depression - Books have been written about this word. It’s referred to all the time. I specifically remember one Fat Bastard (via Austin Powers) saying “I eat become I’m depressed, and I’m depressed ’cause I eat.” Isn’t it a vicious cycle? How many of us have put ourselves through that? I clearly remember hitting up the drive thru, ordering 6 menu items, and then driving around in my car while I ate. I did it because I didn’t want the people inside the restaurant talking about the fat guy eating lunch alone and I definitely wasn’t going to take it back to work to let my coworkers see me eating like a pig. I hid. Then when I finished my food I would feel sick and then I would feel guilty. I would be so mad at myself for binging.

Beating depression requires us to do something we’re proud of; even if it’s just a few little things. I know I felt good when I would choose an apple over a Snickers bar. Those little victories compound upon themselves and we begin to develop pride. Make little changes and you will see your depression slowly begin to disappear.

Denial - It took me a really long time to realize that I was actually fat. I always knew I was a big guy. “Husky” or “big boned” were frequently used words in my vocabulary. Things like “health risk” and “obese” were far from my mind. It wasn’t until I admitted to myself that I had a problem to fix that I could start seeing success.

Discouragement – “This time it’s going to work!” “This time I’m going to lose weight and keep it off for good!” Are those familiar phrases? How many times have we said that and then found ourselves eating Ben & Jerry’s straight from the carton two weeks later? Why does that happen? Is it a lack of commitment? We are a results now society. If we follow a program religiously for a week we expect to lose weight. On the Biggest Loser Ranch they lose like 800 pounds in their first week, how come I can’t lose 1?

Weight loss requires a lot of troubleshooting and if we keep that in mind we won’t get discouraged as quickly. “I didn’t lose weight the first week; how many calories did I take in, how many did I burn?” “Was I honest with myself about everything I ate or did I sneak a cookie that I ‘forgot’ to write down?” If you faithfully follow a program for a month and don’t see any results, don’t be afraid to try something new. Make sure you choose something that is based on proven methods. If healthy eating and exercise aren’t focal points of the program then don’t waste your time or hard-earned money on them.

You have just finished day four of our 30 day spring clean. Learn how to deal with these words that can cause so much grief and strife. Make a plan of attack and go for it. The only thing you risk losing is years of built up mental baggage.

I’d love to hear your thoughts so far on the NMB Spring Clean. Is it helping? Do you find yourselves at least being conscious of negativity in your thoughts, speech, or actions? What can I do to make it better or more helpful? Please let me know with a comment! Thanks for continually coming back!



3 Responses to “Throwback Friday, Sidelined, and The Letter D”

1. mac says:

   March 5, 2010 at 5:24 pm

   Discouragement (or discouraging) is a tough one…Your anecdote brings to mind one of my favorite quotes from my trainer…”Your body will never hit a plateau…Only your program can plateau.” If things aren’t working, don’t get discouraged, change it up!

   Reply
2. Greg says:

   March 6, 2010 at 9:20 pm

   This is the first time in weeks that I have felt myself on the verge of slipping. I weighed in this morning and was about two pounds heavier than yesterday. I felt discouraged and that made me want to eat. The vicious cycle is right on. I have decided that my daily weight doesn’t matter; as long as I am eating right and exercising the weekly weights will turn out right.

   Reply
3. Shannon says:

   March 8, 2010 at 10:12 am

   Sorry about the thumb not cool at all! Hopefully you are better today. (I am gonna go right to twitter and ask you LOL )
   I did not know about your son. My nephew has Autism as well his is very severe. I love him to pieces he is 13.
   Anyway if you come up with something for April 2nd I would gladly support it and help promote. Awareness is very needed when it comes to Autism.

   Reply