Work in Progress III

Hi friends! First post of 2020! I hope you all had a happy and safe holiday season. Thank you for all the sweet messages and comments over the past couple of weeks checking in on me. I figured for my first post in the new year, I’d do a check in on the recovery and do a #finebyforty update, since I keep getting asked about it. Also, nipples for my thirsty friends! :)

Recovery

Last time I check in, I was pretty fresh out of the operating room. As I mentioned in that entry, post-op nausea was a major concern and, because of that, we approached sedation differently. I had a nerve block in my abdomen to cut down on the amount of sedation they gave me. It was a success; I had almost no nausea after the operation. What I didn’t anticipate was the abdominal cramping that hung around for a couple days after surgery. I spent a good amount of time like this: resting with a heat pad on my belly. It did wonders. Also…love that orange iodine line I’m sporting. It took so many showers to fully banish it.

I’m not about two weeks out from my surgery and I’m mostly back to normal. I’m not in any pain; just sore now. I was cleared this week to start light cardio; I’m still not able to lift anything over 10 pounds or do any core work for another month though. Aside from a setback where I popped a suture in the night and woke up to a Godfather-esque bloodbath in my bed, the surgery was pretty uneventful. Recovery has been pretty smooth too.

Huge shout out to my family, friends and my guy for taking such great care of me and the kiddo over the past few weeks.

The Journey

I was super bummed when I went to the doc in late November and found out that my umbilical hernia was worsening; I was even more bummed to find out that I had to stop working out immediately while waiting on my repair surgery. I had been making steady gains and had momentum going. With working out on hold, I knew that I needed to be extra diligent if I wanted to maintain my progress. With the help of people smarter than me, I came up with a diet plan to help me maintain over the two months of waiting for surgery, having surgery and recovery time.

I’m now over half way through that period. I’m happy to report that not only have I maintained my weight loss despite not being able to do cardio - I’ve continued to lose weight. Thanks to eating a sensible, balanced diet and lots (and lots) of walking, I’ve lost 7 pounds over the past few weeks.

Left to Right: January 2020, October 2019, December 2019

It hasn’t been easy. In addition to being on physical restrictions, I had to practice self-control and navigating the holidays. I’m not going to lie and said I was always successful; I dabbled with a little bit of everything. Candy, cookies, cake, pie, hot cider with fireball in it. I thoroughly enjoyed the season with my tribe but, wherever possible, I tried to find balance.

Milestones

Here’s an update on all the numbers. We’re continuing our positive trending across the board, which I’m jazzed about.

Measurement	Starting	1/8/20	Progress
Height:	5'11"	5'11"	No Change
Weight:	265 lbs.	223.6 lbs.	Loss of 41.4 lbs.
Body Mass Index (BMI):	36.7%	29.1%	Loss of 7.6% BMI
Body Fat:	36%	27.2%	Loss of 8.8% Body Fat
Visceral (Abdominal) Fat:	19%	11.6%	Loss of 7.4% Visceral Fat
Muscle Mass:	130.5	161.1	Gain of 30.6 Muscle Mass
Bone Mass:	5.6	9.2	Bone Mass gain of 3.6
Max Push-up Count:	9	44	Gain of 35
Max Plank Interval:	25 seconds	110 seconds	Gain of 85 seconds
Max Bench Press Weight:	45 lbs.	195 lbs.	Gain of 150 lbs.

And here’s my starting picture and a current progress shot. Ignore my mopey face in the current pic. I’ve had to wear a belly band 24/7 for support since my surgery - only taking it off to shower. I was bummed about having to band back up because that thing is itchy and uncomfortable.

I’m still swollen in spots from the surgery, but I’m happy with the progress I’ve continued to make. If you look closely, you can see my abs starting to come through. They’ve been MIA since my twenties, so I’m pumped about that. I’m swimming in most of my old clothes at this point. I went shopping for a few basics recently. I’ve gone from a XXL in shirts to a Medium in most brands (Large if it’s a slim fit shirt). My waist has gone from a 38 to a 32, the same as 25-year-old Ryan.

Sharing these two pics just for fun. Lighting matters, folks. These pictures were both taken within 5 minutes each other at the same club when I was out with my people seeing one of my favorite local bands last weekend. The picture on the left was taken in the club; I took the picture on the right about 5 minutes later in the men’s room.

The guy on the left looks super unhealthy and is the stuff of nightmares. :) The guy on the right is cute tho.

The first pic was a good reminder about why I’ve taken the path I have with my fitness journey. I have intentionally not focused on losing weight; the emphasis for me has been on building muscle and improving my health. In the past, when I’ve tried to manage me weight, I’ve always lost too quickly and ended up looking like a deflated balloon. I don’t want that. And I don’t want to drop to a weight that doesn’t fit my frame. I’ve tried to replace chub with muscle.

Like I’ve said before, this isn’t a diet or a temporary change for short term results. This has been a total lifestyle change for me and I’m so thankful to see my progress continue despite this injury and setback. I can’t wait to be fully released in February and get back to hitting it hard (but safely). I have big gials for 2020 and some of them will hopefully take place on the rugby field.

Work in Progress

I’ve been, to quote Fergie, “working on my fitness” for awhile now. I’ve been eating cleaner, hitting the gym several days a week and working with a trainer to get targeted results on problem areas I struggle with.

My goal was to improve my overall health, strength and flexibility. Losing weight was important, but I was equally focused on building muscle mass and improving my athleticism.

I had the initial burst of weight loss and visible results but lately I’ve felt like I hit a wall; I wasn’t seeing as much visible progress and was starting to feel like I’d plateaued. The scale wasn’t changing either.

It was starting to bum me out.

My trainer gave me a challenge: take progress photos every two weeks. Share them. Keep myself honest and accountable by tracking my results. But, also, transforming your body happens in phases, so you have to adjust your expectations. The first phase is a big boom, where you see immediate results as you burn off the “winter coat” of chub. But, after that, progress can be so subtle and steady that you won’t recognize it looking in the mirror every day. Charting your progress in biweekly photos helps illustrate the changes in your body that are easy to overlook on the daily.

Here is a “before” picture from over a year ago. When I started working out, I was actually about 15 pounds heavier than in this picture.

Before

Taking the Dad bod to the extreme. Aside from the gut, I had no upper-body strength and it showed. The fact that I have a longer torso for my height (and shorter legs) just made the lack of muscle mass all the more noticeable.

And here are a couple “Progress” shots (I’m not calling them “After” pics because I still have a long way to go to meet my personal goals).

Progress

The gut is still there (I heart carbs) but it’s more proportional and there’s muscle supporting it. I’ve made substantial progress on adding muscle and bulk to my entire upper-body.

My bestie calls this my “Call me Daddy” photo. :)

(I’m only sharing upper-body progress pics because that’s been my problem area and where you see the most progress. Thanks to genetics, I’ve always had a well-muscled lower-body. So, while I’m not skipping leg day and the lower half is getting equally toned and bulked, I think I’m more proud of the top side progress.)

I haven’t been seen shirtless in 5 years, so posting shirtless pics on the internet is daunting. But I’ve worked hard to get to this point and I’m proud of the progress I’ve made. I also hope that maybe this will serve as encouragement for anyone who’s thinking about making a lifestyle change. Or to the folks out there feeling like they’ve hit a wall on weight loss or progress. Hang in there and keep putting in the work. Take pictures every two weeks and compare; you’ll be amazed at the subtle changes you see in your body (and the benefits to your overall wellness).

Some Milestones

My trainer also recommended a smart scale that tracks more than weight; it provides all sorts of measurements that are equal parts horrifying and helpful. Your total weight doesn’t even begin to tell the story when you’re working on a transformation. If you’re building muscle and losing fat, you’re probably going to gain weight, which is discouraging if you can’t see the accurate picture.

Measurement	Starting	Current	Progress
Height:	5'11"	5'11"	No Change
Weight:	265 lbs.	231.4 lbs.	Loss of 33.6 lbs.
Body Mass Index (BMI):	36.7%	31.5%	Loss of 5.2% BMI)
Body Fat:	36%	29%	Loss of 7% Body Fat
Visceral (Abdominal) Fat:	19%	13%	Loss of 6% Visceral Fat
Muscle Mass:	130.5	160.3	Gain of 29.8 Muscle Mass
Bone Mass:	5.6	8.9	Bone Mass gain of 3.3
Max Push-up Count:	9	28	Gain of 19
Max Plank Interval:	25 seconds	63 seconds	Gain of 38 seconds
Max Bench Press Weight:	45 lbs.	125 lbs.	Gain of 80 lbs.

I’ll be honest that I don’t fully understand all of the numbers above - I just know the ones that should be going down are going down and the ones that should be going up are going up.

Losing 33.6 pounds is obviously a huge deal, but most of that happened in the first month when I cut out sweets, soda and scaled back on other junk foods. It hasn’t gone down much recently; in fact, it’s increased the past two weeks, which expected but still caused anxiety. :)

I figure sharing this journey with you guys is a good way to remain accountable as I’m in the slower progress phase now. I don’t know that I’ll update every two weeks, but I’ll be tracking my progress with updated photos and measurements. I’ll probably update you next time I hit a milestone.