It’s a really short one this week, but it’s something that impacted me a lot, so I want to share it. Last weekend I had a very physically intensive Saturday. I installed a new car seat for our toddler, I assembled a few larger toys, picked up his new stroller, and moved some furniture around to let the robot clean the hard to reach places.
My lower back was achy after the long day, which happens from time to time. I had a double disc herniation there last year and, although I exercised and pretty much fixed it, I haven’t been very diligent with exercising after that. My son was born, my startup failed, I had some work issues… a lot of stress and sleepless nights which resulted in exercising being the first thing to go. I didn’t sleep well, gained a lot of weight, and switched to a fully sedentary daily routine.
So, on Sunday, I was all stiff. Our son just started walking so we went to a playground and let him run wild. I asked my wife to go grab drinks while I watched him, which took her around 20 minutes (there was a big queue). 20 minutes and 30 bends down were all it took for my lower back to get really irritated to the point where I heard a painful click.
I spent the next three days in a horizontal setting, working from the couch. Thankfully, it wasn’t as bad as last year, so I assumed I sprained/irritated something and gave it a few days to rest.
In fact, I was on a business trip to the US a few weeks back and was really worried about sitting on the plane for 10 hours. I ended up getting up a lot and stretching during the flight and was mostly fine, just a bit stiff when I got back. And that’s when he started walking.
Ever since we found out my wife was pregnant, I’ve known that I want to dramatically improve my physical health for my son. However, this last few days really put the whole thing in perspective. It’s the first time since he was born that I couldn’t play with him and carry him around.
The emotional toll of him reaching his little arms for me to pick him up and I having to call for my wife to pick him up or distract him somehow was huge. The physical toll on my wife was also quite a lot, as she had to take care of him 24/7 for a few days.
It was a huge letdown, as I had just started getting back into a better routine a little over a month ago. I significantly reduced carbs and processed foods and started exercising 1-2 times a week. Not enough, but better than nothing. The result? I lost 14 kgs (31 pounds) in 5 weeks, which is pretty good for just cutting carbs down to a minimum. Now, I’m even more resolved. I have another 14-15 kgs to go to reach my optimal/desired weight. Wish me luck!
If you want to see the progress watch one of my YouTube videos now and subscribe to my channel so that you can see how I change over the next few months (shameless plug).
Thanks for reading so far. I hope my struggle (although not a huge one) and later realization can help some of you in your own life battles. Also, please share the newsletter with one close friend. It’s the best way to support me and help me reach more people who might find value in what I have to say. As always, extra brownie points if you do so!
See you next week!
Best,
Dobri 🍃