It was an exhausting week.
Fall sports are now underway, which means longer days, travel to games, changing schedules, and considerably more activity at work. Add a cold and a slight bronchial infection to all of that, and by the end of the week I was definitely running on empty.
When I stepped on the scale for my Sunday weigh-in this morning, I came in at 268.3 pounds, down from 269.8 poundslast week.
That’s another 1.5 pounds down, and while I’m always happy to see the scale moving in the right direction, I’m not going to pretend this week’s loss came from following some great diet and exercise plan.
Not feeling well probably played a part.
I certainly don’t recommend getting sick as a weight-loss strategy! Feeling sluggish with a cold and dealing with a bronchial infection doesn’t exactly make food sound appealing. For the last few days, my appetite hasn’t been what it normally is.
In fact, one of the few things that has sounded good has been something incredibly simple—a bowl of cereal with some fruit on top.
Sometimes your body tells you what it wants, and this week mine was telling me to keep things simple and get some rest.
Goodbye August, Hello September
I’m ready to put August behind me.
It’s always one of the most challenging months of my year. Fall camps begin, schedules change, the workload increases, and the routine I’ve enjoyed during the summer disappears almost overnight.
September should bring a little more structure back into my life.
My mornings should become more predictable, which means I can start rebuilding a consistent workout schedule. My daily work routine will also keep me moving, walking, lifting, and spending plenty of time on my feet.
But I also need to remember something I’ve learned over the last several weeks.
Being active at work isn’t the same thing as training.
All that movement is certainly beneficial, but I still want to make time for strength training and intentional exercise. I don’t need every workout to be an hour long or incredibly difficult. I just need to start showing up consistently again.
Twenty or thirty minutes counts.
A walk counts.
A short home workout counts.
The important thing is rebuilding the habit.
Maybe It’s Time for a Sugar Experiment
Food will probably always be the bigger challenge for me.
I know the foods I should eat. I know the foods I should limit. Knowing isn’t really the problem.
Doing it consistently is.
One thing I’d like to experiment with during September is cutting back significantly on sweets.
Candy, cookies, cake, chocolate—they all seem to find their way onto my radar.
Rather than declaring that I’m never eating sugar again, which probably isn’t realistic, maybe I need to treat this as an experiment.
Can I go one day without sweets?
Great. Let’s try two.
Can I make it through a week?
What happens if I can string several weeks together?
More importantly, what happens to my cravings when I stop automatically satisfying them?
When I want something sweet, I can reach for some fruit. I can drink a glass of water and wait a little while. Maybe I’ll discover that sometimes the craving passes.
I also need to learn the difference between being hungry and simply wanting something sweet because that’s what I’m accustomed to doing.
That’s another behavior worth paying attention to.
Don’t Just Focus on the Scale
As September begins, I’m also reminding myself that I don’t want this entire journey to revolve around one number every Sunday morning.
Yes, I want to reach 240 pounds.
Yes, watching the scale move from the 270s into the 260s feels good.
But there’s a bigger goal here.
I want to feel better.
I want to move better.
I want my clothes to fit better.
I want more energy.
I want to maintain my strength and mobility as I get older.
And I want to prove to myself that I can make lasting changes instead of bouncing between a few good days and a few bad ones.
The scale is simply one way of measuring whether I’m heading in the right direction.
The Next Decision
I’ve written several times that this journey is about mindset, and I believe that more than ever.
But mindset by itself doesn’t lose weight.
Mindset has to lead to action.
Thinking about going to the gym doesn’t help me. Going does.
Planning to eat better doesn’t help me. Making a better choice at the next meal does.
Wanting to cut back on sweets doesn’t help me. Walking past the candy and grabbing a piece of fruit does.
That’s where the change happens—in those small decisions that don’t seem very important at the time.
August is ending at 268.3 pounds.
I’m not where I want to be yet, but I’m moving in the right direction.
Now September gives me an opportunity to add some structure, rebuild my workout routine, experiment with cutting back on sweets, and continue working toward 240.
First, though, I need to get healthy, get my energy back, and let my body recover.
Then it’s back to work.
The goal hasn’t changed. The journey continues.