September 2016 – So Uncomfortably Numb

Is there anyone out there cause it’s getting harder and harder to breathe….

Literally!

I’ve been battling a crazy cough since mid-august that was getting worse and worse so after 2 trips to Urgent Care and then a Allergy Center I have had my lungs tested, my allergies tested and I am highly allergic to mold, dust mites, cats and egg whites! SERIOUSLY? Egg whites? The doctor laughed when I told her that it was okay cause I really liked dipping my bread in the yoke the best anyway. But now I am on two daily pills, nose spray, two inhalers all the give me some relief. This shit is crazy. I was out of the gym for almost a week because I just could not catch my breath or stop coughing so I just took it easy.

Weight wise I am pretty much where I was at the beginning of the month. 328lbs. I wish I was under 320 at this point but I’ll take it. I am having a hard time getting my water in and not eating late at night. I am really good at not being too hungry during the day but holy shit do I get hungry at night. I think I am really going to have to just start going to be at 10pm so I am not looking around the kitchen at 11:30 for bread and butter which is still my favorite 🙂

On the 12th I did a 5k Obstacle course which turned out to be almost 4 miles to show support to my friend and fellow musician Timmy. I walked it but I did it. A part of me wants to sign up for the Flyers 5K in two weeks just to get another one under my belt! And…. a MEDAL! Can I put a 5K sticker on the back of my truck now? Is there a fast walker division?

Speaking of Timmy, trying to show him support has helped motivate me a little more. I have been getting back into my workouts. On Monday I went to bootcamp with him in the Am at his gym then went to mine in the evening…. Tuesday I did a cardio boxing class with him and although I am sure I punch worse than “a girl”, I loved it. Then I went to my gym in the evening. Wednesday I did weight lift Wednesday at mine and as soon as I finish this blog I am heading to boxing again. I have to work tonight so this will be my only workout of the day.

The bands 20th sold out. And we REALLY sold the thing out. I bought a new sparkly jacket. I can’t wait to see everyone… I am going to keep pushing. That’s all we can do in the end. It’s all we can do.

I hope this finds everyone reading well. Make sure you follow me on IG. I post daily so when I forget to blog there are always check in points there.

Keep Fighting.

Franco

Wow my last blog was 6 weeks ago and no one called me out. Maybe I’ve lost you all at this point. Which is very understandable. I have been promising to blog for weeks now, where the hell did this summer go. This has been a very trying summer for me. I definitely have been in a funk spending a few hours every Sunday sending my resume all over the Internet with little or no response. I think having a routine in my day what make such a big difference and my eating would be much more controlled. But that’s a whole other blog probably.

I did not get on the wave runners much this summer, and it honestly seemed like I was in the car traveling from gig to gig more than I was sitting on the beach. I did get to see a few great concerts that I wanted to see and spend sometime with good friends. Other than that it was a quiet summer, I took care of my son who had ACL repair done in early August and that took three weeks out as well. He is back at West Chester and doing well.

What I did not do in excitement, lots of people on Team Franco did for me. Ironically, five or six of my biggest supporters jumped off the Cape May ferry and did amazing at their triathlons. Many people competed in powerlifting competitions, Marathons, And bike races. My fitness family did just fine. You guys kick major ass.

The summer came and went and here we are. For the last six weeks I have been searching for my next steps in my journey and I wish I could start this blog by saying that I figured it out. Nope.

Although I have figured out a few things.

I am going to continue to do group training throughout the week. I get motivated to go. I love the people around me. And although sometimes I think I’m not very fond of the workouts, I do my best.

You have to keep moving. In the end, you have to burn more calories than you consume. Straightforward mathematics. Did I ever mention to you how stupid I am and can’t do simple math? It’s true. But if you work out, Get your heart going, do something, and keep your calories in check – you will lose weight. With me right now it will be a balance of trying to lose weight and retain muscle that I am trying and Have been trying to build for a long time.

Losing weight costs money. Gyms, trainers, Meal prep, boot camps all costs money. Of course all these people swear they can help you because it’s their job. This is how they make money. Do your research. I have been trying to do mine. I know just by the way that I am that I cannot do this by myself. I am working on finding a Weight training solution and what will work best for me. One thing that I do realize is that when I stay out of Wawa and fast food places that I have more money for my fitness habits.

I am going to try and eat a lot cleaner. That is a no-brainer.

I am going to start fitting in a few extra classes at another gym close by because my friend Timothy who plays in the seven band has just started working on his journey and I had promised him that I would be there to work with him if and when he decided to do this. It seems like pretty much anywhere you go it’s a $10 drop in fee for an hour of work out so that is not so bad. Even if I drop in to three or four classes a week it’s still cheaper than an hour of personal training.

The final thing that I have really figured out is that no matter what everyone is different and while one guy might lose 150 pounds in six months that is not me. In January it will be three years that I have been trying and I am still here trying and doing my best. Some days I am not so proud of my best so I would like to amp that up a little myself. But if I compare myself to Amber’s progress, all the weight my friend Mike has lost, or anyone else around me. I might fall short. It should not be like that. And I try not to be. At the same time along this journey many people have come and already quit. And here I am still trying to scream from the mountaintops. I am alive.

At this time last year I was 27 pounds lighter. There is a horrible, Horrible feature on the new iPhones that let’s you look at the pictures you took a year ago, and I had just teetered under 300 for a day or two. I have not been there since. I was working out at least two times a day then and haven’t done that for a long time now consistently. If you look at my log on the left-hand side you’ll see that on Tuesday I was almost 332. On Wednesday almost 333 even though I had really started to crank it up but I could not help but feel letdown. I decided to just say fuck it and push through and then all of a sudden dropped to 329 overnight and then 327 this morning. So the scale is going to fluctuate and I am just going to have to suck it up. I know better. So right now my goal is to get two 311 again. That is my hundred pounds lost mark and then I will go from there.

In the grand scheme of things I am still down almost 83 pounds since I started and I am determined to get back under 300 pounds. I am not buying bigger clothes. You will see me naked before I do that. And I would not do that to anyone.

I have been counting my macros all week and will continue to do so. I have not hit them exactly, I’m actually a little under on all counts but I am okay with eating 2000 to 2300 cal a day. My biggest problem is that my appetite seems to be okay all day long when I’m busy and then I get incredibly hungry around eight or 9 PM. I will continue to work on that.

I will have one cheat meal a week, on Sunday night for dinner and I will be okay with that. I keep telling myself that I am not going to drink alcohol at all for a while but if anyone has ever met my band members they are a handful and definitely drive me to drink. Managing nine knuckleheads is not an easy task whatsoever. Don’t get me wrong, I would not have it any other way. But when I did start this journey I limited myself to two low calorie drinks in evening which is what I am going to have to do now as well. I will do my best to abstain as much as possible.

And yes in case you are wondering I have been getting my gallon of water in all week long and feel like I have been in the bathroom constantly. I definitely think that the center focus of everything. It does stink most times when now all I want is Wawa green tea. I’ve become addicted to it over last month.

My friend Timothy is doing a 5K obstacle course on Sunday with all the money going to children’s education at the farm for the race is and I’ve signed up to do it! We’ll see how that goes. Saturday we have a very long wedding in Bethlehem PA. The race is not till 11 AM though so that is okay.

So here I am at 327 and I’ve set a goal for 5 pounds this week. I will keep it simple. I will watch what I put in my mouth and I will do my best to be as active as possible.

School is back in session ladies and gentlemen. The band turns 20 in a few days with our birthday party being on October 15 and it’s time to try and lean out as much as possible. Obviously, I will do it as healthy as possible.

It’s time once and for all to push through this thing and I hope you guys are still out there. Either way, I will do my best.

The worst feeling in the world is letting yourself down. You can try to hide it, you can try to cover it in excuses, but trying on clothes that fit great in the winner and not so great now just sucks.

Thank you for reading, I promise to fill you in again next week. I hope I did my best to catch everyone up and make myself think as well.

Feel the love,

Franco