joedog

Rugby has started happening and that is eating up some of my attention. I've sent soooo many emails and facebook messages this week. I hope some of them actually show up. Last week I got 0/2 on the gym. I'm thinking through what I want to do differently next month so I have a more attainable movement/fitness goal. Got 5/7 on vegetables. Lots of tomatoes and carrots. Again, thinking about what incremental change I want to do for next month. Also 5/7 on meds. I want to make some self deprecating remarks about why I'm at 5/7 instead of 7/7. Instead I'm reminding myself that for the last few years I rarely if ever hit 5/7 in a week. I'll get there. I'm also down about 8-9 pounds from the beginning of the challenge and 12 from my heaviest ever weight that I hit in December. That's a totally unintended consequence but its a direct result of the 2 goals I've been doing pretty well at this month. I made a microscopic change to my diet but it's made me a lot more conscious of what I am eating. I never had to feel guilty if I ate something silly because all I had to do was eat a vegetable of some kind to meet my goal. Taking my meds helps me think more clearly, make better decisions and be more forgiving to myself when I have gone off the path. This week I'm 3/4 on meds and 4/4 on vegetables so far.

The pin business was unpleasant. I'll be really glad when the last one is out. I sincerely hope you haven't frozen to death in the polar Chicago weather. Things have been good. Oddly enough this is the least I've ever posted on a challenge and yet somehow the best I've ever done.

Week 2 update Still here, even though I didn't post much last week. Week 2 was not quite the barn burning success that week 1 was but I'm ok with that. Gym 0/2 I'm having a hard time getting there. I drove through the parking lot one day last week. That's as close as I got. Vegetables 4/7 Still more than half the days and I ate some things I wouldn't normally that mission accomplished for me. Meds 3/7 Whoops...I felt it too. No sleep for me this weekend. I've already had them today and back on the path. The doc was only able to take 2 of the pins out of my thumb. He had trouble finding the end of the third one and then when he did, it wasn't ready to let go. I go back on Feb 12 unless it "works its way out". I don't have to wear my splint full time anymore which is awesome! He didn't give me any specific things to do since I still have a pin but I'm working on ROM and all that good stuff. I can type with both hands! Last week was pre shark week and I didn't have the massive crazy snack cravings. I ate a lot of apples but no candy bars. That is probably the best news I have. Unplanned sugar cutbacks are always happy news.

I've been really happy with the fusion so far. Well...other than the mad fits over not being able to cut my own fingernails or tie my own shoes. It has been a very good lesson in asking for and accepting help when I need it. I still don't know exactly how much ROM I've lost since I still have a pin in it but I'll be able to deadlift and carry buckets of asphalt. The other surgical option would have been the end of deadlifting and carrying buckets so I had to go for the fusion since the 401k says we are too young to retire. I'm doing so far from perfect but that's ok because I'm still doing. Weight loss is such a tangential goal right now that it didn't mess me up. But I've definitely experienced that before. Right now I just want to feel better. So far I've been successful with that. Weight loss will either happen as a result of other things or I will one day be ready to make that my main strict focus. For the sake of my knees, I hope I get there but I'm done trying to force myself into things.

Week 1 recap: Gym 0/2 Vegetables 6/7 Med compliance 5/7 Yesterday morning I was down a couple of pounds. That isn't really a goal right now but it's nice to see the veg quest having impact. My gym plans for the week are today (Monday), Thursday and/or Sunday. The best thing about this week is I get the pins out of my hand Friday! For those who didn't see on Facebook, I had surgery to fuse the joint at the base of my thumb due to an old injury and arthritis. Had surgery November 14. My hand feels weird but the constant pain in that joint is gone. The next step is rehab and seeing how much range of motion I lost.

Challenge update: Yesterday did not go according to plan. A young lady from my wife's community of friends passed away somewhat unexpectedly. She had fought a long battle with Stage 4 cancer so not totally unexpected but she was still fighting. She developed a blood clot and those kinds of things really don't care about our plans. I hate legitimate excuses because the open the door for my crap excuses but I will persevere. Hoping to make it up today and go again on Sunday contingent on the winter weather that is filtering in to the area. I'm still batting a thousand on vegetables. It is having the desired effect that I'm thinking more about my food intake without overthinking. I did miss my pills yesterday. It was a crazy day. I need to switch to taking them first thing in the morning before the day has a chance to blow me off course. I'm back on track for today. Hope everyone else is having a good challenge week!

I struggle with making things way harder than they need to be. I've spent most of my life in a loop of I can't be perfect so why bother. I'm getting closer to breaking that. It's really been working. I've got boxes of cherry tomatoes scattered around work and home so I can pop a few in my mouth at any time. Good to see you too!

Time for a challenge update. It's going really well so far. I haven't been to the gym yet this week. I wanted to get over my cold so I didn't share the wealth plus I've been really busy. Rugby board meeting Monday night. My Mom had surgery last Friday so I needed to do some things for her last night. My plan is Thursday evening and then once over the weekend. Mom is healing well. She just needs some help with some things. I have eaten what to me feels like ALL the veggies. I had fajitas with peppers and onions Monday, tomatoes on Tuesday and carrot sticks today. Those are all my favorite easy go to vegetables. Hoping to branch out a bit. I've taking my meds every day this week so far. That is definitely down to this challenge. I had my annual check up this morning. Doctor fussed about my weight and the scores on my depression assessment but when I told her about the challenge and my goals she was really happy. I also got blood drawn and 2 shots.

That was such a great episode. I'm watching it again now. Harassment is generally how I show affection. But carrot sticks count for me. No need to set a bar I can't reach. It is good to be back.

Hi Friend! I came back this month too! Finishing the challenge is a brilliant goal and might become an unofficial goal in my challenge. I'm glad we're both back!

Hi friend! I made it but honestly only because I told you I was going to. So thanks for the unintentional accountability!

I was talking to my friend Starpuck about the new podcast Battlestar Galacticast which all BSG fans should check out. I told her that I was pretty much flailing my way through life. The net result of the conversation was me saying I would try another challenge. I've been lurking around the forums for the last week being shy and introverted. It's time to declare my intention for the next 4 weeks. I'm currently flirting with my heaviest weight and my fitness is poor. My depression has been pretty bad for the couple of years. This challenge is going to be something of a low bar because any structure in my life is going to be a vast improvement over where I've been. Honestly just saying I would do a challenge caused a pretty good lift for getting my sh*t together. Goal 1: Go to the gym twice a week. Starting with baby steps. Goal 2: Eat at least one serving of vegetables a day. Diet has always been the boss battle I just can't beat. Making one small change for this month. I realized how much I needed this after telling a friend the only vegetable I had eaten in 3 days was pizza sauce. For this goal pizza sauce, pasta sauce, etc don't count. Goal 3: Med compliance. For many years I was rock solid with med compliance. All of a sudden starting 2 years ago I couldn't seem to string 3 days together. Also 2 years ago my depression started to really be a problem again. It's almost like the 2 are related. Meds. Every day. No excuses. It's good to be back. I missed you guys.

I'm always down for sappy friend love! Glad you like the pics! Any time we play in Columbia that fellow comes out and takes pics. Every women's team in the Frontier League has Ralph's pics all over their social media. He does it for free, doesn't watermark the pics and makes us all look fantastic. It's always worth it to get pics of yourself playing.

Amy's new hobby is watching people play video games on YouTube so I actually did refer to myself as going HAM on the Jazz. It was fantastic. Seeing people succeed by applying what I've taught them might be the best thing I've ever felt. Thanks! The poor gal tackling me had the best look on her face when she realized she was going to have to tackle me. That look of resignation is my favorite thing ever. Literally. That's the Kansas City Jazz that we're playing. I also have a Jazz hand print on my chest from a really fantastic stiff arm. Still tackled her. If I didn't have a brain that let's me down with shitty thinking, I would probably run the world by now. Also, anyone who wants to send me a facebook friend request, feel free. It's all cats, hippoes and rugby.

Hi friends! I've actually been doing pretty decent on my challenge, just not making time to check in. I ended week 1 at: 0/2 strength 3/3 cardio 6/7 food 3/5 journaling Week 2 ended with: 0/2 strength 2/3 cardio 4/7 food 1/5 journaling Halfway through the challenge and I feel like I'm doing pretty good. I had a lot of nerves leading up to the rugby tournament this past weekend. Those are gone now and I have a few weeks to just focus on me before we start back up for the fall season. The tournament was amazeballs. My team is brand new. We hadn't won any games ever as a team. That all changed this weekend. We went 2-2. Lost to the 2 best teams in our league and beat the other 2 teams. Which means we came in as 3rd place. I had 3 brand new rookies out of 9 players. It was amazing to see the pay off for all the hard work this summer and I'm ecstatic to get my first wins as a coach. I also went full viking berserker in one match and got 8-10 tackles in a 14 minute game. For those of you who aren't facebook friends, here is the best picture ever taken of me.