the reformation: new year, new goals

The image above captures, in a way words cannot, just how it feels to break in the New Year after not doing so hot with eating over the holidays. Thankfully there hasn't been any regression, despite there being no progress. I've kept up my workouts, but I've consumed far more sweets than normal (Ash is such a good baker, and she bakes candy, for God's sake!). The real culprit of a lack of progress for two months is more likely the copious amounts of beer I've been drinking. I don't drink much (or, at least, haven't drank much), but two years of near total sobriety ended when I popped open a two-year-old bottle of Great Lakes Christmas Ale during our Thanksgiving celebration. After that it was a downhill spiral. There's no sin it, no drunkenness at all, but it's a habit I don't want to get into, if only because of the monetary ramifications. 

"Are you drinking beer while doing your Bible study?" Absolutely I am!

All that aside, 2019 was a good year for the Reformation.

I lost thirty pounds and made leaps and bounds in weight-lifting.

I'm hoping to lose another ten pounds and double the weight I'm able to lift.

Plowing into 2020 I also want to get back on track with not drinking (or, at least, drinking only a few times a month). I aim to get more adept at deadlifts and their variations. I want to focus more on compound workouts and integrate calisthenics into my routines. I'm also experimenting with intermittent fasting (the good 'old 16/8 window). Everything I do is done from home: I don't have the time nor the money thanks to having children (that's not a complaint: I would much rather have my daughters at my side than have access to a gym). I'm reminded of a quote from It's Good To Be A Man, an organization I'm a part of:

The ungodly thinks, 'Children are a penalty because they get in the way of my pursuit of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.' The godly thinks, 'Children are a blessing because they get in the way of my pursuit of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.'