Last Updated on April 8, 2026 by Michael Brockbank
No matter how much I try to hedge my bets while planning a great week of fitness, life has a way of tipping the scales. But did I really gain 3.4 pounds in the first week of my Fit By 50 challenge?
Not quite. While I didn’t have the most stellar week for exercising or dieting, gaining three pounds overnight doesn’t necessarily mean I added that volume as fat.
On the contrary, an increase like that in a single day is more attributed to the volume of food eaten that you haven’t processed yet. In reality, most of that will go down the toilet inside the next 72 hours.
How Did I Gain 3.4 Pounds This Week?
Actually, the majority of that weight was gained overnight. I probably would have broken even this week, but there was a holiday on Sunday, and I ate all of the things. According to the scale, that amounted to gaining 2.6 pounds between dinner and morning the weigh-in.
A bit of a Poor Week for Eating
I wasn’t doing too badly on the first day, but things kind of slid off the rails. I didn’t just fall off the wagon almost immediately; I was dragged down the street by it. And then came Easter, with all of its chocolate goodness, ham, mashed potatoes, and Hawaiian rolls.
Earlier in the week, I had Taco Bell and Five Guys a bit too often. However, I would like to point out that I had a bunless burger from Five Guys. I probably didn’t need an entire bag of fries, though.
Part of this was because I celebrated losing five pounds in a week, so I didn’t have to wear makeup and a corset. I think I went a little gonzo on the week-long victory lap. Then, I had to fight with two different cars for two days, and I spent way too much time out in the sun. I got wiped out and really didn’t feel like cooking anything.
See, that’s why you should meal prep some easy dinners that you can just slap in the microwave!
I also lost track of the things I was eating, so I don’t have much data for the last part of the week. It’s not that I was afraid of the numbers, but that I was so busy doing other things that it slipped my mind, and I can’t remember what the hell I ate.
I hate getting old.
Not a Lot of Exercise
I didn’t get nearly as much exercise as I would have liked. Although I was on the move for a good portion of the week, it was mostly driving and then hammering tires to get them off of an SUV. To top it all off, I hurt something in my elbow, which is a common problem for me while at the gym. It’s why I have two compression sleeves, actually.
Anyway, it was a rough few days of trying to fix our vehicle and driving around. Of course, I could have walked or played the Oculus more than I had. So, a lot of the lack of exercise this past week was technically on me. But I tell ya, it’s difficult to muster up the energy as an almost-50 desk jockey with hurt limbs.
Goals for Next Week
OK…that first week was a bit of a miss for my health and fitness goals. I’m starting the week a hurtin’ unit, but already working on getting things back on track. If there is one thing I’ve learned about all of these fitness challenges I have done, it’s that time will disappear extremely quickly if you’re not paying attention.
So, what am I working on this week?
Keeping Points Green, Damnit!
Because my days are usually chaotic as hell, I’m going to work on keeping the weekly points green. That means I’ll have to play catch-up for the days that I spend too much time behind the wheel. Since Spring is here in Denver, walking around the backyard an extra round is relatively simple, as long as I remember to put in a bit of extra umph in the day.
This time around, I’m going to work on doing something every morning before I even sit at my desk. This includes things like going to the gym, walking in the backyard, riding the bike, or even playing the Oculus. The point is that I need to get away from the computer first thing in the morning and be active to start the day.
Quit Procrastinating the Workouts
I still have the same ol’ issue of not listening to alarms and keeping myself working on various projects. Though, I’ve had to change the alarms a bit, considering that my 10 o’clock for working out has been changed to getting ready to live stream the writing sprints on YouTube.
Realistically, I should only need a 25 to 30-minute exercise in the afternoons, as long as I keep up with the rise-and-shine activities. I can probably swing that at around 3pm or even after work, before I make dinner.
Get Back to the Gym
One thing I am still trying to balance is getting back to the gym. I mean, I pay $25 per month for Planet Fitness, and I think I’ve visited about three times this year. Part of that is because I hate their new machines. I feel like I’m ripping the lower back extension off the ground with each rep.
Anyway, I need to focus on waking up in the morning and then heading out. If I can get out of the house between 6:30 and 6:45, I should be back in time to inhale a breakfast, get cleaned up, and head to work, which is in my basement. I would wake up earlier, but my life is too chaotic for that today.
No More YouTube in the Morning!
One of my biggest time sucks is watching YouTube videos first thing in the morning. It’s a bad habit that I got back into and need to work on breaking it once again. Initially, I was using YouTube videos to research things I wanted to work on that day, and then I got sucked back into chewing up a bit of time watching random content.
So, this week, I’m going to work on avoiding morning video scrolling. Everything I watch will be available after work, and I don’t need to burn my mornings watching the world catch on fire. However, I do find the Artemis flight very fascinating and exciting.
Still Have a Long Way to Go
This first week didn’t really go according to plan. And based on the last few days, the beginning of the second week is going to kind of suck as well. Still, I’m going to put in as much effort as I can and get back on track.
Let’s just hope that I don’t have too many hurdles to leap in my path. I’m getting old, and it’s getting harder and harder to clear some of the taller ones. I’m not 30 anymore. Hell, I’m not even 40 anymore.
However, I’m not giving up and will keep pushing until I reach my goals, even if that means I have to break a push-up record at 70!
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