Needings some community accountability....

I've been up and down this rollercoaster so many times I lost count. Stepping outside my comfort zone and looking at different ways to keep myself on track.

Rather than re-hash my story, I'll simply post what I put in my personal blog. It pretty much sums my struggles up....





My closest friend know what this is about. It’s no secret that, like many other American, I struggle with my weight. From ballooning up to almost 300 lbs in college, to hitting a low of about 215 about a year after I got married, it’s been a never ending roller coaster. I’ve been in denial for a long time that I was one of the countless people that yo yo back and forth. One of the main reasons for this, is that I know better.

I have degrees in both Athletic Training and Health and Human Performance. Exercise science is one of my expertise, and I have more than an adequate background in nutrition. This knowledge has given me the tools to bring my weight under control, but only for a short time. Ultimately, it’s my personal choices and bad habits that doom me. Some folks have the disadvantage of not knowing where or how to start their health and wellness journey. I do not have that disadvantage, and that makes my story and situation pathetic in my opinion. I know how to do better, I just don’t.

I’ve decided that some of that may be due to accountability. Holding people accountable that struggle with their weight is always a touchy issue. Feelings get hurt. I can speak from personal experience. I don’t like it when I get called out by my wife, let alone others that are nowhere near as close to me. Most folks would rather sit by and watch their loved ones struggle and slowly kill themselves with food rather than risking damaging a relationship. I can’t blame them honestly. I’m probably the same way.

However, we all have a responsibility to hold ourselves accountable. At the end of the day, no one choses what I put in my mouth but me. No one is going to force me to get up to my 4am alarm but me. Having this blog will hopefully make my desire to hold myself more accountable more tangible. No longer is it an internal struggle that only I know about. Now it’s out there. I’ve always been a stickler for follow through, and if others have knowledge of my intentions, then I’ll be less inclined to make excuses.

As for how I plan to go about this, it really is about my food consumption. Fitness and exercise have never been a issue with me. To date, I’ve got 5 half marathons under my belt. I will however, shift away from running as being the base of my fitness routine. It will be a large part of it, but when I focus on it so much as I do when I’m training for a race, other aspects of fitness (weight training, UE strength) suffer. My fitness will be broken down into 3 parts. Cardio, strength training, and plyometrics/body weight training.

As far as my diet, unfortunately, the only way I’ve ever had success it to put myself on a closely regulated calorie count, focusing on getting those calories from nutrient dense foods. I’ll put a concerted effort to get a majority of my calories from lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and unprocessed whole grains. My calorie count goal will between 1500 and 1800 per day.

The part that I know I will struggle with the most, especially in the beginning, is my mood. Unfortunately, while my body adjusts to the new restrictions on diet, I become an *kitten* hole. After a while I tend to level off, but that can eventually give way to a person that becomes obsessed with my diet parameters. That can be just as difficult to deal with for my loved ones. I’m praying that I’m able to strike some sense of balance during this journey.

Anyway, if you’ve gotten this far, thanks for reading. It’s not the most exciting thing in the world, but hopefully this outlet can help me find a way to once and for all get off this roller coaster that I’ve been on for over 12 years.

Thanks,

Bryon