I’m taking the next 90 days to focus on improving my nutrition and consistency with my workouts in an effort to lose body fat, gain muscle and develop better habits. I want to look, feel and perform better than I ever have.
I’m documenting my progress here and on our podcast so I can share mindset tips, and diet and exercises advice that I hope will help you get better results. Fat loss is simple in theory, but nearly impossible in execution for some people. I know that. I’ve been there myself.
I want to be as transparent as possible so you can see how I approach fat loss and so you can gain insight into how to get results that will change your life.
Quick backstory: I’ve battled two issues that have created setbacks over the past couple of years; severe low back and hip pain, and stomach discomfort. The latter is the consequence of trying to manage the pain of the former. After pushing through some intense training in preparation for the 2018-2019 running season, I found myself popping Advil like M&Ms and ultimately dealing with a lot of stomach discomfort that left me sensitive to specific foods like wheat, and artificial sweeteners (two of my favorite things).
Occasionally, I would eat a certain food that I had never had a problem with, and suddenly my stomach pain would flare up out of the blue. Back to the drawing board I went. Intermittent fasting, accompanied by occasional longer bouts of fasting (35 hours was the sweet spot) helped me eventually figure out how to manage the stomach issues. If I had to guess, I probably gave myself a peptic ulcer. Lesson learned.
I’m still dealing with the low back and hip pain, but now manage it with rest, ice and heat. I also discovered this Arnica cream that works wonders. I haven’t used Advil in ages, but I do take 1/2 a pill of an Aleve once in a while when I can’t manage the pain any other way. Thankfully I have been able to mostly get rid of the stomach issues. I do have to remain diligent about making good nutrition choices every day, otherwise I risk experiencing minor gut irritation that I would much rather avoid.
My current stats: I’m 38 years old, 5′ 8″ and 178.0 LB. Body fat: 23.3%; waist: 35 inches.
In 90 days I want to reach 155.0 LB and 16% body fat. Numbers can feel like arbitrary targets, so more specifically, I want to be 100% pain free and physically capable of doing whatever I want. For me, this looks like being able to hike any mountain without worrying about having the endurance to complete it, perform 5 consecutive pull-ups (this gets much easier as I lose weight). I want to have boundless energy for work, training and fun stuff, while just feeling good in general. Making my health and fitness goals more of a focus is important, especially as we move into the darker winter months.
I’m starting today, feel free to join me or just follow along. I know from experience that a lot of incredible changes will be made in all areas of your life when you make exercise and good nutrition a priority. Life gets busy, and before you know it, you’re not feeling your best. You know and I know you’re capable of more. Let’s do this.