jeffwongdesign

I’m within striking distance of a 25lbs weight loss since I first started a little over 3 months ago. I weighed 195.4lbs and this morning I weighed 170.6lbs. I haven’t been this weight bracket since 2013. The combination of proper diet and exercise has enabled me to sustain trajectory. The majority of my exercise comes from running 2+ miles per day, and I’ve found some additional supplimentary forms of exercise like hiking, biking and swimming.

After owning a home in this neighborhood for nearly 2 years, I’ve had the chance to use it the first time this month. I’m not particularly good at swimming, so this will give me something new to work on. I’m not sure it will be a regular part of my routine, but it’s a tool to change things up if I hit a wall.

I reassembled my bike recently and I’ve been exploring some scenic trails nearby. It’s nice getting outside every once and while for some fresh air. The e-bike also flattens out any hills around here, transforming any strenuous climbs into a nice cruise. While some may say that’s cheating, I think biking outside for me is more of a casual recreation to recharge, versus rough it out.

In other news, we should be getting our Tonal pretty soon, and I think that’ll be a nice way to keep things fresh. I’ve never really strength trained, so this will be a new experience. The next milestone is going to be 165lbs, but it’ll be more challenging as I will probably develop more muscle as well. I will need to start tracking new data points since weight is less relevant. As an example, my waistline (at its largest) was 41″, and today it’s 36.25″. I’d like to continue to reduce my visceral fat and get my mid-section to 34″.

I’m getting there. It’s just a matter of consistency and time at this point.

As I return back to a life where I don’t have to travel as much, I can establish a proper routine for excercise, diet and rest. Over the last few years, I made the mistake of thinking that if I wanted different results in life, I needed to do something different. I think this is true for creativity and exposure, but it came at a steep price (financially, emotionally, and physically).

The secret of tomorrow is in the routine today (like meal prepping, consistent hours of rest, etc). Without routine, I was constantly trying to reinvent the wheel and experimenting without consistency. Without routine, it’s hard to benchmark exactly where you are and what you can do to optimize every day. It’s also very challenging to make plans when schedules are unpredicatable or easily disrupted.

As for discipline, I believe it’s a way of committing to decisions ahead of time so that you don’t have to make the wrong choice when you don’t give in when you’re weak. The problem with discipline is that it is similar will-power—it’s a limited resource to always tap into it.

As I get older, I have found that you have to always have to be at the center of routine and discipline, with the willingness to re-evaluate things as needed if there’s stagnation. Many times we look for excitment to spice up life, but there has to be consistency with the use of time in order to move large initiatives forward.

After seeing a story of the Glenstone museum on one of my buddy’s IG stories, I added it to the bookmarks of places I wanted to visit in Maryland when my schedule opened up a little. And as fate would write it, I happened to check the Glenstone calendar last week in the morning on a whim, and there was a single appointment available that day, while the entire calendar for the next 3 months was completely booked. So I took the opportunity to check it out that friday afternoon with Annie.

The museum is actually a combination of art, architecture and beautiful landscaping. As we traversed to the gardens, we found ourselves immersed in a beautiful hike that incorporated experience design (with sound) and exhibits. It was inspirational, relaxing, and helped us reach our daily step count.

Photography was prohibited inside the museum, but some of the pieces were very special. It’s interesting that the architecture was almost more inspiring—there was a deck built on top of a small man made pond in the center of the museum, enclosed by glass. This was probably my favorite moment.

In many ways, this reminded me a little of california, with all the micro-climates and everchanging bioms. I’m hoping to go back there soon to explore it a little more. It was a lovely experience that I recommend to anyone who’s in the neighborhood.

My mom had eye procedure this past week for her cataracts. While I visited her in Richmond, I took an evening to take a run around Belle Isle. It’s been nearly 2 decades since I’ve worked out there. For context, I used to work out at 5am with a fitness group led by an ex-navy seal. This was one of the locations we rotated in each week, and it was probably the most scenic experiences watching the sun rise over city while doing ruthlessly intense workout.

It’s wild to think I used to work out with my buddy Mark here—we held each other on the railing, doing endless tricep dips. There’s a bit of nostolgia here, and I was reminded of the pace/lifestyle of richmond. As I ran around Belle Isle thursday evening, there were mountain bikers, kayakers, and people out on the water. No one was in a rush, and it felt nice.

I’m not sure if I’ll ever settle back down in Richmond, but I understand its allure.

There’s an old saying, “if you don’t want to start over again, don’t quit”. Over the last few years, I’ve been travelling back and forth from coast to coast, and I’ve quit my workout/diet several times. My entire life, I had always been pretty skinny, but one day, I woke up overweight, overworked, and middle-aged. Over the past year (during covid), I could have worked out and lost some weight, but I think a big part of me was still mentally split between San Francisco and the east coast.

As you know, I’ve recently moved back to the east coast, and I’m in the process of consolidating my life and time. I’ve made health a priority by doing the following:

• Establish new doctors in maryland
• Check on the state of my health (thyroid levels, status of my a-fib, and overall health)
• Eat healthier
• Exercise
• Get proper sleep
• Lose weight

So far, I’ve established new doctors and I’m happy to report that my thyroid levels are normal and I no longer have a-fib. The doctors are working together to reduce my medication—I’ve already subtracted flecanide, which is a huge relief. I still need to meet with my general physician later this month.

As for eating healthier, I’ve been starting a proper diet. The biggest challenge is the quantity of food that I can eat—since I’m at a caloric deficit, I experience hunger more often. I’ve also been meal prepping, which has helped automate my eating habits because it’s one less choice I have to make. The next step is to focus more on my macro nutrients as I track everything I eat.

I’ve been doing pretty well on the exercise part. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been dialing up my workouts as I track how many calories I’m burning. On days where I’m over my caloric budget, I try to add in an extra work out. Recently, I purchased a Peloton Tread Plus and it’s been easier to hop on and off to get a quick walk/hike in during the day. It’s more convenient than my Peloton Bike. While I enjoy the spin classes, walking seems to burn more calories. I’m at a point now where I can run at least a mile a day, albeit slowly.

I’ve been going to bed earlier, and I’ve been getting proper sleep. This helps me function a little better during the day, however, I still believe I need to go to bed earlier and set a habit of turning off my phone at that time. I have a bad habit of playing on my phone before bed, and it can keep me up for an extra hour… which is a poor trade of time.

Lastly, I want to lose weight. I was 195.6lbs. I just weighted myself at 175.2 this weekend. I’ve reached my first milestone of losing 20lbs. It’s been quite a journey so far, and the next milestone is 165lbs.

Strength training will begin a month from now, where I can put more energy towards building muscle. It’ll take time, but I’ll get there in a few months.

Since I’ve been back, I’ve helpe Annie to kick off her YouTube channel. She’s tinkered with TikTok, but the type of content she creates is best suited for the longer YouTube format.

I’ve wanted to create a channel myself for a long time, but I’ve found it hard to focus on a specific vertical. I’m constantly experimenting with different themes, and I’ve found that things that I spend the least amount of time on get the most views. I’ll eventually kick one off myself.

For now, I’ll help Annie. Check out her content here. It’s actually pretty good. She’s improving with each new video. She’s using my lights and microphone, but she’s shooting all the video with her iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Here’s her YouTube channel.