A bump in the road

The whole blogging thing to some extent is really an experiment for me. I'm trying to figure out if I have the talent to effectively share what I have learned and what I do in practical application each day via the written word.

One of the things I keep hearing as I try to learn more about the blogging process is that I need to "find my voice" and figure out who my audience is and to speak to them.
This all sounds very good and I'm certain is valuable and useful advice. I'm just not sure I fully understand it. I guess at this point I'm trying to find my voice and work out exactly what I want this blog to be. The food/fitness partnership is certainly a big part of it but I also want to include my photography as well. Plus I think it needs to be about me & my life to some extent. That is what any blog truly is, yes?

I want to share what I've experienced in the past, those things that have brought me to where I am today as well as certain things I have observed in working with others who are trying to find the balance of health, fitness and a happy, pleasureful life.

Of course I also need to talk about what's happening with me right now. After all living a healthy life is an ongoing process. It's nearly impossible to strike a perfect equilibrium with our bodies and our lives where we maintain a certain level of health without fluctuation. Our health is constantly in motion and are almost always either getting better or worse, more fit or less healthy, thinner or fatter. For most people this is a pendulum swinging back and forth and the real secret is to do as Scott Smith says "Be more gooder than badder".
It's okay to take that step backwards so long as you make sure to take those two steps forward as well.

I haven't been blogging much lately because I've hit one of those little bumps in the road that happens in all our lives. Nothing major mind you, but enough to throw me off my game as it were. I was thinking that I have nothing to write about because I wasn't working on anything positive that I should share. It occurs to me now that this is the kind of thing that should be shared as well. We all go off track and that should be every much a part of the blog as when I am scoring high on my diet, exercise and motivation points.

This current little bump in the road I've been facing is a dental matter of all things. It seems to have some sort of issue with my jaw in which I've lost bone in one area. Due to that my dentist told me that I had a few lower teeth that I was going to lose; it was only a matter of time. So after much discussion and second opinions it was decided that they were to removed these teeth preemptively before they became too painful and put in a bridge to replace them.
Well as these things tend to go the process hasn't been 100% smooth. Some 10 days after the initial procedure I'm still on pain medication and I still have trouble eating many foods. I don't need to tell you, this is gotten very old very quickly and I really want my mouth to get back in working order again.

The combination of being on constant medication and having a severely restricted diet has left me feeling weak, listless and completely without motivation.
While the reduced calories I've been able to take in have kept me from putting on excess fat, in fact I do believe I've lost some weight, my inability to take in a decent amount of animal protein combined with a lack of resistance training isn't doing much good for my muscle tone. Granted it's not much of a change, it has only been a couple weeks but I can feel the difference.
I miss the gym and I also know that having taken a break for this long starting back up again may require a bit of a push. I just hope that I can get off this medication soon because it's draining my strength and my will and that's not the way I like to live my life.

So what can I do before I doze off early on the couch? I can plan and I can prepare.

I've been thinking about doing some sort of change in my workout regimen. It's good to keep your body challenged by new activities and also I want to try different things just to see how my body reacts.
One of the workout programs has become very popular and I've heard some very good things about is Beach Body's P90X program. If you haven't heard about it or seen the infomercial it's a 90 day home workout program that uses only a pull-up bar, dumbbells (or resistance bands) and a workout mat along with DVDs of various exercises.

I am not a fan of fitness and weight loss products you buy off TV or anywhere else for that matter but from all reports this one does have some merit. If I'm going to keep myself abreast of fitness info and trends and be able to offer informed advice than I should at least investigate this a little bit myself.

So that's what I'm doing right now. Even if I don't feel up to working out at the moment I'm gathering info and planning my next step. I guess I'm trying to do is keep my head in the game and at the very least and keep some sort of momentum while I'm sitting still, if that makes any sense?

Everything I've read about P90X so far has made it seem relatively solid. So as it stands right now I'm thinking I may start this around the beginning of March. If that's what I end up doing I'll write about it here at all as you can keep me accountable.

Right now even though I may have pulled my car over to the side of the road, I still have my eyes focused further down the highway.