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It’s been a mighty long time since I’ve made any content for the blog so to start, I’m going to fill you in on what has happened since my last progress post.
In February of this year, I passed height/weight with 32% body fat (female standards) weighing 186lb. In March, went up to 190lb but still passed tape at 32% and was promoted to the rank of Specialist.
As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic started to hit America hard in mid-March. When this happened, my work went to work from home for what we all thought was only going to be two weeks. Where I was living, I didn’t have a strong enough internet connection to support my work’s systems so I temporarily moved in with my team lead so I could continue to work. Well, let’s just say I’m not great with huge shifts in my routine. When it comes to food and exercise, I pretty much treated the first two weeks like one big giant cheat thinking I could just have a short break and get back to the old routine once it was all said and done.
Spoiler alert: it didn’t last two weeks.
After about a month, I began to realize how much damage I had done and that this could very well be a new normal so I slowly started to get back into working out. I tried to run 2-3 times a week though I really only did probably 1-2 times and didn’t put any focus on eating better. I don’t know how much I gained in that time but I know it wasn’t good.
The next thing I know, I got activated with the National Guard to help with testing. From mid-April to July 1, I spent my time moving from city to city, hotel to hotel, testing with Test Nebraska. I really enjoyed my time doing this however, you guessed it, I continued to not put any focus on nutrition and exercise. Nutrition was the biggest thing, living out of a hotel with just a fridge and microwave for usually no more than 2-4 days with the occasional week was tough. I 100% could have put more effort and thought into what I was consuming but I didn’t. I went the easy route, eating out for 90% of my meals, the other 10% consisting of frozen junk meals.
Add in not doing a whole lot with exercise and it was disastrous. Yes, I still burnt a decent amount of calories while we were working by being in those suits, it wasn’t enough to justify all the calories I took in every day. Towards the end, some of my buddies and I started to put more of a focus on working out every day and we did well most of the time but that still didn’t do a whole lot for what I was consuming.
By the time I was done with test team, I was about 215lb and extremely disappointed in myself. I started to work on losing the weight again but wasn’t super dedicated. I bounced between 210-215lb through July and August it wasn’t until the end of September that I managed to get to 205lb. However, I have stayed pretty consistently in the 205-210lb range since then.
Another quick fun fact is that as of May 1, 2020, the military now sees me as a male. It’s been a lot time coming but things are starting to finally really fall into place. Now I just need to get back on track with fitness and who knows what more good could come for me in 2021!
Now for some non-fitness related more exciting news! Between getting a $20,000 bonus for re-enlisting for 6 years and having been on orders for the majority of the year, I was able to completely pay off my car and have been debt-free since August 26!
I was initially going to wait until January 2021 to start getting back into posting but then realized why continue to push off something that I’ve been pushing off for over a year now?
So, let the journey begin again!
The Numbers (as of Nov 30, 2020)
- Current Weight: 209.8
- Goal Weight: 160lb
- Current Body Fat: 31%
- Goal Body Fat: 22%
- Current Tape
- Neck: 17in
- Waist: 43in
- Circumference Value (Waist-Neck): 26in
- This is how Body Fat is Determined in the military.
- Goal Circumference Value: 20.5in
December in a Nutshell
Goals:
- Lose 2lb a week, putting me at 199.8b
- Lose at least 2% body fat, putting me at 29%
- ACFT
- Deadlift: 200lb
- Standing Power Throw: 8.0m
- Push-ups: 30
- Sprint Drag Carry: 1:50
- Leg Tuck: 1
- 2mi Run: 20:00
Plan:
To accomplish these goals, I know a couple of things need to happen: one, I need to put a hard focus on nutrition, and two, I need to hit the gym and hit it hard, no more excuses.
For the most part, I’ve been pretty good about hitting the gym every day, it’s the days that I’m not working in the office that kill me. At work, it’s very easy for me to go to the gym because my boss allows for me to work out an hour a day. So the clock hit 3:00 pm and my options are to continue to work for an hour or go to the gym and workout for an hour and, well, that’s a no-brainer really. Not to mention, the gym I use is right across the street from where I work. When I’m home though, it’s hard for me to motivate myself to leave to go to the gym, and then I also end up talking myself out of working out period.
Between teleworking 2-3 days a week and having time off for holidays, I know I need to focus hard on going to the gym. To help combat this, I have built a plan that I’m very excited about by combining a couple of different plans. Not only that but I have recently gotten my hands on a bodyweight programs so even if I’m working from home, I don’t even have to leave my room to workout even if I do talk myself out of going to the gym. No more excuses
As for nutrition, I have a pretty solid plan laid out, I just have to follow it. I’ve been using it for about a month now and when I follow it, it has been doing some amazing work and I feel fantasitic. I just have to work on my will power and really crack down on the only one cheat day a week thing. No more of this one day turning into two weeks.
Let this leg of the journey be the best I’ve had! My goal is that by this time next year, I can actually consider trying my first bulk and getting into a bulking and cutting cycle.
Here’s to growing my strength, my cardio, my knowledge, and, hopefully, my bond with you, the reader. I care about each and everyone of you and hope that by me sharing my journey, I can help you in which every part of your journey you are in.