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.

Hello From the Other Side

..of hernia repair surgery. :) You guys have been so sweet checking up on me here and on instagram. I figure this constitutes a #finebyforty update, since this has everything to do with my health and wellness right now. Let’s recap, shall we?

First off: if he doesn’t send you flowers the day before surgery to help you feel relaxed and supported, he’s not the one, ladies. How gorgeous are these? Way gorgeous.

I was pretty anxious the night before. Not because of the actual procedure because I knew it was relatively safe and easy. But, in the past, when I’ve been put under, I wake up mega sick from the anesthesia - like vomiting for 36 hours straight sick. That’s never fun, but it had me especially stressed since my surgery was on Christmas Eve. I was already missing out on family traditions for the surgery; I didn’t want that to drag into Christmas Day, where I’m sick and ruined everyone’s holiday plans.

Thankfully, I got to spend the evening relaxing and wrapping presents with a cute boy, which significantly lowered my stress level.

Christmas Eve morning, the day of the surgery, rolled around and I woke up feeling pretty chill. My mom was my partner in crime for the day, shuttling me around and keeping me company.

Got all checked in at the hospital and changed into this sexy ‘fit.

After talking to everyone who would listen about my concerns with the post-op sicks, they opted to give me some anti-nausea medication in advance of the surgery, during the procedure and after. You can tell in the pic above that it felt real nice. :)

Surgery was fine; the hernia was bigger than expected, which means my incision was bigger than expected. After a few blips with pharmacies being closed, we made it home and I was able to get some rest.

Christmas Day came and reminded me how lucky I am for the people in my life. Everyone pitched in to make sure the holiday was a relaxed and fun day. Here I am after taking about ten minutes to get my Christmas sweater on. I’m not drugged you’re drugged. :)

Aside from some discomfort and being dopey, the day was a blast. We ate too much, laughed a bunch, opened some gifts and enjoyed the company. I’m so thankful for the way everyone came together to take care of me in Rigley while I was on the mend. Thank y’all for loving me, lifting all the heavy things and cleaning my kitchen. You’re the best!

Here are a couple of my fav gifts from my little sis and my fella:

Being about a week out, I’m feeling pretty good. I’m still sore, still moving slow at times, but hanging in there. I still have another week to go before I can get back into the gym and resume more daily life tasks. I have 5 more weeks before I can slowly start lifting again.

Even without doing cardio or lifting, I’ve managed to shave a couple pounds off thanks to the natural effects of surgery and feeling cruddy. It’s not the easiest way to lose weight, but it was effective. :)

Also, these flowers just keep getting prettier as more lilies open up.

I can say that hernia repair surgery isn’t the most fun I’ve had. I’m going to be curious to see how the healing process goes and if I’m going to have any scarring, but it hasn’t been terrible. I’ll make sure to check in from time to time as part of #finebyforty and let you know how things are doing post-repair.

Thank you all for the messages, surgery well-wishes and holiday greetings. Y’all sure know how to make a guy feel loved. :)

Birthday and a Bummer

The busyness of life seems to be accelerating quickly as we march towards the holidays and 2020., amiright?

I did want to hit pause on the chaos and celebrate the birth of one of the best humans I know. I’m thankful for your presence in my life. May this be the best year yet.

And I wanted to share a bummer of a situation, since y’all have been on this #finebyforty journey with me.

Two weeks ago, I experienced some tightness in my abdomen during my core workouts and core work in yoga. I spoke with my trainer about it and we adjusted; we let my abdominal area rest.

Last week, at the end of a workout, I had a sharp pain again and something felt off. Long story short, I gave myself a little abdominal tear and an umbilical hernia. It’s not severe, but it’s big enough that it needs to be repaired, which means I’ll be having surgery to close it in the next couple of weeks.

It also means that I’m on a lot of restrictions, as far as physical activities go. No liftings, light cardio and no strain on my core. My trainer and I have come up with a low-impact routine with a limited range of motion to help me maintain my progress over the next 6-8 weeks, as we do the repair and then recovery time.

So, if #finebyforty updates slow down, that’s why. I’ve made changes to my diet to account for the lowered activity level and I’m optimistic that this recovery will go quickly and I’ll be back on the grind in 2020.

This was a bummer, but whaddyagonna, right?

Gobble Gobble

Guys! We are 19 days away from Christmas and I can hardly wait. I’m doing a bunch of illustration work right now but there isn’t much that I can share since most have been commissioned for gifts. So I thought I’d do a quick recap of the holiday and also a #finebyforty check-in, considering this is the hardest time if year to stay on goal.

Stuffed and Thankful

Despite the marathon of social gatherings, this Thanksgiving left me feeling recharged. It was a lot of time with the folks I love, just stuffing our faces, talking, laughing and playing games. As things wound down, I sat with my people and we talked about how slow and relaxed the holiday had been and how nice it was. Of course the hot apple cider spiked with Fireball probably didn’t hurt either. :)

This sweet old kitchen is tired, but she served a lot of hot meals over the holiday. It’s one of the crowd-favorite gathering spaces in my house and always feels cozy and inviting. It’s also her last Thanksgiving holiday; renovations start in early 2020 and she’s going to be a whole different lady after we’re done. It’s a little bittersweet because I already have so many memories in this space.

Stuffed and Focused

I made it known to everyone that I was going to EAT this Thanksgiving. Changing my habits and maintaining a sensible diet (with occasional cheats) hasn’t been that difficult. But there was no way I was going to count calories, carbs or cut back on Cool Whip.

And I ate. And I ate. I had everything I normally would - turkey, ham, steak, roast, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, stuffing, bread, mac and cheese, chicken and dumplings, pie. cookies,. cake, brownies, more pie. I ate what I wanted, when I wanted and I enjoyed the holiday with my tribe. I did eat less in general though because, after months of cleaner eating, I just don’t have the room to put it away like I used to.

And, after all of that, I’m happy to report that I lost a half pound. I didn’t gain a single ounce, even stuffing myself silly. And here is the reason I was able to stay on track with my progress, despite derailing my diet…

I worked my ass off at the gym. Every single day (or night).

Knowing that I wasn’t going to over-think my food choices during the extended holiday, I made a plan to compensate and remain on track:

• I drank a ton of water.

• I hit the gym 7 days a week instead of 5.

• Instead of doing a 10 minute cardio warm-up before lifting, I did 40 minutes every day on the treadmill, elliptical or bike and then lifted.

• I raised my active burn calorie target from 800 to 1,500, and then I surpassed it every day.

• I increased the difficulty of my lifting to keep the burn going.

• I didn’t make excuses. My friends left my house at 1:30 AM on Friday and I was at the gym by 1:45 AM, getting my time in.

This isn’t a short-term plan for me or a fad diet. I’m not looking to shed a few pounds quickly. In fact, weight loss has never been my focus. I’ve been working to increase muscle mass, flexibility and athleticism. My goal is to be stronger and healthier. Clean eating, practicing yoga and working out are part of my daily life now, like any other routine. I didn’t want to worry about what I was eating over Thanksgiving and I didn’t want to feel guilty for indulging. So I planned for it and adjusted accordingly to maintain my progress. It wasn’t easy, but I got it done.

Pumpkin is a Fruit

What also helped? Knowing Pumpkin is actually a fruit, guys. So, when you eat an entire pumpkin pie in a day, you’re basically doing a fruit cleanse. Add a whole container of Cool Whip to the top (for dairy) and you’re cleansing while strengthening your bones.

…and that’s science, folks. #themoreyouknow

I’m thankful so many people are following along on this journey with me (and even checking in on my progress). Y’all are the sweetest and I promise to keep you updated! I want to also thank my friends and family who kept asking if I was sure I needed that 4th slice of pie. I was and I did. But that was was really helpful :)

I hope you guys had a hashtag blessed Thanksgiving! I have a couple non-surprise illustrations that I’ll be back to share with you next week. Talk to you soon!

Specs

This one goes out to all my glasses wearing friends. I’ve been wearing glasses all day, every day since I was in first grade and couldn’t read the chalkboard from my desk. They are a huge part of my identity; so much so that my phone doesn’t recognize me without them. :)

Taking a page out of Elton John’s book, I decided that it was time to up my eyewear game and try some different styles for my frames. I am only sans glasses when I sleep; I wanted different options without dropping a ton of money. Every time I’ve gotten new frames and lenses from a local source, I’ve dropped $150-$300 out of pocket. Even options like Warby Parker (a store I love) averages $100-$200 per pair. That made having multiple pairs prohibitive, especially when my prescription changes a little every year or two. I tried two retailers known for affordable eyewear. I thought I’d stop in and share some thoughts.

Note: this is not an ad, paid endorsement and there aren’t any affiliate links in this post. Just the facts.

Zenni Optical

Website: zennioptical.com

These live on my desk, under my monitor. I only purchased one pair from Zenni because, even though they’re affordable compared to your local doc’s office, they were pricier than other options. I bought the Browline Glasses 195425 Tortoiseshell. The frame was only $15.95, but I spent an additional ~$75 on lens upgrades (added blue light blocking, coatings, etc). These are my work/computer glasses, so I wanted to do the most to protect my eyes from strain and fatigue. I didn’t mind paying more since they had a specific function. In total I spent $99 on these with tax and shipping.

I’ve used these daily for about four months now and they’re great. The frames are holding up great and I do notice a notice in eye fatigue after switching to lenses more focused for screen work. I’m not exhausted at the end of the day. I’d recommend these for sure.

EyeBuyDirect

Website: eyebuydirect.com

Guys, this is where I get excited. A friend recommended EBD and I am a stan. On my first order with them, I got 5 pairs of glasses (with prescription lenses) for $88.18 with tax and shipping. That’s about $17 a pair, which is insanity.

I’ve been living with the EBD glasses for four months as well, and they’ve held up perfectly. I am more careful with them because I didn’t add any coatings or protection to the lens (I couldn’t justify spending $20 per pair on glasses that cost $17). I also mainly ordered plastic frames because they hide the thickness of my lenses better than thin metal frames would (you can upgrade to thinner poly lenses; I chose not to). All of the pairs I ordered from EBD are sturdy, holding up great and look like I spent $100 or more at another retailer. All have gotten compliments.

Warning: a lot of douchey selfies ahead, where I’m making awkward faces because that’s how I roll, y’all.

The frame below is Chilling in Tortoise and this is the set you see me in most often.

And here we have Peninsula in Red Floral (there’s a subtle flower pattern on them that looks similar to tortoise until you get closer).

The Morning frame in Gray Clear is below.

I don’t have any recent pictures of the following pairs, but these are the rest of my frames from EyeBuyDirect.

The pair below is Central in light brown.

Bright Side in Clear White is hanging out below. Word of caution: these skew pink when on your face because they pick up on your skin tone. This doesn’t bother me at all, but wanted to add that disclaimer.

And then we have Juno in Matte Green.

Summary

I would recommend Zenni and EyeBuyDirect without any hesitation (and I have a bunch). Both offer affordable, well-made eyewear on a budget. If you’re an every day glasses wearer like me, you’ll love having options to choose from without breaking the bank.

It was a crazy trip looking back at pics of the past few months trying to find pictures of the frames in use. They arrived right about the time I started seeing results from the lifestyle changes I’ve made. The left picture was taken in August and the right one was taken in October.

#10yearchallenge

This #10yearchallenge tag has been all over my instagram and Facebook the past few days. When I opened my Timehop today, and saw the picture below, I figured I’d jump on the wagon!

Here’s me on November 21, 2009 (left) and today, November 21, 2019 (right). Still love a vest moment, still love my autumnal colors and still hate having sleeves around my wrists.

Oh, the things I’d say if could go back in time and talk to that chubby goober on the left.

Things like…Why are your glasses so small? Undershirts are for old men and heavy sweaters; it doesn’t make it better just because it matches.

We’ve kiki’d about my focus on fitness (my bestie dubbed it “Fine by Forty” this week) and this kind of dovetails in there. I see these older pictures of me and I see someone who needs to take better care of himself in many ways. I still have a long way to go, but I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished. I’m rolling into 2020, and year forty, as the best version of me yet.

Life is good.