April Showers….and weight loss….
We return to selfless vs selfish and try on some new duds.
This weekend, Charlotte is away, and the dog. I hope to work on myself, the house, and the garage. I had hoped to spend the weekend beholden to anything or anyone, but I’ve already made the trip down the street to help a neighbor, and I’m supposed to do some drywall for an electrician friend of mine today…which I have now decided to do at a later date.
I can not say no….
I did manage to tell Chris I was not willing to spend 5 hours under his truck this weekend and just like that, he got the job done without me.
A late addition to an already posted manblog…Charlotte…has had some USport Coaches reaching out, and I’m good with USport. A lot of guys have their egos tied to NCAA D1 rides for their kids, and we will see after June 15th if that happens….but the way it looks right now, Charlotte is going to be playing University hockey somewhere….Guaranteed! I am proud of that kid!
I need to be present for myself, and to be totally honest, my elbows are screaming from lifting heavy weights, which was the last thing I considered prior to going to my neighbors to lift a huge mobility scooter onto a waist-high trailer….my waist-high! I did legs and biceps last night, my next workout is chest and tris, and there is no way I could do that today without a day of rest in between. I may have the testosterone of a 19-year-old, which facilitates quick muscle repair, but it doesn’t do a damn thing for soft tissue, and I can tell you where plenty of soft tissue exists in my body by thinking about what joints hurt.
…which brings me around again to peptides….maybe….maybe maybe…..
The downside here is that I’m considering letting my doctor know about the TRT, which will be an interesting discussion….I’m not sure she will approve…but I also wonder if she can’t already see my other prescriptions when I am at her office. Next visit June 2.
Blood pressure is really getting low, I’ve been tracking it daily using chatgpt so that I will have a doctor ready log and this is what is offered me this morning:
Clinical Interpretation
- Blood pressure is within normal range
- No evidence of sustained hypertension
- No abnormal response to stimulant use observed
- Variability consistent with normal physiology
Conclusion
Home BP readings demonstrate stable, normotensive values (~120/70 range) with appropriate measurement technique.
No current indication of stimulant-induced hypertension.
So….I’ve managed to take myself from…you will be dead….to absolutely wonderful in a year, really, 6 months.
Ok….the duds….Tbag made a joke about the shorts I was wearing in last week’s photo, and I get it. Those shorts are probably 20 years old. How have they held together that long? I have been too fat to wear them. Really, all of the clothes are currently own fit, even the skinniest of clothes, or are way too big.
I can wear a large shirt, although my shoulders and biceps don’t agree, and offer this photo in a size 33 pants…ready for next year’s trip down south, which is happening!
I also picked up this shirt…large…and a few other items…plus tried out a few other shirts that simply would not fit over my arms.
I may not have the confidence of Tbag, but I do have arms.
I have been using chat to give me some clear objectivity, rather than flying with my dismorphia…at 16.75 inch arms I look big, and pushing 4 sets x 12 of 70 pound dumbbells makes me way above average….and I know damn well I could push more….but I am trying to keep my elbows going….
So…20 year old clothes mixed in with a few new duds. I’m healthy, I’m happy, and some days….Canadian weather…the sun shines!
And Now….The Weather….
Russett…chemo at the hospital Thursday, I have to clarify the difference between chemo in the hospital and the purple-topped companion he has at home. They discovered a blood clot in his arm, that was quickly dealt with. He said nothing to serious, not in a vein leading to any major organs. My rebuttal was, “best case, lose a few fingers…who needs a thumb.”
Russett appears to be in high spirits, says he is feeling good, even after chemo and the entire day spent in the hospital on the poison drip followed by an hours-long investigation of the blood clot.
Russett offered this photo of yogurt and berries, I wonder if he ever ate this in his life prior to this recent event, and I take great comfort in the fact that his “nurse” is caring for him and that he is accepting of these things.
Jeremy offers “The Shift – I have been thinking about Russett, never met ya brother but I feel I have been where you currently are. I have been trying to describe this, I will do my best. Coming face to face with a potentially dire diagnosis is a traumatic event, lots of things happening all at once in the days and weeks following. What this did (for me anyways) was offer an immediate perspective shift, the interesting part is that we get to choose how the shift reframes our world. Shift to negativity and this becomes your lens, hard to see anything but the negative. Shift to positivity and this becomes your lens, seeing small gifts in all parts of life. The shift is inevitable but we control how this affects us. I spent a few COVID days in a room at the CIVIC, with three men who were on their way out. They knew it. One was angry, his calls were filled with fear and venom. One was detached and cold, he had given up/in. One was joyful, made countless calls to grandkids – acting goofy and making them laugh. I took a lesson from that last man, focus on what you can control and ignore what you cannot. I try to live my life this way now. 205, actually a bit chubby, kinda great.”
Jeremy will weigh more than me at some point, and Russett…205 was the weight he used to start dieting at 🙂
I can’t understand being on that side of the event, I mean…my doc told me I would die if I didn’t control my BP and cholesterol, echoed by the anesthesiologist at my last colonoscopy…but I had a lot of control in that situation.
You guys do not….
Let’s switch to something a little lighter
Jeremy has been PACKING it on. He has gained 16 pounds since tracking started and is adding inches all over. This is what hard work will get you!
Suds offers to my request for measurements “Now you know I don’t do that. But I am tempted to start because I definitely earned on the weekend’s project.”
Suds was working hard around the house on a landscaping project and posted a 180, she is down 20 pounds!
20 pounds is 10% of this kids body weight.
YogaJenni…correctly spelled…so many messages, it’s hard to keep track of the actual manblog info…weight last sent at 158 pounds…back from Portugal enjoying pastries and sangria….which reminds me that I have some cheap bottle of wine from one of my neighbors which I need to craft into a sangria at some point…when the sun is shinning….but this part isn’t about me and my cheap red wine processing.
YJ gained 6 pounds in Portugal, but ends this month of April exactly where it started, 158 pounds. This woman is 5 foot nothing, no place to hide 6 pounds.
I’m not sure this “exercise” is going to be able to keep up with pastries.
YJ warned me there might be drunk texting last night…which is when I started writing this, but the montreal game got in the way…but the DTs didn’t happen. Too drunk to figure the whole phone thing out.
YogaJenni’s measurements were up across the board while she stayed the same weight.
Shhhh….that isn’t how lean mass works…..
Tbag has considered quitting…a few here have…always because they look at everyone else and think they aren’t good enough…or less…or more…whatever that is to that person. Are any of us here happy with where we are at? I can tell you from talking to each and every one of them…no…well maybe YJ…she either talks a big game or has a ton of confidence…more than the rest of us….or is drunk texting more often than she submits….but this is Tbag’s bit….
What Tbag isn’t seeing…maybe…is that although her weight went up, she lost inches all over….
YJ….that is how lean mass works….
I’m trying to nudge T into HRT….I think it’s time….I think its time for everyone here….other than J and Russett, they have negated the possibility at this point….I think….We just discussed it and she isn’t willing…she thinks HRT is a “down there” problem solver….bud….its not a down thing….its an optimize your health thing!….OMG wait…she just sent me a text saying she will look into it.
Ladies, HRT isn’t just about menopause. It’s about optimizing your health and longevity. I wish I had started TRT at 40….if you wait, you will have regrets, no matter how healthy you think you are today.
IMO…
…and back to Tbag once again…while I was in the middle of the Slab portion she let me know she has never disappointed a man….geez…I can’t imagine the number of times I’ve disappointed a woman….frig….argh….
….and one more time….I’ve just had to visit a neighbor to lift a 300 pound item into a trailer and during the trip Tbag offered that she doesn’t want to be classified as an average 55-year-old woman. She has set that boundary….confidence will spin the glob…
….and now this statement “Starting my project now. Trying to downsize 3 totes of clothes. Trying things on, throwing out what doesn’t fit. That should break my confidence down today!”
Pumper is also losing inches across the board, down 9 total pounds. She offered this “Weight is 198. Nothing much to add…It’s been learning choreography and teaching everyday. Managed to clean up the yard a bit and patch up some holes Freya dug up. Watching the playoffs on TV with my son. 3 more classes to go before I teach my last class at Strandherd Sunday. Can’t wait to get to Sunday for my reward! Koena spa with one of my instructor friends all afternoon! Back to more manageable schedule at the gym next week and campground opens next Friday! Can’t wait!”
Pumper also took a trip out to Oxygen for the yoga…I need to get back in there, maybe this weekend.
Losing inches all over….and enjoying a few treats after putting in the hard work.
Krista ahhhh….Krista…she comments that she has a scale…and it looks very stylish over there in the corner of the bathroom….awaiting footprints in the dust…..
Slab is putting in the work as usual…So Slab and I have decided to make May a lean month…the competition will be to gain lean mass while dropping zee fat. Not easy….calorie deficit while hitting max protein…and lifting like a dog.
Slab……
Yours Truly, further to what I said above, my weight was up in April, which I think helped me put on a bit of muscle. My chest is getting bigger, my arms and legs have grown. May I will attempt to get below 214, which was my March low and the lowest I’ve been in 10 years-ish…I’ve offered a street clothes photo to copy Slabs submission above, so here I offer this side by side, 11 years ago, and today….I may look older than dust, but I’m in better shape.
The Quote of The Day
“Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.” — Unknown
I am hurt…I have suffered…but I always get better, I always improve.
I have made some big changes, and they have worked out. For the first time in my life, I am happy to be alone…in my life!
It is strange and refreshing to not feel the need to have company….something I needed to explore, and need to explore more. I am happy with myself, and working on me, my space, and my life.
I go to work every day, I have so many regrets that I have spent the last 20 years raising kids…it is a taxing, lonely, and unrewarding job. Going to work every day offers movement, socialization, and growth.
I have a growing business, things are moving in the right direction, I am happy, I am healthy…
My heart does not hurt….my shoulders…hurt…my biceps…hurt…my legs, same. Tomorrow I will up chest, it will hurt during and after….
But I will continue to grow…in every way…for the better.
To all of you reading all the way down here, I hope you are well. To my friends, thank you….
