I'm not one for New Year's resolutions, because the times I have made them, this becomes the time of year when they go by the wayside. So, on December 31 as we did our quarantined New Years, I decided that 2021 would be my year of Health and Fitness. I wasn't very clear in my head what that meant, and the teacher in me wanted to break it down into SMART goals. But I resisted. Instead, I decided that I would endeavor to make decisions every day that would impact my health in a positive way. 

What's my motivation? It's simple. When your BMI is in the "morbidly obesse" category and your doctor tells you that many of the illnesses you're dealing with would be vastly improved if you just lost weight, it's time to listen. And if that wasn't enough, the daily pain of struggling knees is a built in daily reminder that something needs to be done. So I committed to work on three things: 1) More exercise; 2)Better food choices; 3)Emotional Health. 

For exercise, I decided to ride my Peloton bike on a more consistent basis. I usually get on some crazy training schedule as if I was still riding thousands of miles a year and doing century rides evey few months. I end up frustrated, in pain and let it go. So, using Selena Yeager's "Ride your way Lean" I decided that for 2021, I wouldn't approach cycling as if I was in training, but it was more about getting my ass on the bike and riding consistently and for longer periods of time. 

For better food choices, I'm using Noom. I like its approach of "no deprivation" and it's heavy use of the psychology of decision making when it comes to food. No swearing off pizza or the occasional drive thru meal, but my decisions to have the will be conscious decisions and get logged with all my other foods, to stay in my target range. 

Emotional Health was a tough one to approach. I with many of my union colleagues had gone through a tough election season, I decided to add the additonal challenge of running for office myself, and in the midst of all this, we decided to move to a new house. While the statewide elections were a mixed bag with some big disappointments, I did win my own race, and after some delays we did eventually move into our new home. But mentally and emotionally, I was exhausted. And while how I was going to deal with this wasn't clear back in December, eventually, I naturally arrived at returning to a meditation practice. This is not the intense Zen practice I had years ago while living at the Sweetwater Zen Center for a year and a half, this is more about carving out some time to sit, breath, and calm things down. The Peloton Mediation classes have been a good start. It's like meditation on training wheels, and for someone that hasn't sat on the meditation cushion for years, it's exactly what I need for right now. 

So how did the first month of Health and Fitness go? Here is my workout schedule:

Weight on January 1: 380.6
Weight on January 31: 370.6
Monthly loss: 10 lb

So far so good. So,  join me on my journey to Health and Fitness, 

Ride on,

Roberto

​This will be a short update. I’m on the road for the first time since I started the Whole 30. So lets get to it: almost all inflammation in my hands and ankles are just about gone. I have a lot more energy than I did before. Because through the plan the body shifts away from primarily burning sugar from carbohydrates to burning fat, I feel a lot less hungry, or at least I don’t feel the need to eat as often.

Here is the kicker, even though I’m not supposed to weigh myself until after day 30, I got very curious because my clothes started feeling a bit looser. So, I hopped on the scale this morning and this is what I found: Since starting the Whole 30 three weeks ago, I’ve lost 19 pounds. Which means that since July 6, after I got back from Boston, I’ve lost a total of 30 lbs. 

So to sum up: feeling healthier, have more energy, losing weight. So far so good!