Last Updated on July 1, 2024 by Michael Brockbank
If you’re not coming home from the gym looking like a sweaty mess, why bother going? Well, that is unless you plan on showering there, I suppose. After a two-week hiatus, it’s good to be back.
Given the nature of the Father’s Day emergency, I decided to take a bit of time off last week as I continued putting the house in order. The only thing I really worked on was my client’s stuff and a few posts here and there.
My office space is still a bit of a disaster, but it’s put together enough to get things rolling again.
I also decided that I’m not going to penalize myself for something that was out of my control. That means I’m not going to register the last two weeks in the red on the spreadsheet. I’m also not going to restart the challenge despite the crappy beginning. It’s the Summer of Effort, damnit.
Didn’t Lose, Didn’t Gain
This past week, I’m somewhat impressed that I didn’t gain any weight back…not even a single extra pound. I suppose that’s because I was still moving around, going up and down stairs, and getting things situated despite dining out most of the time.
Essentially, I had to rearrange an entire 2400-square-foot house to accommodate Grandpa and the kids. And that’s no small feat when you’re doing most of it yourself.
Anyway, I managed to burn as much as I consumed, so at least that’s better than gaining back the four pounds I lost thus far. Sure, it could have been more. But dealing with a family emergency is more important than hitting weight loss goals.
So, I’m still at 238.6 pounds. It’s better than 240.
What’s the Plan for Week 4?
A quarter of the Summer of Effort is gone, and I’ve only lost 4.6 pounds. As I said earlier, though, I’m not going to stress myself out over the paltry performance. Extenuating circumstances prevented me from really diving into this challenge for a couple of weeks.
Still, it’s time to get back into the swing of things and start putting in some maximum effort.
Getting Back to the Gym
Today (Monday) was my return to the gym. I wasn’t able to lift as much as I was back in week one, but that’s to be expected. I’ve noticed that if I take two weeks off from lifting weights, I essentially have to work my way back up.
Well, that also depends on the machines I use. For example, I was still able to lift 240 pounds on the back extension without issue. Yet, I had to dial back the flys to 135 instead of 150 after the first set.
In any case, it was nice getting back to the gym. It’s an hour of Zen first thing in the morning.
Keeping Green, Except on the 4th of July
Obviously, I’m getting back to tracking my intake versus output. That is with the exception of the 4th of July. Since it’s a holiday, I’m not going to stress about trying to keep track of every morsel of food. Sometimes, you just gotta enjoy the holidays.
That doesn’t mean that I plan on going hog wild with the goodies, though. I want to keep my intake within reason. But I’m not going to track all of the alcohol and such while we’re having a good time watching fireworks and making smores over the firepit.
Clean Enough to Play the Oculus or Kinect
My house is still a bit of a disaster from the last couple of weeks. One of my goals is to clean a spot where I can play either the Oculus or the Xbox Kinect for some cardio. The logical choices would be my bedroom or the upstairs living room. The basement is still full of Grandpa’s stuff that needs boxed up and put into storage.
Since my 25-year-old has his own room now, I don’t have anyone sleeping in my living room or taking up space. That means I can essentially play as often as I would like…as soon as the boxes and whatnot are moved out.
With it being so damn hot at the moment, it’s hard to get motivated to walk around the backyard. So, playing the Oculus or Kinect is the next logical choice for me. Besides, I burn more calories playing games than I do walking. I just don’t rack up as many steps.
Protein Days Tuesday and Thursday (Ish)
I keep wanting to try an experiment with having protein days on Tuesdays and Thursdays to see how much it affects my weight loss. Unfortunately, the 4th of July lands on Thursday, and I doubt Fireball counts as protein.
Still, I’m going to start getting into the habit this week. That means I’ll need to run to Costco today or tomorrow for some beef jerky. One of my favorite meals is “steak and eggs,” which is two hard-boiled eggs and two ounces of New York Strip Steak jerky from Costco.
On the 4th of July, I’ll just work on keeping the carbs a bit lower until that night. Like I said, I’m not going to stress too much about intake and just enjoy the holiday.
Kicking It Back Into Gear
All things considered, I’m not doing too badly on this challenge. I haven’t gained weight back from one week to the next, and have been quite active. It’s not exactly the effort I wanted to put in for the summer, but things are starting to settle a bit around here.
The good thing is that everyone is alive and well.
Time to set everything in motion again and get this train moving down the track.
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