It’s been a long day, starting at 5:30 A.M. with my first trip to the gym in 2-1/2 weeks, and continuing tonight with a Blue Zone dinner later. I’m doing a walk on the same day, and it’s a good thing I’m getting all this activity in, because I am dealing with about 15 pounds of holiday weight gain.

Last year I recorded an episode (#7) called “After the Turkey”, in which I bemoaned my three days off for Thanksgiving. At the time I was walking every day. I claimed to feel weaker because of the off time, though perhaps it was merely psychological. This morning, I was definitely feeling reduced strength after a couple of weeks out. And the scale does not lie.

During the holidays I was also dealing with a family illness, which meant I spent a lot of time in a hospital room. After I got back from this visit, I had to fight a respiratory infection which forced me to rest an additional few days.

Events caused me additional stress recently, and I found myself succumbing to old habits: watching too much Amazon Prime and eating the wrong foods and way too much of them. It was a flashback to the not-so-good old days.

What to do? Really the same thing I advocated in episode #7: just get right back into the groove. I am no longer as afraid as I was of drifting back into the sedentary life long-term. I know I’m going to have times like these, and I can return and continue on my journey to a healthy, active, and hopefully very long life.

Recorded January 7, 2019.

Weight (change since Jan 2018): 210 (-64)
Workout time: 172 Minutes
Total Distance (total since Nov 2017): 6.54 Miles (365.46)
Steps: 15,320
Muscle Mass (change since Aug 2018): 155.88 (+13)
Body Fat: 25.7%
Daily Sleep Duration 7-day Avg: 8 hours
2019 Goal: 15% Body Fat