4/28/2022: Day 4 of my Health Transformation

 Today I have a medical screening, so I have to fast until that is over. Madison thought it would be best to try and eat every 2 hours since I will have gone 10 hours without food.

• 10:30 - Flax Seed Bar
• 12:30 - Brown Sugar and Honey Potatoes (sweet potatoes!)
• 15:00 - Mixed Protein Shake
• 17:00 - Chocolate Bar
• 19:00 - Soup (Lean chicken breast and vegetables. Ate more today!)
• 22:00 - Brownie (That was amazing!)
• Drank over 70 ounces of water, 28 ounces of PowerAde, and 1 Zevia
• Snack was 4 pickles and a couple walnuts

The fasting today caused me little discomfort today, so I ate more pickles instead of the recommended 2. I also hit golf balls at the driving range today, so I had some low impact exercise. It also was the first day where I craved milk and something sweet, but I was able to lay off. 

My medical screen at work was fine.

The bad cholesterol is where it needs to be, but the good cholesterol needs to be better. That will happen when I get my weight where it should be.

Speaking of weight, I know I am down a couple pounds for the week since I started. Just got to keep it up!

No huge life-thought today.

Today was about being focused, staying committed, and powering through.

Isn't that how life goes for us sometimes though?

We just have days that seem mundane, but it actually requires us to push through.

Today was just about soldiering through and doing the right thing. 

I can't afford to have an off-day at this moment because I am building consistency and momentum.

Messing up will just set me back, and going back is not what I want to do.

Lessons I take away from Day 4

• Soldier through the mundane. Keep going forward!

Things I encouraged myself with

• I remembered my WHY statements.

• I reminded myself that this is only temporary, but necessary, for what I want to achieve.

• I reminded myself that others have it way worse than me, so I can overcome this.

CJ

Inspiring and motivating others to LEAVE AVERAGE BEHIND!

4/27/2022: Day 3 of my Health Transformation

 I had a late start today, so my first meal was later than normal.

• 08:00 - CinnaSwirl Cream Cheese Cake (YEP, CAKE FOR BREAKFAST!)
• 11:00 - Mixed Protein Shake
• 13:30 - Onion Straws
• 16:00 - Potatoes
• 18:30 - Soup with chicken breast and vegetables (did not eat enough since it was soup)
• 22:00 - Vanilla Shake and Cereal (double-fueling since I didn't eat enough for dinner and have to fast for medical screen next day)
• Snack was 2 pickels and a couple of walnuts
• Drank over 70 ounces of water, 28 ounces of PowerAde, and 1 Zevia

Surviving or Thriving?

That was the thought that came to me today as I was considering this journey. 

Why do I eat poorly?

If you give it some thought, then maybe you will come up with some of the same answers I did.

• I'm so busy at work that I don't even know I'm ready to eat until my body tells me it is time to eat. By that time, I have so much going on that I just need to get something quick and get back to work.
• The kids are always going. One kid finishes their thing and we need to get to the next thing, and they need to eat. Just grab what we can and get the next kid to their appointment.
• I need to get somewhere right after work, but I have to eat. Go through the drive-thru and get something small.

See a pattern?

It's all related to busyness!

We are simply trying to survive the schedule we have and eating is something we do mostly because we know we need to.

It's not that we want to be in poor health, but we are just trying to thrive. Especially when there are 4 kids in the house!

I don't know if that is similar to anything you experience, but that's how it is for us.

It feels like we are just in survival mode.

However, as a person of faith, I believe God has called us to an abundant life. 

To thrive!

Food is an essential element to thriving in life because we get out of our body what we put in to our body.

That builds on what I learned yesterday - eat with purpose and intention. 

Eat to thrive!

Lessons I take away from day 3

• Don't just survive - THRIVE!

• God wants me to live abundantly and eating right can help me do that.

Things I encouraged myself with

• God wants me to live an abundant life!

CJ

Inspiring and motivating others to LEAVE AVERAGE BEHIND!

4/26/2022: Day 2 of my Health Transformation

The first fueling of the day was at 7:30 and I went every 2 ½ - 3 hours from there.

• 07:30 - Chocolate Chip Pancake
• 10:00 - Mixed Shake
• 12:30 - Cinna Stix
• 15:30 - Chicken Soup
• 18:30 - Lean & Green:  6 oz of Chicken breast, Asparagus, Cauliflower, Green Beans, Scallions, & green pepper with Butter and seasoned salt (Sauteed and accounted for the extra greens by putting less ounces in per green)
• 21:30 - Chocolate Pudding with 10 Pecans
• Snack was 5 Pecans
• Drank over 30 ounces of Powerade, had 1 Zevia, and over 80 ounces of water

As I made my breakfast this morning a thought came to mind.

Eat with a purpose.

How often are we intentional about what we eat and when we eat? 

Something I know this health transformation journey will help me with is eating for a purpose. Eating with intentionality.

Everything I put in my body matters, and it is either helping me move towards my purpose as a child of God, or it is hurting me.

As the hard times come at the beginning of this journey (like when I have to eat pudding), then I am going to remind myself that learning the discipline of eating on purpose is critical to fulfilling my God-Given purpose for being on this earth. God has a plan for me, but I can only be a part of it if I choose to follow His plan. That means I need to take care of my body. 

Win for the day, I did not struggle with headaches and lack of focus as much! Not sure if that is because of the adjustment my body is making, water I drank, Powerade I sipped on, or if it is the steroid shot I got. Regardless, it was a more productive day at work.

I did struggle with eating the pudding that I mixed pecans with. In the past, I have not been a pudding guy, but I need to adapt. I was able to eat it because I reminded myself of why I am doing what I am doing, and that this is part of learning how to do hard things. I can, and I will, do this.

Lessons I take away from day 2

• Be intentional with what I eat and when I eat.

• Drink water even when you don’t think about it

Things I encouraged myself with

• I had written down Bible verses to help me combat the negative thoughts that would come my way.

• I remembered my WHY statements.

• I reminded myself that this is only temporary, but necessary, for what I want to achieve.

• I reminded myself that others have it way worse than me, so I can overcome this.

CJ

Inspiring and motivating others to LEAVE AVERAGE BEHIND!

4/25/2022: Day 1 of intentionally adjusting my health habits!

My first fueling of the day was at 7:30 and I went every 2 ½ - 3 hours from there.

07:30 - Red Berries Cereal

10:00 - BBQ Munchers

13:00 - Peanut Butter Bar

15:30 - Tomato & Herb Penne

18:30 - Lean & Green (Chicken breast, Asparagus, Cauliflower, & Green Beans with Salt, Pepper, & Butter)

21:00 - Caramel Bar

Snack was 2 Pickle Spears

Drank over 30 ounces of Powerade, had 1 Zevia, and over 100 ounces of water

The difficulty I encountered was focus.

My body stayed in a state of hunger and I had a constant headache. The combination of these two things made it very difficult to focus on almost anything. Unfortunately, I didn’t take into account that playing basketball and taking a decongestant would naturally increase my water needs significantly. That may have contributed to my day-long discomfort. I took an Aleve at bedtime and that helped me rest through the night.

I’m currently reading EXTREME OWNERSHIP and WINNING THE WAR IN YOUR MIND. Two great books to help me start this journey because it helps me overcome my obstacles. The first obstacle is taste. It was hard to adjust to the dryness of the food. The second obstacle was the pain and thoughts that this is how every day would be. 

To combat the first obstacle, I am going to mix up my fuelings so that I am not eating dry foods 3 times in a row. This is a matter of choice and intentionality, which can be easily solved.

To combat the second obstacle, I have to remind myself of a couple things: 

• First, my body is unhealthy and some of the pain and discomfort is due to detoxing;

• Second, I didn’t take into account my exercise or my sickness when I started this. That means I was already at a water deficit to begin with, so what I felt should have been expected;

• Third, I forgot that certain snacks could help me overcome the headaches, so I wasn’t prepared;

• Lastly, every day will not be like this because I am getting healthier. My body will adjust, and once it does, then I won’t have to fight through the pain.

Becoming better, transforming myself, requires I take Extreme Ownership of my decisions and win the battle between my ears. If I do that, then I will win!

Lessons I take away from day 1

• I should have prepared myself by increasing my water intake significantly for the week prior to my start date.

• I should have accounted for my exercise and water loss by drinking more the week before, or by breaking up my lean and green to give me some heartier food after my exercise.

• I should have had my snacks prepared.

Things I encouraged myself with

• I had written down Bible verses to help me combat the negative thoughts that would come my way.

• I remembered my WHY statements.

• I reminded myself that this is only temporary, but necessary, for what I want to achieve.

• I reminded myself that others have it way worse than me, so I can overcome this.

CJ

Inspiring and motivating others to LEAVE AVERAGE BEHIND!

The Start of my Health Transformation

A few weeks ago, I made the intentional decision to become healthier.

I know I am overweight, but I considered myself “average overweight”. I can still run and play ball, lift heavy weight, and enjoy some flexibility, so I can’t really be that bad. 

So I thought…

While reading Truly Freed, by Robert Morris, I came to the realization that I did not have control over food, but it controlled me. I was, even as a Christian, enslaved to unhealthy food.

I thought I was good enough at controlling what/when/how much, but really, I was just making excuses for myself.

I have always believed that God has a plan for me, and that I have a responsibility to provide for my family - now and in the future. 

How can I accomplish what God wants me to do if I lack discipline? 

How can I coach players to pursuit excellence, which requires discipline, if I am not setting the right example?

How can I take care of my family if I am in the hospital with a severe illness caused by poor eating habits?

I could fake it till I make it on some of these things, but in all of them I would fight the internal battle of being a hypocrite.

My personal integrity would suffer. 

Who am I if I have no integrity?

So, it’s time to be intentional and make a change, and realize one very important truth - the road is better together.

I could try to do it on my own, and I have once before, but there is one more hard truth I had to except:  I fail on my own more than I succeed, so I need a coach to help me.

That’s why I chose this new health program and Madison Stone to help coach me through it.

Today was day 1, and I did what I was supposed to. 

A big thank you to Amber for her encouragement, and for working to change our menu at home to support me along the way.

Now it’s time to practice my one word for 2022 and do this - consistently.

CJ

Inspiring and motivating others to LEAVE AVERAGE BEHIND!