05/24/2022: My 4 Week Health Transformation Update

 A couple months ago I came to the realization that, not only was I not in good health, everything I was trying to do on my own was not working.

Commitment to personal growth, I’m all over it.

Continued working until the job gets done, that’s me.

Telling myself to put the ice cream away, don’t eat another slice of pizza, or snacking when I’m bored? Yeah, I am not that guy.

I had to come to the realization of two things: 1) it really is a problem, and 2) I would need some help because my self-discipline in this area was weak.

My desire in life is to motivate and inspire people to pursuit excellence. To leave average behind.

Kind of hard to do when failing at the most basic part of life, health.

Enter my friends Brandi and her daughter Madison.

Madison took the lead from her mom and showed Amber what a new health plan would look like and how it could help.

Amber explained it to me one night after work, and since I was already knowing I had to do something, it became clear that this plan would work amongst the many variables of our life.

It would require I say no to things I love to eat, say yes to eating more of good food, and a willingness to try new things.

The past 4 weeks has proven to be easy, and hard, but with Madison keeping me accountable, it has been better than I expected.. 

The results, even better!

I am down 20 lbs, over 4 inches on my waist, and 22 inches overall.

Still got about 30 lbs to go before I work on adding more muscle, but I am excited about month 1!

Onward, and upward.

Or maybe….since we are talking about losing weight…

Onward, and downward!

🙂

5/22/2022: Right Before I Started My Health Transformation

I did this video the night before I started my health journey. 

The goal was to use it as my own form of accountability, and release it at some point in the journey.

Today is the end of 4 weeks on my health program, and tomorrow I’ll share where I am in the process.

I am not where I am going to go, but I am excited about the progress made!

CJ Pomeroy

Leaving Average Behind

5/10/2022: Day 16-21 of my Health Transformation

Hey My Friends!

I have made it through another week on the plan and feeling great!

The only hiccup this week was that I got really sick for a couple days and that has thrown my routine off. This means my writing is off.

However, I didn't cheat! I did miss some fuelings and two meals. Unfortunately, I had a stomach bug and that was a huge battle.

I can say that the fuelings I did eat are probably a big reason as to why I was able to recover as quickly as I did. The vitamins and nutrients contained in the fuelings were able to sustain me through my illness, and while I love losing weight, I don't want to lose weight due to being sick. I'm excited to report that did not happen. 

My body is doing much better. Still not 100%, but I am hoping that day 22 will be a full day back on plan and drinking all my fluids. If not, then I will keep eating what I can and trust the process. 

This is a journey to be enjoyed, so even though it may rain on the way, it doesn't mean the whole trip is bad. 

That leads me to this thought about thinking.

I never realized the science behind our thoughts and it's impact on our life. 

My guess is that many of us have probably heard that we need to think good things, but there is actual science to help us understand why we should do that.

It is too much to unpack in a post, but let me encourage you to read "Who Switched Off My Brain" by Dr. Caroline Leaf. This book does an amazing job of helping us understand the importance of our thoughts.

(if you remember, the book "Truly Free" by Robert Morris is what got me started on this journey to health transformation. The books "Winning the War In Your Mind" by Craig Groeschel and "Who Switched Off My Brain" by Dr. Caroline Leaf are the jet fuel for this journey.)

Why does a book about our thoughts matter?

When I started to realize I was getting sick, I had two choices to make: 

1. Give in to the "poor me" and the "everyone please feel sorry for me" mentality. 
2. Believe that I would be just fine as long as I took the right actions.

I chose #2 and truly believe that this choice caused my brain to produce good chemicals to my body and aid in the healing process.

Admittedly, I do not know much about brain functionality, but after the first 45 pages of this book by Dr. Leaf, I know that how I think matters to my overall health! 

Talk Soon!

CJ Pomeroy

Leaving Average Behind

5/9/2022: Day 15 of My Health Transformation

 Weigh in Day!

• 07:15 - Berrios (My last serving of Berrios and I did it!)
• 10:15 - Cinnamon Snack
• 13:15 - Potatoes
• 15:45 - Shake
• 18:30 - Blackened Salmon with zucchini and cauliflower rice (I couldn't eat all of my allotted portion!)
• 21:30 Cinnamon Swirl Cake
• 1 Zevia before noon, 2 pickles for a snack, 64 ounces of water

Down 12 pounds since I started!

Are you wondering why I am so excited about the Berrios?

If not, you might be now! LOL

It goes back to my WHY statements:  I want to reinforce the lesson that I can do hard things.

Eating food I dislike is a hard thing.

I am NOT a fan of the Berrios. However, I am committed to my goal and my commitment is greater than my discomfort.

I will never reach my true potential if I am not willing to get out of my comfort zone and do hard things. 

To eat things I dislike.

This accomplishment, as small as it may be, is a big boost in confidence!

I'm watching the weight drop off and I am scoring small victories at the same time.

This is what health transformation looks like!

CJ Pomeroy

Leaving Average Behind

Reflections & Lessons: Days 12-14 of My Health Transformation

Day 12:  My experience is enough for God to use to help others and achieve my unique purpose in life.

This is a big one for me, maybe for you too. I sometimes struggle with the thought I have not accomplished anything in my life worth-while. That is not true though. Each person has had an experience that can encourage or help someone else become better.  My responsibility is to share my experiences with others and trust that it will help the people who need to hear it.

Day 13:  I really need to know these products so I can help and serve others to the best of my ability!

I am already getting questions about my weight loss. The clothes are looser, and people are noticing. If I am going to help people learn about what I am doing, then I need to know all about it! 

Day 14:  This journey has resulted in me telling myself no more often, in many areas.

I am exercising a muscle every time I say "no" to myself. Because I have been exercising that muscle, I have the strength to say "no" to other things in my life that are not good either. It may be a small thing right now, but it really is a BIG thing! Freedom in life comes when we are disciplined, and discipline means we need to say "no" to good, or bad, things so that we can "yes" to the best things!

CJ Pomeroy
Leaving Average Behind

Reflections & Lessons: Days 9-11 of My Health Transformation

Hello My Friend!

In my last post (click here) I wrote about my food schedule for the week, some non-scale victories I experienced, and 1 cool story.

This post is about the reflections and lessons I learned as I went through the week.

Day 9:  It is important to write down and document the lessons I am learning so that it can help others in the future. Don't worry about how many see it. Trust God to use your journey to impact the people it needs to impact.

Journaling has been a weakness of mine, but this journey has helped me understand it's importance. There are lessons in each and every day that need to be deeply considered. There are also people who need to see and hear about the struggles faced, and the victories won.

Day 10:  I am in charge of my transformation. I won't make any progress standing still, and I can't make any turns in my life if I am not moving.

Nothing great ever happened because I hoped it would! Great things have happened in my life when I start taking action. My health won't get better if I do not intentionally walk in the direction of good health. Transformation within me won't happen if I don't actually change something in my life!

Day 11: Framing my day, especially at the beginning, is important to maintaining perspective and staying motivated.

Growing up, my dad would say "Perception is reality. What one perceives in their mind to be true, to them it is real." I don't know if he got that quote from someone else, or if it was original to him. Regardless, I have found that to be very true! Each day, it is important that I frame my mentality in the right way. That way, when negative things happen, I can see those things through a right frame of mind.

CJ Pomeroy

Leaving Average Behind

When and how I am eating: Days 9-14 of My Health Transformation

 I did some tracking in my notebook these days and didn't get to the blog, so here is a quick food log update. I'll post my daily lessons learned separately.

My schedule stayed the same each, mostly. Saturday and Sunday is a little different.

• 1ST Fueling:  Usually between 07:00 & 07:30. Typically consists of something "breakfasty". That would be like the pancakes, Cinnamon Cheese Cake Swirl, or Berrios. I also tried the Onion Sticks and Cheddar Biscuit for breakfast. Those are not really my favorite in the morning, but hey, got to spread the love around on this first box!

• 2ND Fueling:  Usually between 10:00 and 10:30. This one is normally taken at work and sometimes a meeting can get in the way, so I try to stick with something quick. A bar, shake, or a snack bag (Cinnamon Snack, Onion Sticks, or BBQ Munchers).

• 3RD Fueling:  Usually my lunch fueling, so I aim for something "lunch". This happens between 12:30 and 13:15. Potatoes or Pasta is a great Go-To!

• 4TH Fueling:  This is my mid-afternoon fueling and happens between 15:30 and 16:00. Knowing that I have my big meal coming up, I usually only eat a Bar or drink a Shake. 

• DINNER!  Between 18:00 and 18:30 is my favorite time of day because I get to "pig" out...in a manner of speaking. I am usually starving by this time, so I can typically eat a plate full of program approved food and weight. We introduced fish this week, an Egg dish, and Stuffed Pizza Peppers was a favorite. That had turkey pepperoni instead of regular pepperoni. I'm getting to the point where it is actually a challenge to eat everything that I am allowed to eat! 

• 5TH Fueling: This is my right before bed meal, between 21:30 and 22:00. What I eat really depends on how I am feeling. If I want something sweet, then brownie or bar it is. If I want something light, then a biscuit or soup. 
• Fluids & Snacks:  I have drank all or more water than required, cut back on my powerade consumption, and only drink 1 Zevia per day. For snacks, I keep it to pickles or nuts. No more than 2 pickles, or no more than 7-10 nuts. I try to do this sparingly.

Saturday and Sundays have been a little different on the time frame due to our Church schedule. That is something I still need to figure out the best way to handle. 

I am happy to report 4 Non-Scale victories!

1. I have not had any donuts or kolaches on Sunday mornings
2. I ate out for the first time since being on plan and did not cheat. I ate an approved meal. Even checked with the waiter before ordering my protein.
3. I intentionally ate Brussel sprouts!
4. Getting to the point where it is hard to eat my whole meal.
5. I went one day without any Zevia (soda replacement). Been a long time since that happened!
6. People are starting to notice a change!

1 cool story

I really dislike the pudding. I won't lie. It is so hard for me to eat that. I have never liked pudding at any time of my life. However, it is in my box and I have to eat some of it. One of my goals is to do Hard Things and eating pudding is a hard thing!

I literally have to treat myself like one of my kids when trying to eat it. "Take a bite for daddy", "It is good for you", "Yum, yum, yum"!  My response is not much better than theirs because I want to dump the bowl upside down, throw the spoon, and scream!

Enter, the wife.

 My wife is a Tupperware distributor and she has cool things. One of her cool things is a popsicle maker. As she saw me get the next bag of pudding to mix together, begrudgingly, she had an idea. She told me to let her make the pudding and put it in her popsicle maker. I dislike pudding so much that I am totally game for any idea that can make this easier to eat!

After a couple hours in the fridge, my wife's great idea turned into pudding that I could actually get down! Still not my favorite, but now I have a new way to eat it, and it will help me accomplish my goal of doing Hard Things! 

My next post will be some reflections and lessons learned from each day this week, so be sure to check it out!

CJ Pomeroy

Leaving Average Behind

5/2/2022: Day 8 of my Health Transformation

 Check-In Day!

Not that there is a set time for me to check my weight while on the plan, but I had always intended to see what progress I had made.

• 07:00 - Cheddar Biscuit (need to figure out a better way to make this)
• 10:00 - Peanut Butter Bar (Have you ever tried to eat something from a wrapper when in a meeting with over 100 people??)
• 13:00 - Chicken Noodle Soup (Another good one)
• 15:30 - Another mixed Shake
• 18:30 - Round Steak with Vegetables
• 22:00 - Chocolate bar
• Drank over 64 ounces of water, Half of a PowerAde, 1 Zevia, a couple of pickles and couple of cashews.

It is MINDFUL week.

The goal is to build a habit of taking time to think about the day, and specifically, some of the micro-aspects of the day.

I am doing this blog, so that is one way I am already practicing this habit, but I will keep a log in my book as well.

Today was a great day of learning, and the Lifebook really had something I had thought about, but not in the way they brought it up.

THE INCONVENIENCE OF DISEASE

One of my WHY statements is that I want to be able to provide for my family. I had wrote that down while thinking about how health could cause me to not be able to work, and that is not a good thing.

Here is what I had not thought about - all of the inconveniences.

The extra medicines, doctor appointments, therapy sessions, wear and tear on my family, and all of the dollars associated with it.

Each of them are an inconvenience.

Now, I need to be clear about this:  I am a person of faith, and I believe God has a plan for my life. He already knows my future and my future health.

Focusing on my health and losing weight does not guarantee that something bad will never happen to me.

However, taking care of my health is me being a good steward of my body. For a person of faith, the body is referred to as the temple of the Holy Spirit, and it is important that I maintain it well.

This part may not speak to you as much as it does to me, and that is prerogative. For me though, my identify is wrapped in my faith, and I cannot separate myself from that. It is how I identify, and it's one of the WHY statements that I know is bigger than temporary satisfaction.

Today was also my celebration call!

I love my coach and her mom. I have known Brandy and Madison for years, and they are truly awesome people. I am so glad they are in this journey with me!

Lesson I take away from Day 8

• Writing about my journey is important.
• Heart of Palm could be a great pasta replacement.
• I need to consider the importance of not having excessive sodium in my diet.
• Disease is more inconvenient than just dying, and it affects everyone and everything in your life.
• Be healthy on purpose.
• If the best leaders in the world write about their days, then so should I.

Things I encouraged myself with

• My why statements
• That God created me on purpose, to live in His purpose, for a purpose.
• My current success

Speaking of.....

I AM DOWN 7 POUNDS IN ONE WEEK!

Feeling great, sleeping better, and moving in the right direction!

CJ

Inspiring and motivating others to LEAVE AVERAGE BEHIND!

5/1/2022: Day 7 of my Health Transformation

Sunday!

This is truly test day.

Our family has a weekly tradition of getting donuts & kolaches before church, and the place we go has the absolute best cinnamon crumb cake donut in the world!

• 07:15 - Berrios (Tried it with 1/4 cup of almond milk, which is first for me also. I still have a difficult time with this one.)
• 10:45 - Mint Chocolate Bar
• 13:20 - Pudding
• 15:40 - Bell Peppers and Ground Beef
• 18:40 - Cinnastix
• 21:40 - Cheddar Biscuit
• Drank over 64 ounces of water, 1 PowerAde, 1 Zevia, two pickle slices and a couple cashews

Today I focused on eating things I don't like. I figured it would be a good way for me to focus on what I was trying to accomplish rather than missing out on my favorite donut and fried chicken. My wife and kids have been amazing at not eating what I cannot eat in front of me and I am thankful for that!

However, today was really hard. This is one of those habits we have literally done HUNDREDS OF TIMES. 

It is REALLY REALLY HARD to stop doing something that you have done so much, for so long. 

How did I do it?

This is when you have to REMEMBER YOUR WHY.

Your WHY must be greater than your desire for temporary satisfaction, otherwise you are hamster in a wheel. 

The carrot on the end of a stick.

Always trying to get something, and always unable to get it.

I have been called to bigger things in life than a donut and fried chicken, and I have to remember that.

ESPECIALLY ON THE HARD DAYS.

Lesson I take away from Day 7

• My WHY has to be bigger than my temporary desires for satisfaction.
• I can say NO to hard things, and I can walk away.
• As a person of faith, relying on God to help give me strength to overcome is necessary to win some battles.

Things I encouraged myself with

• This is the reason I started this program. I can't fail in week 1!
• Remembering my WHY statements!
• Prayer.

I made it through a hard day!

CJ

Inspiring and motivating others to LEAVE AVERAGE BEHIND!

4/30/2022: Day 6 of my Health Transformation

 Today I got to play golf! I love to get on the course, swing the sticks, and enjoy the serenity a golf course provides. Even if it is in Houston, TX! Preparing for today required some extra planning.

• 07:15 - Shake (Have I mentioned how much I like these?)
• 09:45 - Cheerios (Struggled to get these down dry)
• 12:30 - Bar (easy eating!)
• 03:30 - Mustard & Onion Straws (this is a pretty good snack)
• 18:30 - Fish (for the first time on plan!) with vegetables
• 21:30 - Shake
• Drank over 150 ounces of water, 50 ounces of PowerAde, 1 Zevia, a couple pickle slices & nuts.

I was surprised at how much the heat took out of me today, and I was not properly prepared for that. As I get healthier and stronger, then this will go away. Just another part of my body adjusting. 

What I did prepare for was how to eat. Knowing I was going to be on the course meant I would need easy to eat food, which is why I chose the dry goods today. That was definitely the right call.

Today was also my first real temptation day.

The fundraiser had Chick-Fil-A for breakfast, snacks on the golf course, and BBQ for lunch. 

I avoided the dining room before and after so that I could limit my exposure to it. However, the BBQ smell hit me outside the door as I was walking by and I got immediate hunger pains. 

BUT!!!

I did not eat it!

I have to remain committed to doing the right thing!

Lesson I take away from Day 6

• Definitely need to be conscientious with how much physical exertion a person puts in while in the fat-burning phase. The body is adjusting, so need to recognize that it takes time, and that is OK.
• Walk away from temptations.

Things I encouraged myself with

• I can do hard things! That is one of my why statements.

CJ

Inspiring and motivating others to LEAVE AVERAGE BEHIND!

4/29/2022: Day 5 of my Health Transformation

 It was basketball day at the office, so a chance to get a couple more ounces of protein. I like these days to get a little more meat at my meal, but it will be my last day for a week or two. I twisted my knee pretty good. Glad this program does not require exercise so I can continue my healthy transformation!

• 07:15 - Pancake
• 09:45 - Shake (I mix the different flavors and these are really good!)
• 13:15 - (Not a huge fan of Mint Choco Chip Bar)
• 15:45 - Penne Pasta (another good one!)
• 18:30 - (Spaghetti) Zuchini Noodles with Ground Turkey (this turned out really well)
• 21:30 - Shake (Decided to go with easy for the last meal)
• Over 64 ounces of water, 28 ounces of PowerAde, and 1 Zevia.

Hurting my knee put a damper on the day. However, I can keep moving forward on my journey because it is about learning how to properly fuel my body. The most important thing I can do is stay committed to proper eating because I have big things I want to accomplish in the time that God has given to me!

Lesson I take away from Day 5

• Proper eating will help me continue forward on my journey, and it will also help my body heal and recover faster.

Things I encouraged myself with

• I can still keep moving forward because the focus is on my input and not my output.

CJ

Inspiring and motivating others to LEAVE AVERAGE BEHIND!