Great Way To End The Work Day

Here is our son beating up mommy!

Yesterday was a busy day at the office with various events and new projects that we have to prepare for. It is a long and sometimes stressful experience but also something that we can be proud of once everything comes to pass. As the long day wound down I slowly packed my bags, closed my computer, headed out the door, and off to my next appointment. These days, these appointment, are ones that I continue looking forward to as the weeks slowly drift by. It is time to check in on the baby.

My wife and I both arrived at the doctor’s office early and after catching up a bit on everything that is going on and discussing the questions that we wanted to ask the doctor we made our way through the doors, checked in, and sat in the waiting room. Every visit there seems to be a certain amount of excitement coupled with a slight hint of nervousness. It is safe to say that the worrying starts before the baby arrives.

It wasn’t long before we were escorted back into an examining room (amid glares from all the pregnant women who were sitting there when we first walked in). After a quick weight and blood pressure check it was time to hear one of the most calming, if not the most calming, sound that we have in our lives at this moment… our son’s heartbeat. It is a sound that fills the room (especially now that it is so much easier to find) and one that makes me look forward to the day when I will finally be able to hold him.

The tranquil moment passed as the nurse headed out the door and we waited for the doctor to appear. Again, a perfect time to make sure we had all our questions ready. The doctor came in, took some measurements, and let us know that our baby boy was perfectly healthy… all tests have come back negative, heart rate is normal, and the measurements are right where they need to be. Essentially, our kid is probably never going to be this ‘normal’ again.

Once we silently reveled in the god news of a quick moment, we began posing all of the questions that we have been reviewing for days. All of the ‘let’s just double check with the doctor’ type of questions. The doctor took her time, answered all of the questions that we had, and let us know about what we should expect during the next appointment in 4 weeks. I’m sure we will have more questions for the doctor upon our return but, for now, everything is progressing as it should and we are looking forward to meeting our happy and healthy (and VERY active) little boy.

Returning To The Gym: Not What It Used To Be

One of the resolutions that I seem to make year after year is to improve my health. It is something that I have now included in two posts on this blog but with little progress having been made until now. It had been about a year since I last stepped foot in a gym but today my wife and I broke that unhealthy pattern and signed up for memberships at the local Planet Fitness. While we have tried this before basically going into it blind, this time we made sure to set a schedule so that we have specific nights when we can hold one another accountable.

For many years when I was younger, the weight room was a place that I enjoyed going to multiple times a week. It was a place when I could just block out the rest of the world and focus on a singular task of putting up as much weight as I could as many times as I could. Now, things are a bit different. Now I am going into this basically starting from the beginning.

While in the past, I would push as hard and as long as I could, I know that is not the best thing for me at this time. While I can still push myself, I can’t simply keep pushing until something gives. It isn’t just about getting in shape and going to the gym on a regular basis, it is about changing my mentality while I am there. What worked in the past is not healthy for me now. I have to pace myself and make sure that steady progress is made. Maybe later I can push harder but, for now, consistency is what needs to be my focus.

In addition to the general joint issues that I have faced, and which have gotten worse, for the past fifteen years I am now going into this new routine with diabetes, fibromyalgia, and borderline blood pressure issues. All of these things will basically shut me down if I just go in full boar without consideration for my current health status. So it is a matter of steady progress. It will be painfully slow and will require a commitment that is a bit foreign to me but it is nothing that I can’t push through in order to reach my goal.

So, today I started my journey to reaching my goal. Time to lose the 100 pounds that has been, literally, weighing me down lately. Well, maybe not 100, it all depends on how much muscle I can build back up. A more realistic, and healthy, goal is to get my BMI back down to 10%. By far not the lowest I have ever been but definitely a healthy number to aim for and one that will be achieved in time. When, I don’t know but I will definitely be recording my progress and I am sure setbacks on this blog.

Given my previous experiences, I know that I need to do and I know the exercises, pace, rep counts, and tracking that needs to be done. However, like everything else, I don’t know everything and any input would be appreciated. Feel free to leave your comments and questions below. I look forward to reading your input.