The end of the 31 day challenge and how Bruce Lee is always right

So we’re on the other side of the 31 day challenge and I ended it as it began. With hope.

I am 20 lbs lighter than when I started. I have a whole new outlook on life, food, my health, and more importantly my body.

I’ve seen the scale go up and down during this 31 days. I’ve hit new marks on the scale I never thought I would and I’ve never been prouder in myself. For me...being proud in myself is a big accomplishment.

So I’d like to share some quick notes on what I learned and then tell you about what’s coming next.

1) EVERYONE has an idea about what works and what doesn’t.
“Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”

Here’s the hard truth...people will give you advice, tell you what worked for them, and how what you’re doing isn’t going to work. What you need to do is be like Bruce Lee says and when it comes to this advice “be like water”. The quote helps me alot in all areas of life and maybe it will help you.

2) Not everyone’s body is meant to be the same.
“Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.” Bruce Lee

We’re not all cookie cutter versions of the same form and structure. Sure there are steps we can all take, but not all diets and workouts work for everyone. Some people have food allergies that prevent them from experiencing some diets. Some people can’t just jump into a heavy workout and need to build up to it. Listen to your body and what works for you. Find the workout you can’t live without when you get started. Find the diet that doesn’t make you cringe. Or, like me, try everything and see what works. Be open to all possibilities, but do it for you and not because it worked for a friend or celebrity.

3) If you’re not committed to change…nothing will happen.
“If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you'll never get it done.” Bruce Lee

You have to take action. Even small ones to start. It’s perpetual motion after that, one foot in front of the other, but you have to commit to that next step. You have to know what you are doing this for and focus on that. Otherwise you won’t have the energy, will, or desire to change for yourself.

Don’t think too hard...do. And remember the wise words of Yoda, “Do or do not. There is no try.” And if you are not going to do it...the don’t, but don’t make excuses. You have to find what works for you and go after that like tomorrow does not exist.

4) It’s going to suck sometimes...but it’s worth it.
“A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.” Bruce Lee

Whether it is a juice diet, a regular diet, or working out...when you start it is going to suck. If it was easy everyone would be doing it. You have to know that going in. If you do, the mental hurdles will be easier to overcome. You have to start putting things in your eye sight that remind you and make you want to change.

5) Accept that not everyone is going through what you are...it’s not about them.
“I'm not in this world to live up to your expectations and you're not in this world to live up to mine.” Bruce Lee

Whether you have a spouse, a girlfriend/boyfriend, or are living with friends or family do not expect everyone to be doing what you are. This isn’t being done for them or about them. They are not required to follow your diet or tip toe around you to make sure you “feel safe.”

While I was on my juice fast my wife brought home fast food. I could have been angry. I could have yelled about “I’m doing this thing...and you bring in that temptation.” But what I did was recognize that she made her choice and I was making mine. We were both doing what works for us. I saw in that food she brought home every bad decision I made to cause this weight gain and I enjoyed my juice knowing I didn’t want to get back there.

I hate to break it to you, but when you go outside...the world does not conform itself to you. You have to live your life during this transition with zero expectations of anyone around you, but appreciate when they make exceptions for you.

6) You’re going to make mistakes/have set backs/stumble.
“Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.” Bruce Lee

You’re going to have days where you want to cheat, the scale goes up instead of down, and you’ll miss a workout. Don’t make a mountain out of it. Own it, know what caused the chain of events that caused it to happen, and be ready for when that scenario presents itself again.

I lost over 10 pounds and got upset when I saw the scale go up a bit. It almost broke me, but I remembered to celebrate the loss and not the gain. The gain is just another obstacle to overcome.

Just do not let whatever that mistake is to become the lynchpin that completely destroys your progress. Remember how far you’ve come.

7) If it doesn’t mean something to you...it doesn’t matter how many people congratulate you.
“As you think, so shall you become.” Bruce Lee

You have to want this change! You have to embrace it and know that it’s what you want more than gaining weight. You can never be the person you were again. You have to rewrite the story in your brain and see yourself as the person you want to become. Believe you are a person who can do a 10 day juice challenge. Believe you can, be ready to face adversity in every form, and you can do whatever you dream.

So what comes next?

My amazing friend Elizabeth Wallace put up a challenge to me. She bought me the Chalene Extreme workout DVD’s and challenged me to do that work out three days a week. So I’ll be doing that and reviewing the process here on Project Reroll. That combined with a paleo like diet (I’m evolving into it) I am on track to lose another 20 lbs by the end of November. I want to keep this up and by January be 60 pounds lighter.

I am going to end this with one of my favorite quotes of Bruce Lee’s. It's something that keeps me looking forward and not at the past.

“The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.” Bruce Lee

A Good Man Goes to War

Week 1 Weight Loss (WL): 10.4 lbs
Week 1 & 2 Total Weight Loss (TWL): 14.4 lbs

Hey Dear Readers. First, let me apologize for getting this late. I stepped on the scale today and literally had to repeat the process SIX times before I believed the results.

Second, let me say the following message before you read any further.

I am not a doctor nor am I a scientist (but man do I wish I was Bruce Banner or Tony Stark). The things I try for my weight loss are things I personally research for what I think might work for me or that I’m crazy enough to try it. So, please, if you choose to follow a juice diet or get wrapped, please look into it yourself. Be as skeptical as I was and then try it with an open mind.

On with today’s post:

So last Monday I started my 10 day juice fast. If you’re not familiar with it, juice fasting is a type of fasting and detox diet in which a person consumes only fruit and vegetable juices. I was inspired to start it after watching a documentary called “Fat, Sick, And Nearly Dead”, which you can see on Netflix. After doing some research I had tried one a while ago, lost some weight, and subsequently ended up back to the svelte weight of 299 lbs. Which inspired this big change that included blogging with Project ReRoll.

The first three days of your juice fast, let me be honest here, are going to suck big balls. You’re going to be tired, grump, and really want to quit, but that is the sugar and crap leaving your system. You are seriously detoxing your body of coffee, soda, and the crap you usually eat the same way a drug addict has to detox a chemical from theirs. So you’re body rejects that with feeling crappy and your desire to return to that bad habit get stronger.

Thus why this post is named for one of my top 10 Doctor Who episodes, “A Good Man Goes to War”, because your will is going to war with your brain and your body. The latter both just want to go back to the normal that made you what you are.

If you want to change…you can’t let them win. You must be the Doctor to their Daleks, the Gandalf to their Balrog, the Mario to their Bowser….you get the idea. And if you don’t there are some very nice TV shows, movies, and games a geek friend can introduce you to.

What I usually make is called Mean Green which comes directly from the documentary I mentioned above. You will need a juicer, but here’s the recipe.

Mean Green

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Serving: 1-2 Size: 16oz. (500 mls) (I double up so I can have some for a full day and a half)

Ingredients

• 1 cucumber
• 4 celery stalks
• 2 apples
• 6-8 leaves kale
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 tbsp ginger

Directions

1. Wash all produce well
2. Peel the lemon, optional
3. Juice
4. Pour over ice if you like.
5. Enjoy! 

If you've ever had orange juice with pulp before the texture can be similar depending on your juicer. It looks green and at first your brain says “No, sir.” Yet, it’s actually kind of good.

I also make a breakfast drink which is orange and pineapple and a snack that is strawberry, blueberry, and raspberry. I got the recipes from juice bars and stores I've seen in New York. If you’re in the New York area, I am jealous of you.

Now let’s talk about the hard part…Temptation. I intentionally did not avoid normal life. Matter of fact I found ways to adapt to it. Avoiding normal life while trying to get healthy would suck, but letting myself down, and you, as well as learning how to adapt to maintain the weight loss was more important to me.
Here’s how I overcame it.

Friday I went out to the mall with my best friend, Sean, and his son, Tristan. Whenever I smelled food and I wanted to have something to nibble…I bought a bottle of water. Within half a bottle my desire to eat was gone. When Sean and his son would stop to eat, I had a bottle of water. Water does this amazing thing of filling your stomach. Negative side effect….you pee…A LOT!

Saturday I went to my sister Heather’s baby shower. Which meant I dropped my wife, Kelly, off and the guys took Dan, the awesome dad to be, and went to Dave & Busters. The guys belly up’d to the bar and I…had a glass of orange juice and a glass of water. Did it suck to smell the wings, burgers, and all the things I would normally gorge myself on? Yup. You know what sucked more? Watching that scale go up instead of down before August 1st.

That night Kelly and I went to see The Wolverine. She had popcorn and water….while I had water. And you know what? It didn't ruin anything about the experience.

Sunday I went for a 2.4 mile walk and talk with my good friend Ann. After we stopped at Starbucks, where she had tea and I had…you guessed it…water.

Before and after each I had a pre-made, by me, juice so I had nutrients in my system.

One thing I also did was tried the “It Works” wraps from my sister-in-law, Shannon, and her company Wrap with Waffediyok. After I posted that picture there was a lot of dispute in the comments about the “science” of it and so on. All I can tell you is I saw 4.25” come off my midsection and have keep about 2” off since. It, for me, was a great motivator to see change. As a onetime deal I did not expect it to provide long term solutions, but it was the boost in self value I needed to get me over the hurdle. I've had a few friends try it based off the post I made and one friend saw 4” herself from the wrap. There is a 90 plan they offer that I have seen people have results from, but I would recommend talking to Shannon if you have ANY questions. Any… and I mean any, because I’m a n00b with that stuff and asking me is going to get you “um…here’s Shannon” as a response.

So as of this post I’m on day nine of the juice fast and, folks, I have to tell you I haven’t felt better in a long time.

After I’ve gone through the 10 days, I feel clean. I don’t crave food and honestly I don’t miss it. I’m going to enjoy having a burger from a non-fast food place, but I don’t think I’ll go back to having a burger every day. I will enjoy a slice of pizza, but I don’t want to go back to ordering a whole pie for just Kelly and myself.
More importantly, I’m more aware than ever of what goes into my body and how it affects not only my body as a whole, but my mood and brain as well.

So, dear reader, I leave you with this one simple bit of motivation that I’ll expand on in my next post.
I started this blog series at 299 lbs. and here is the reason I had to step on and off the scale several times.

If I can do it…so can you!

The Return Journey

Good morning. As I prepare to start my journey of Project ReRoll I thought it would be a good idea to share with you the goals I’m setting out with and how I’m mapping out my quest to ReRoll my body.

I got on the scale today, to see where I was since I weighed myself last week when I wrote my answers to the interview that was the post yesterday. I had to step off and on the scale a few times, but when I realized the number was what it was…I stopped. I had gone up in weight. Stress of the weekend, not paying attention to what was going in, and realizing how much five days can change the dial on the scale has me more sure than ever than starting this quest, and sharing it with you, was the best thing I can do.

So, dear reader, every good quest starts with a goal. My goal is to begin, what I am dubbing, my 31 day challenge. For the month of August I am going to be working towards beginning a routine that will begin the transition from being round in the belly to an over all healthier me.

For diet I am going to do a juicing/paleo mix. Starting the first four days of the month weaning off of soda, fast food, and such by eating raw fruits and veggies. It will help transition my body, because on August 5th I will begin a juice fast that will last a minimum of 10 days. If I feel good with it, I’m going to continue and then blend in the paleo diet as I learn more about it and share that knowledge with you.

For exercise, I am going to start with doing the 30 Day Ab and 30 Day Arm work out. Each work out starts with four simple exercises you can do, without needing a gym membership, that increase each day ending with you doing, at least, 100 more reps of each exercise than the day you started. I addition to that I am going to increase the 1.5 mile walk to and from work I already do to include jogging so by the end of the challenge I am running the 1.5 miles home.

If you wanted to play along at home, I’m going to be using a few apps, that you can find as well, to help gamify my time as well. I’m going to be using the app “EpicWin” to  make tracking the work outs as much fun as RPG gaming with its leveling and rewards. I am also going to be using the app “Zombies, Run!” to track the transition from walking to running.

I wanted these goals and actions to be measurable and easy. By the end there is a quest map for you to follow if you wanted to make your own change in life.

And, like all good quests, it comes with some big obstacles. Over this month I’m attending no less than three conventions away from home. This means part of my weight loss will be, for at least 9 or 31 days, will be deep in the heart of every temptation that could set me off my path. I’m not going to these just to attend, I’m going to promote a film that’s still in the works and it’s a stressful time that can cause me to revert back to what’s easy with things like fast food, sleeping longer instead of working out, stress, and tons of alcohol.  I can share with you how you too can fit working out and being a healthier you into all aspects of your geek/nerd life just like Anne has.

As I’m going to be checking in with you once a week, these posts will be more like mini journals plotting out what I’ve done, how I feel, and what changes I’m seeing. I want to be as honest and accountable with you as I can.

Thank you for joining me on this quest to reroll my body, health, and mind. I hope this inspires you to make the changes you’ve been putting off the way that Anne has inspired me.

Mike Dougherty
Twitter.com/wickedjava
Facebook.com/mcdougherty