Oh my, it’s been over 4 months since the last entry. This one is going to be a doozy. Since the last entry, as you all know, life in the United States as we knew it changed. COVID-19 started rolling in our turf & caused lockdowns, safer at home orders, furloughs, layoffs, deaths & more things that I could list but don’t want to detract from this entry’s purpose.
It definitely changed my way of life. Life, as I knew it, consisted of working, training, doing dad & boyfriend stuff. Work & kid school stuff took a toll on me & ended up stepping away from the gym job that I held onto for 3 years. No sour grapes, just needed to step away from everything while feeling physically burned out while heading to mental burnout. Although prior to the Safer At Home order that happened on my birthday weekend in March I had been in my personal peak shape (239 pounds w/15% body fat), things were inevitably going to change.
Without a gym, I had to think quickly & got a set of resistance bands — the lightest one maxing at 35 pounds, the middle ones 65 & 85 respectively while the heaviest one being at 125. I had to re-think how I trained in a life beyond the dumbbells & barbells. It was pretty easy. The biggest obstacle happened to be well, being at home. It can be very easy to be distracted — video games, the news, trying to look for work, eating more than usual, playing w/my kid & girlfriend. I’ve been guilty of pretty much all of it.
What I did find surprising was that, despite having gained lots of weight (I had gotten as up to 281 form March end of this month) the strangest thing was my body fat percentage. My body fat, at the highest in this pandemic, was at 16.07%. So all this weight gain & yet fat was the minimal of the gain. Calories in being significantly more than out is the obviously but let it be known that there are reasons why it piled up as quick as it did. I’ll gladly list a few things.
Activity level. Prior to COVID19, my job had me walking about 4.7 miles/day on a 7 day basis minimum & maxing at 5.5 miles/day a week. As of this writing, I’m now averaging 2 miles/day per week. That’s a huge drop in activity. What your body is burning when on this active of a level will be in stark contrast to what it needs to drop/gain/maintain weight when you are more sedentary. I went from training 3 days a week for 45 minute sessions w/working as a janitor & taking my kid to school in the mornings to now just 2-3 days of 30-60 minute training sessions, online schooling w/my kid & working at a convenience store.
The food is there. The gym or training outside is more prone to keep you away from food & let’s be sincere here — when at home w/a fridge/freezer/pantry full of food, you can be tempted. As do I. I already had a past w/a bad relationship w/food i.e. binging & with staying home, the demons come out to torment. Working at a convenience store? It’s the ultimate test of willpower!
The reason I managed to minimize the fat gain happens to be due to what I prefer to eat/drink. Yes, I can struggle w/sweetening my coffee or oats at times but also, knowing how sensitive my body is now to animal products as they now force a lot of unwanted mucus production, I keep it plant-based. This means my diet is primarily of Fruits, Grains, Legumes, Nut/Seeds & Vegetables. Water is very essential so you bet I have a gallon/day as a bare minimum.
Additionally, at the age of 35, I had to sit back & reassess my training. Sure, I love to lift heavy & strive to be on powerlifting levels of strength but I had to be realistic w/my body & what it requires on a day to day basis vs. what I always push for. Sure, I’m only now at 15.2% body fat @ 281 pounds but do I need all that extra mass? The answer is a clear no & therefore now my new journey is to drop as low as I realistically can within reason. Just to keep things realistic w/my current lifestyle, I adjusted my goal to drop 1/2 pound/week via Cronometer, which is my app of preference for tracking my food, macros & other nutrients.
As for the ever buzz-worthy term, “intuitive eating”, I don’t think that method is healthy for people that are emotional eaters, binge eaters or people that lack any sense of control in terms of what enters their bodies. My past history of binge eating is a clear sign that such a method would prove to be toxic to my well-being. I do advocate intermittent fasting because it helps give a physical reset to those of us whom are constantly eating every few hours & haven’t had a chance to give their gut a break.
