Rozey Thorn Trees

199.0 is my lowest historical weight loss achievement to beat 193.0 will mark the end of my BMI Obesity category   180.0 marks my next quarter of a year goal which will be 75 lbs lost if I keep at this regimen successfully 

 200.6 lbs I ate light today. It seems my visceral pain has curbed my appetite. We’ll see if the weight scale agrees with that in the morning. I’m enjoying picking up again with Ultra-Processed People. There’s a very interesting report on an underrated study by Clara Davis in the late 20s on babies choosing their diet to prove that humans are designed to regulate their own nutritional intake (Ch 5 p 181). Very fascinating.

  201.5 lbs No sugar all day. Not a big deal. A handful of walnuts in a 1/4 cup of muesli with a half cup of frozen fruit for breakfast. A date bar for snack. Vegetable tofu barley soup for lunch and dinner. Lots of water all day. Hernia Update  I started pretty well. Feeling lousy by midafternoon much like the past few days. I’m going to urgent care because my doctor can’t fit me in for a week and a half. I’ll be alright, but walking and stretching will be light today. It’s disconcerting to see and feel my guts poppin up!😵‍💫 If it wasn’t for this hernia belt (delivered by Amazon on Sunday) keeping my guts in place, I’d be stuck in bed much of the day. It really helps a lot!

 I finished reading David Goggins’s book Never Finished. It’s good. It’s worth reading after reading his first book Can’t Hurt Me. It’s a powerful true story of a man who is eternally driven to be his physical best despite the odds against him. I love how raw he is about the pain he struggled with constantly to overcome his temptations to go easy on himself. He inspires me to do better!

In Never Finished , Goggins asks “Who’s in your foxhole?” in his chapter called “Evolution No. 6.” He emphasizes the importance of keeping a core group of people in your life who have your best in mind both in words and actions, both to build you up, come along side of you, and make it personal that you reach your goals. It might be best friends and family members or it might not be. “Not all friends and loved ones react that way when you change and become committed to perpetual growth. Some are genuinely offended, and you don’t need or want their voices in your head… When you evolve, your inner circle, must evolve with you” (189-196). I am most grateful to my wife for telling me the truth last winter about my seriously unhealthy condition and my need to change course immediately. I’m grateful to my brother Gregg and my dad for helping me setup a structure  to be successful in breaking my unhealthy habits. I’m grateful for my longtime friends Nate, Jared, Mike, and Derek. It’s funn...

 I’ve been wearing my weight vest while on the treadmill this week. 25 lbs. I’m surprised at how heavy that is to lift, but not so heavy to wear. I’ll add 25 more pounds of weight to the vest this week to see what it’s like to carry my starting weight from 6.5 months ago! I bet picking up the vest will add some muscle strength to my arms too. 

 In David Goggins’s Never Finished , in the chapter “The Art of Getting Hit in the Mouth,” he writes about how unbelievably difficult the Moab 240 trail run (Yes, 240 miles!) was for him primarily because of his preexisting health issues like Raynaud’s phenomenon, hypothyroidism, sickle cell anemia, and also the high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) he was suffering from (a dangerous condition in which the lungs fill with blood and plasma). He doesn’t like hearing himself whine to his pacer about all of his excuses for why things aren’t going well. He recalls the numerous people in his life over the years who were whiners: “I called upon past triumphs, push me forward. I wouldn’t let myself bitch about the fact that my body had to betray me yet again I blocked that shit out and ran on” (161). “ This is the mentality we should all strive for when we’re stuck. Because when you’re in the hurt locker, you must be your own motivator, your own drill instructor. In the darkest moments, you...

 Me: The Engine 2 diet recommends buying food with no more than a 1:1 ratio of sodium to calories, correct? ChatGPT: Yes, the Engine 2 Diet recommends selecting foods where the sodium content (in milligrams) does not exceed the calorie count per serving, establishing a 1:1 ratio of sodium to calories. This guideline aims to help individuals manage sodium intake effectively, promoting heart health and overall well-being. However, condiments are an exception to this rule.  Adhering to this ratio can be challenging, especially when considering that many processed and packaged foods contain higher sodium levels. Therefore, it’s advisable to focus on whole, minimally processed foods such as fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, which naturally have lower sodium content. Additionally, reading nutrition labels carefully and being mindful of portion sizes can assist in maintaining this balance. It’s important to note that while the 1:1 sodium-to-calorie rat...