Onward

[Jackdaw]

I had to give up caffeine for a week or so and it was one of the worst weeks of my life. It also affected my brain a lot, I became very apathic and really depressed and normally I am a very cheerful person. Beware, if something unexpected happens with your head, it might be that. 

[ReturnOfTheDad]

2023 - The Long Game

Word of the Year: Balance

Sleep: 10 Hrs

Water: 3/8 Gallon

Weight: 243.2 lbs

 

Meals:

9:00am - Tea, toast, bacon

3:00pm - Pizza, Coke

6:30pm - Veggies

8:30pm - Bread

11:00pm - Peanut butter

 

Fitness: 

Walking - 2.5 Miles

 

Meditation:

5 min

 

Notes:

Had a rough time getting to sleep last night. Realizing as I transition some medications other things like good sleep hygiene and sleep medications are going to be important as well.

 

Had a nice day at the aquarium with the family and some good pizza afterwards. It was CRAZY BUSY at the aquarium with it being the last day of spring break. Had to have been around 1,000 people there. It was good though, got to see some cool animals with the fam, but I’ve had enough of crowds to last me a while.

 

Got my steps in with walk around the aquarium and a walk with the dog when we got back. He’s calming down a lot which is a wonderful because he is some kind of working dog mix (hound/Shepard) and his energy was really a lot to keep up with.

[Snarkyfishguts]

My brother has a Shepard mix and that dog will not calm down. What is your secret?

 

yay for aquarium days! That sounds like a super nice time!

[ReturnOfTheDad]

2023 - The Long Game

Word of the Year: Balance

Sleep: 13 Hrs

Water: 3/8 Gallon

Weight: 243.4 lbs

 

Meals:

12:00pm - Tea, cereal

4:00pm - Diet Coke, cheese stick, chips

6:30pm - Chicken, asparagus

9:00pm - Peanut butter

 

Fitness: 

Rest Day

 

Meditation:

5 min

 

Notes:

Went the other direction and took too many sleep meds and slept for 13 hours. Going to try half dosing tonight to try and hit 8 hours if I can.

 

Thanks to everyone for the support on my caffeine withdrawal, it’s going slowly but surely.

 

As to the question about keeping our dog occupied, the answer is lots of walks and playtime. He also gets time out in the yard to get his zoomies out, but it is a daily battle to keep him stimulated enough to not go looking for trouble like chewing on doors, boxes, and children’s toys (which are his favorite past times when unattended).

[ReturnOfTheDad]

2023 - The Long Game

Word of the Year: Balance

Sleep: 11 Hrs

Water: 3/4 Gallon

Weight: 241.2 lbs

 

Meals:

10:00pm - Cinnamon raisin bread

1:00pm - Diet Coke, pizza

3:30pm - Diet Coke, cookies, yogurt parfait 

6:30pm - Manicotti, chicken

 

Fitness: 

Rest Day

 

Meditation:

5 min

 

Notes:

Overslept again today, think I’m dialing in on what I need to do to get to a normal amount of sleep. Very low energy today, probably because of oversleeping and cutting back on caffeine.

 

Success on the Caffeine Front, down from 800mg per day to about 100mg per day. Going to try and stay around there this week before cutting back to 50mg (a morning cup of tea) then off the following week.

 

Also found an MMA place 5 minutes away that I can start doing a couple of classes a week during lunch. It’s not the amount I would prefer to do but it’s something to get me back in the swing of things. Should be able to start in about 2 weeks so going to work on getting ramped up for that level of activity.

 

Back to work tomorrow, been a nice rest but ready to get back to the regular groove.

[ReturnOfTheDad]

2023 - The Long Game

Word of the Year: Balance

Sleep: 9 Hrs

Water: 6/8 Gallon

Weight: 241.2 lbs

 

Meals:

7:30pm - Tea, bagel with cream cheese

11:30pm - Egg Sandwich

4:00pm - Diet Coke, BLT

6:00pm - Corned beef, potatoes, cabbage, candy bar

 

Fitness: 

Treadmill - 3 miles

 

Meditation:

5 min

 

Notes:

Got up on time today, major success! Still a little tired but managed to stay up.

[ReturnOfTheDad]

2023 - The Long Game

Word of the Year: Balance

Sleep: 10 Hrs

Water: 3/4 Gallon

Weight: 239.6 lbs

 

Meals:

9:30am - Cereal

12:30pm - 1/2 Veggie omelette, bacon, toast

1:30pm - Diet Coke

5:30pm - Chicken sandwich, fries, Diet Coke

10:00pm - Peanut butter

 

Fitness: 

Treadmill - 1 mile

 

Meditation:

5 min

 

Notes:

Didn’t do as much exercise as I would have liked to but still got on the treadmill and worked hard with the time I had.

[Jupiter]

On 3/20/2023 at 7:41 PM, ReturnOfTheDad said:

Notes:

Got up on time today, major success! Still a little tired but managed to stay up.

 

Nice job!

[ReturnOfTheDad]

2023 - The Long Game

Word of the Year: Balance

Sleep: 10 Hrs

Water: 3/8 Gallon

Weight: 243.7 lbs

 

Meals:

10:30am - Cereal, 1/2 banana

2:00pm - Burger, fries, soda

6:00pm - Hot dogs, mashed potatoes, broccoli 

 

Fitness: 

Treadmill - 2.5 miles

 

Meditation:

5 min

 

Notes:

Haven’t posted much last couple of days, was busy taking my Dad for his birthday to UFC fight in San Antonio. Had a great time but put on a few pounds and absolutely exhausted from all the travel. Oh well, will try to make up for it with some good rest this week.

 

On the upside, no caffeine yesterday! Going to try and hold to that through the rest of the week.

[ReturnOfTheDad]

2023 - The Long Game

Word of the Year: Balance

Sleep: 10 Hrs

Water: 3/4 Gallon

Weight: 242.2 lbs

 

Meals:

9:30am - Cereal, 1/2 banana

1:30pm - Omelette, bacon, toast

3:30pm - Herbal Tea, scone

6:00pm - Salmon, pasta, broccoli

 

Fitness: 

30 minutes light conditioning

 

Meditation:

5 min

 

Notes:

Was really feeling the lack of caffeine today, had to take a nap at lunch.

 

Got a little workout in, though it was very light. Tomorrow is jam packed so will probably end up being a rest day. Will try to get in another run on Thursday.

[ReturnOfTheDad]

2023 - The Long Game

Word of the Year: Balance

Sleep: 10 Hrs

Water: 3/4 Gallon

Weight: 241.8 lbs

 

Meals:

11:30pm - Iced Tea, Tex Mex platter

4:00pm - Iced Tea, baklava

6:00pm - Chicken/Udon bowl

9:00pm - Peanut butter
 

Fitness: 

Treadmill - 2 mile

Walking - 1 mile

 

Meditation:

5 min

 

Notes:

Trying to moderate caffeine but it’s a nice pick up and I haven’t been feeling bad so I think I’m going to keep it light and see how things go.

 

2 miles happened, would have preferred 3 but wasn’t ready in time, had to finish early to join the family for dinner.

 

Was able to snag a quick walk with the dog so got another mile in. All in all a pretty good day.

[ReturnOfTheDad]

2023 - The Long Game

Word of the Year: Balance

Sleep: 10 Hrs

Water: 1/2 Gallon

Weight: 241.4 lbs

 

Meals:

9:00pm - Tea

12:00pm - Iced Tea, Chipped Beef Baked Potato, pecan pie

4:00pm - Iced Tea

7:00pm - Soda, gyro, fries, salad

 

Fitness: 

Conditioning Day

Clean & Press/Max 50lbs for 3 Reps

 

Meditation:

5 min

 

Notes:

A day of some good eating, good company and good exercise. Had lunch with a friend of mine and date night with Mrs. ReturnOfTheDad. Love our kids but good to get a break every once in a while and focus on us.

 

For exercise, I’ve committed to clean and press once a week to build up to a 200lbs sandbag lift. Doing lifts with kettlebells until I can reach the 100lb mark to start on Sandbag lifts. Maxed out at 50lbs today.

[Jackdaw]

7 hours ago, ReturnOfTheDad said:

A day of some good eating, good company and good exercise. Had lunch with a friend of mine and date night with Mrs. ReturnOfTheDad. Love our kids but good to get a break every once in a while and focus on us.

 

For exercise, I’ve committed to clean and press once a week to build up to a 200lbs sandbag lift. Doing lifts with kettlebells until I can reach the 100lb mark to start on Sandbag lifts. Maxed out at 50lbs today.

It seems like a happy day! Great you still go on dates despite having kids. Wish you good luck with your new workout goal! 

I had to google pecan pie. I had no idea there is a PECAN pie xD

[ReturnOfTheDad]

16 hours ago, XBlackWidowX said:

 

I had to google pecan pie. I had no idea there is a PECAN pie xD

Oh it is amazing! Hard to find in some places but definitely worth it. What really blows my mind is something called Derby Pie from Kentucky. It’s like Pecan Pie but a chocolate chip cookie is baked into the bottom.🤯

[Snarkyfishguts]

There is chocolate pecan pie too where they just throw a bag of chocolate chips in the gooey caramel pecan filling. 

[Jackdaw]

24 minutes ago, ReturnOfTheDad said:

Oh it is amazing! Hard to find in some places but definitely worth it. What really blows my mind is something called Derby Pie from Kentucky. It’s like Pecan Pie but a chocolate chip cookie is baked into the bottom.🤯

Sounds amazing! We don't have any American pies here or in my home country. I only knew apple pie from tv and one day I decided to make it myself. It's amazing!!!! The best cake I've ever had and I made it myself, HA!

[ReturnOfTheDad]

2023 - The Long Game

Word of the Year: Balance

Sleep: 11 Hrs

Water: 1/2 Gallon

Weight: 244.0 lbs

 

Meals:

9:00pm - Tea

11:00am - 1/2 Muffin

2:00pm - Juice, 1/2 Gyro, fries, salad

5:00pm - Iced Tea, chips

6:30pm - Soda, Chicken Udon, S’mores 

 

Fitness: 

Kickboxing

Walk - 1.5 miles

 

Meditation:

5 min

 

Notes:

I did it! Finally made it to a martial arts class. The Coach was great and besides being incredibly winded, had a great time.

 

Going to try for a Brazilian Juijitsu class on Tuesday and a Submission Wrestling class on Friday. Really happy to get back in the swing of things and have a renewed focus on exercise and health.

 

The day ended on a nice note, finally got our fire pit set up and were able to enjoy roasting marshmallows with the family and making some S’mores.

 

All in all, another good day.

[Jackdaw]

Looks awesome, man! A pity I can't come by for marshmallows!

 

Woow, juijitsu and wrestling!! How exticing! I hope you'll have a blast! And I am little envious 😛

[ReturnOfTheDad]

2023 - The Long Game

Word of the Year: Balance

Sleep: 10 Hrs

Water: 1/2 Gallon

Weight: 244.0 lbs

 

Meals:

10:00pm - Tea

1:30pm - Diet Coke, Chicken nuggets, broccoli, chips

3:30pm - Iced Tea and Cookies

6:00pm - Soda, 1/2 fish sandwich

 

Fitness: 

Rest Day

 

Meditation:

5 min

 

Notes:

Was super sore from my kickboxing workout yesterday. My legs, back, and core were shot, no yoga today just resting and puttering around the house.

[ReturnOfTheDad]

On 4/2/2023 at 3:04 AM, XBlackWidowX said:

 

Woow, juijitsu and wrestling!! How exticing! I hope you'll have a blast!

Thanks! I just hope I can keep up. It’s way more activity than I’m used to, but it’s a great opportunity with a really good Coach and Team, so I’m glad I’m finally getting back into it after a 3 year break.

[ReturnOfTheDad]

2023 - The Long Game

Word of the Year: Balance

Sleep: 10 Hrs

Water: 1 Gallon

Weight: 242.8 lbs

 

Meals:

9:00pm - Tea

12:00pm - Soda, Chicken Curry Bowl

3:30pm - Tea, 1/2 PB Sandwich

6:00pm - Pork chop, mashed potatoes, veggies

 

Fitness: 

Run - 1.5 miles

 

Meditation:

5 min

 

Notes:

Still sore from Saturday but slowly getting better. 

 

Getting back to intermittent fasting and hopefully that will help on my weight loss journey. Had a nice Thai Red Curry for lunch that was good, but a little too spicy on an empty stomach. 

 

The weather was nice so I took the dog o  a run around the neighborhood, and my goodness, actual running is substantially more challenging that treadmill running. May do more of that if the weather holds up.

 

And tomorrow is Jujitsu! I’m excited and a little nervous as I haven’t trained in 3 years, but I found a great Coach (he coached 2 Pan America Champions and a World Champion last year) and a really nice club so I’m hoping for a good experience.

 

One final success, drank a gallon of water today.

 

Onward to tomorrow!

[RubiksCat]

That's the exact same thing I thought when I started running outdoors. On the treadmill there's no wind hitting you in the face, no mosquitos, an even surface for your feet.... but the more you do it the more your body adapts though, especially your lungs over time. 

[ReturnOfTheDad]

9 hours ago, RubiksCat said:

but the more you do it the more your body adapts though, especially your lungs over time. 

Looking forward to adapting!

[ReturnOfTheDad]

2023 - The Long Game

Word of the Year: Balance

Sleep: 10 Hrs

Water: 1 Gallon

Weight: 241.4 lbs

 

Meals:

6:00am - Tea

10:00am - 1/2 PB Sandwich

2:00pm - Protein Shake

4:30pm - Tea, toast

6:00pm - Fish Sandwich, cookie

 

Fitness: 

AM - Brazilian Jujitsu

PM - Conditioning, 1 Set

 

Meditation:

15 min

 

Notes:

Major success! Was able to get up at 5:30am this morning to do morning meditation! This has been nearly impossible the last year due to my previous medication regimen, but the new one I’m on has given me a much better quality of life and finally some freedom from bipolar depression.

 

Still had to take a nap later in the day, but I’ll take these little wins

 

Starting a new tracking section for my Daily Battle Log. My new Coach suggested I write down 2 positives and 1 negative after every training session, so going to start doing that as a daily practice.

 

Training Notes:

2 Positives -

*Did a guard reversal to 3 point position while rolling.

*Did a rear harness control while rolling.

1 Negative -

*Was not able to secure a knee cut to mount from kneeling guard.

[Jackdaw]

8 hours ago, ReturnOfTheDad said:

Major success! Was able to get up at 5:30am this morning to do morning meditation! This has been nearly impossible the last year due to my previous medication regimen, but the new one I’m on has given me a much better quality of life and finally some freedom from bipolar depression.

 

Wooow, that's awesome news! I am so happy for you! It is so great you didn't stop searching for alternatives and finally found a right doctor!

 

Longer meditation, martial arts, you rock!