That title is a mouthful. Let me explain.

What is my favorite time of year? That is a great question. I struggle to define my favorite, but we are in the first of the 2 seasons I love most. I love the beauty of fall but not just the vibrant colors, I also love the ‘stick season’. This evening I had the dog outside and I was looking at the sky. It was slightly grey and overcast, there was a cold chill in the air, the trees had since dropped most of their leaves with the laggards still holding on. A light breeze rustled what few leaves are left to fall. Some people struggle with this, but I have always equated it with preparation and anticipation. Preparation for the cold of winter (my other favorite season), preparation for the short days and long nights. Anticipation for the joy of the holidays and the joy of my favorite sport, skiing.

The clocks ‘fell’ back and it seems to be the theme with me falling back on my weight and discipline with eating. The scale continues to creep up, eating (literally) away at the 2 years of tremendous progress I realized. But I can say that I am not defeated. Am I upset? Yes. Am I pissed? Absolutely! Do I struggle to find that success I once had? Yes. But I know this isn’t the end and is merely part of my journey.

My (and all of our) health journey does not live in a bubble. Economics loves to use the latin phrase “ceteris paribus”, which means “all else being equal”. It is used to try and define the effect something has on something else, but you need to hold everything else constant, or else the complexity of life and other interactions would muddy the analysis. Our health journey is not a ceteris paribus type of thing. Part of my health journey is my relationship with my wife and kids. My own mental health. It is also my work life and pursuit of taking care of those I love. My health journey is making sure my kids are healthy. You get the picture.

So ceteris paribus, my health journey sucks. But when we look at the complexity, as my former professor would say, ‘…it’s Messy!”. I am doing alright. I still get out for walks and runs. I still get on the peloton, though not as often as I would like. I consume a ton of veggies and drink water like a fish. But fatherhood is stressful and life right now is REALLY uncertain. So I still eat my feelings more than I should. I recognize this and I am trying to get it under control. I have been trying for months… but I have not given up. I anticipate putting the pieces back together because I am prepared. I have most of the parts there… I just need to bring it back together.

So give yourself grace, but don’t give up. Long term investments go through both bull and bear markets. We fail when we give up. We succeed when we stick with it. We are worth it. I am worth it. And… Maybe I should not have that second serving of dinner tomorrow? Somebody shoot me that text around 5:30. 🙂

Later this week I will get back to posting a weekly plan. My wife and I are trying to design the week around both of our schedules and needs to exercise. Stay tuned for more accountability!