To catch up on Part 1 of My HealthWage Experience Click Here!

I Was Going To Lose Real Money

I’ve promised to follow up with how things went with this challenge. As I mentioned, this last several pounds was hard. Really Hard!  I had done so much research and tried many tactics on trying to reach my goal.  As you recall, if I didn’t meet my 142lb goal I’d be out real money!  I’m talking $1,540 of real money. 

Keep in mind, I don’t know too much about nutrition and how the body processes the carbs, proteins, and fats.  I know this wasn’t healthy, and it wasn’t something I’d sustain.  At this point it was all about reaching the goal. It was just a moment in time.  I’ll also share, I had a bit of a scare, and some discomfort that lead me to the doctor. 

The Importance of
Balanced Nutrition and Exercise

I had been eating low carb, and walking everyday. This wasn’t doing it. I had people say it’s all about the calorie deficit. “It’s simple,” they’d say. You don’t consume calories and you loose weight.  I’ve learned this was not the case. Dropping to about 1200 calories a day, and walking about 2-4 miles a day wasn’t doing it. 

I stepped it up and started to do short bursts of “running” during my walks.  I use this term “running” loosely.  My runs are pretty slow, and uncoordinated. But, it got me winded, and my ankles would be tired.  

I wasn’t making progress, I needed to hit my goal.  This was allowing me to barely lose 1/2 a pound a week.

Then, I had researched so many different philosophies on fasting.  Intermittent fasting.  And, doing a 24-hour fast to kickstart your intermittent fasting plan while drinking plenty of water. This, also, didn’t really make a dent after a week. It just made me irritable, super hungry, and feeling like garbage.  

The Cleansing

I was then talking to a buddy that had used a juice cleanse to lose weight before a vacation.  They said, “it worked great, and you can lose up to 10lbs!”  Okay, let’s give this a try, I went to Amazon and scooped up this three-day juice cleanse. I wasn’t thrilled to drop $50 on this, but if it would allow me to get my money back, I’d be willing to give this a try. This was intense!  You drink these different juices like 6 times a day for three days.

Day one was fine. Day two was brutal. I was distracted, Hungry, and not feeling great.  I’d be also drinking water, and based on the directions of the cleanse if thing did get too rough you could eat vegetables. Day two and three I ate entire bags of cooked broccoli and cauliflower.  This cleanse did make me nervous. Some people would warn you that this does a number on your plumbing, if you know what I mean.  Like having a blowout, and experience some diarrhea.  Luckily, that wasn’t the case for me. In the end I did lose about 3lbs from the cleanse.  Not the results I was hoping for.  

I started to get desperate.  I was researching what other did when they needed to lose that last 5lbs for a competition. Like, for wrestlers and other athletes. 

Supplements

Many would would use supplements.  These thermogenic-based supplements would be used before or during a workout. Sometime natural and sometimes who the hell knows what it was made of.  I went into the local GNC store and asked the dude, who was FREAKING RIPPED by the way, what he’d recommend if he was in my situation.  He suggested one, and also gave me some samples of others. 

Okay, it was time to get to work. I were to take this and go for my walk/run.  I did this for about a week.  Some days when it was 90º outside, i’d wear hoodies and hats in hopes of sweating out the last few pounds of water weight. It wasn’t really making a difference. It was however making me not really feel well.  So this didn’t last.  I had some bloating, gas and all around yucky feeling. 

It was shortly after this was up north at the family hunting shack to help my fam do some maintenance and prepare the shack for this fall’s hunting season.  This was physical work, and during this time, I had this pain in the lower left of my abdomen since I had woken up that day. It continued for a few days. I had even googled what side my appendix was on.  After a few days, It then was more of abdominal pain, like, beneath my belly button.  This also continued for a few days.  I thought, “well, I should probably see the doctor” Ugh… 

My Doctor Visit

I had seen the doc the following morning, and after some Q&A, and some poking and prodding, she had said it is most likely diverticulitis, an infection or inflammation of pouches that can form in your intestines. I was unfamiliar, and as she explained, said we’ll get a CT Scan immediately and we’ll know more.  Obviously, like everyone, while waiting for my scan I was googling this condition, causes, and treatments.  

After the CT was completed and I consulted with the doc, she walked in with a smile on her face.  Ummm, I was thinking to myself, “this must me good news, right?” She continued, “Good news, it isn’t diverticulitis! You don’t even have any of the diverticula or pouches that can lead to the condition that cause diverticulitis! I also know why you’ve been experiencing so much pain for this time.  Your bowel is totally impacted.  Like, you are totally full of stool.”  I felt so embarrassed and silly.  I was sent on my way with instructions for a laxative and a fiber supplement.  

I have no doubt in my mind this was caused because of the last month or more of all these crazy things I was doing to my body.  Like abusing my body.  I was mad and frustrated with myself. 

In the end, however, I made it by the skin o’ my teeth.  I completed the challenge with 0.2 of a pound pound to spare. I’ve learned a lot about my body. What it can tolerate, and the importance of a truly balanced diet and continued exercise. And to all the people out there….Yes. HealthyWage is legit. Here is the check to prove it. If you’d like to join a challenge use my link! You’ll get an extra $40 added to your prize for completing the challenge!