Recovering

Have you ever gotten really sick to the point that it affects your workout and life?  That happened to me last week when I developed a major cold and flu.  Since October 1, I've suffered through a series of sinus infections, which have required three different rounds of antibiotics.  As I was coming to the end of this latest round, I started feeling pretty poorly.  I thought that it was my body telling me that a sinus infection was returning, but I discovered that it was something much more serious.  

I took to my bed on Tuesday, November 26 and did not get up until Sunday, December 1.  As a result, I missed Thanksgiving and numerous parties.  What was even worse was that I missed the gym.  I was almost at the end of the month, so I was planning to increase weight amounts and resistance levels on machines, but losing a full week (and more) of progress, will definitely affect my workout going into December.  It is frustrating as I am in my last 15 pounds of weight loss.  I may have even gained some weight last week.  Initially, I had no appetite, but that changed by Thursday.  I was weak and I ate some Thanksgiving meals prepared by my parents and later a few dishes provided by a certain special man in my life.  

I hate being unable to workout.  I couldn't even go outside for a walk because I felt so weak and it was extremely cold out.  While I knew that I was missing working out, I was so weak that my body really did not care.  This was an opportunity for me to truly listen to what my body was saying.  I knew that when I was ready, my body would tell me so.  

I returned to working out by doing a Tae Bo workout yesterday morning.  Because I am still suffering from a lingering cough and a bit of fatigue, I thought it would be better to workout at home.  If I broke into a coughing fit, or needed to sit down, I'd be in my own house.  Luckily, everything went well.  I did a different Tae Bo workout this morning and am now ready to return to the gym.  

I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon and I hope that my Physician Assistant will give me the go ahead to return to the gym.  I felt it was important for me to wait until I hear from her before I resumed my normal activity.  I am probably about 95% right now, but I don't want to do anything that will negatively affect my progress long-term.  

What about you?  What do you do when you get sick?  Do you stop and listen to your body or do you push through it?  

I Speak!

Check out my story on the latest episode of the weight loss podcast Tips Of The Scale.

http://tipsofthescale.com/0031-collin-gehl-from-buffalo-new-york-m36/

The Beginning of A New Journey

On August 26, 2012, I began the journey to be healthy.  It started because I was in the worst shape of my life.  Approximately 4 weeks away from turning 35, I felt like I had developed some symptoms of Diabetes (which runs in my family), I was sweaty all the time, and I hated the way I looked.  I could not look at myself naked in the mirror because I was so disgusted.

The journey began fairly simply.  I started working out (doing a Tae Bo DVD) and keeping track of what I ate via MyFitnessPal.  In addition, I gave up alcohol for the first 4 weeks of this journey.  This worked extremely well!  I lost 5 pounds the first week which gave me the confidence I needed to stay on this path.  We started a Biggest Loser competition at work and by the end of November, I had lost nearly 25 pounds (yes, I won that edition).

I eventually plateaued and gained some weight around the holidays, but I started 2013 with a renewed vigor to drop the weight.  By March of 2013, I has lost an additional 17 pounds and was down a total of 42 pounds.  I realized that I needed to do something different because I was getting bored with my workout.  I joined LA Fitness, which had recently opened in Buffalo, NY, and set some goals.

The weight continued to slowly melt away.  By the time I celebrated a year on this fitness path, I was down 73 pounds.  I had gone down 10 inches in my waist (42 to 32).  I have had to buy a whole new wardrobe (I'll post about that soon) and the amount of positive feedback I've gotten has been overwhelming.  I am about 17 pounds away from my goal, but I have never felt better.

I have much more to share about this journey and I hope that I will be able to provide some inspiration to any of you that are on similar paths---or are considering beginning one.

I can also be reached at collingehlfitness@gmail.com or follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/collingehlfit