Let's get it started

So, coming back from a National Conference in Austin, Texas, I stepped on the scale we recently calibrated for our wrestling program. Fully clothed, it read 336.0.

12/18/2024 - 336.0 pounds

Just a quarter century ago, as the world recovered from the great Y2K scare, I was recruited out of high school as a 198-pound slot receiver. At 6'2, I was fast, could jump, and had consistent hands. I ran solid routes, could block with vigor.

The world was at my finger tips.

Four years later, in the closing days of 2003, I had my hand on the ground as a 298-pound 3-Tech at the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. I struggled with depression & had no idea what pathways my future would hold. Adding insult to injury, the next day I would be diagnosed with a severe case of sleep apnea.

From there, I graduated from college & departed for Europe as a ski instructor and football player/coach in Austria. I was skiing for 7-hours every day, was cycling to and from the train station, and lifted four days a week. Though drinking regularly and eating more Magic Kebap than recommended, I was down to 250, newly married to my best friend, and feeling pretty good about life.

This adulting thing was pretty sweet.

Then we found out my wife was pregnant in 2005.

...'ish suddenly got real.

Since then, life has done what life does: priorities change, my focus has been on supporting my family and I've struggled to build any routines that prioritize my health, my spiritual growth, ...me.

In the last week, a study was shared with me and it said that 6'0+ American males with a BMI over 40 live to approximately 59 years old with the last ten years of their life often spent miserable and ill with several trips to the hospital.

I'm a 43 year old 6'2 American male with a BMI over 42.

Sounds like I've got 6 summers until the proverbial poop hits the fan.

...'ish is suddenly very real.

In order to drop 100+ pounds, I need to be smart and adjust existing routines & feather in new routines and habits.

I've dropped Carbs/Gluten with the exception of alcohol, which I am seriously considering dropping wholesale in the coming weeks, let's get through the bread withdrawal before I start throwing other addictions to waste.

Commitments:

• Daily

  • 100 pushups

  • 100 body squats

  • 30+ min rowing machine

  • stretch

  • devotional & reflection

  • blogpost

  • dose liver supplement

  • 30+ min writing

  • 15+ min language study (Czech)

  • 1+ hour audio book (weekdays)

  • Rosary

• Weekly

  • weigh-in (Wednesdays)

    • goal: lose between two & three pounds per week

  • 4x Lift

    • Upper

    • Lower

    • Whole Body x2

• Feather In:

  • Cycling

This website is to serve as a placeholder for this journey. It is public, feel free to hold me accountable. I hope to expand on this website as things progress and share with you, the reader. Maybe you are in a similar situation and want an honest review of the tricks and tactics I use along the way. I hope the website is more than just my journey, but is useful for anyone who stumbles upon it.

-Bonnell

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today's daily devotional & reflection (usccb)

The Epiphany of the Lord

• Isaiah 60:1-6

• Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6

• Matthew 2:1-12

Reflection:

We are truly blessed that Jesus would be gifted to us through God. I read of the impact the rising star had on the magi in confirming his beliefs and wonder when the clouds will part here in the Pacific Northwest so that they might be seen again. I am committed to finding a rural spot this summer to camp with the family, or at least my wife, and witness the stars as best they can be witnessed these days from the Continental US.

Whether or not you believe in Jesus, or God for that matter, I pray you find space to look at the stars, in all their glory, and reflect on your life and the miracle of our existence on this planet.