Overall- 3 Weeks Blues

Three weeks from today, God-willing, I'll have fought.

This weekend was frustrating. It's still three weeks away, which is a little over half-way through camp. I expected that by cutting out processed sugar (i.e. chocolate, ice cream, everything I love), dairy, gluten, alcohol, fried foods, and eating out that I'd lose weight easier. I upped my water intake from around 1.5-2 gallons/day to 2+ gallons/day which likely plays a roll but still. If the apocalypse happens I'm set because despite working three jobs on my feet all day and going to the gym every day but Sunday, my metabolism is the equivalent of a large whale slumped on the bottom of the ocean that's eaten too much.

Then there's the fact that my face has a couple pimples on it here and there since camp started- something that rarely happens normally. I also have little energy and constantly feel full. Coach suggested I start eating breakfast to get my metabolism going which I did about three weeks ago but most days I have very little appetite. The one day I tried to wait until mid-afternoon when I started to feel hungry, I was light-headed and my body hadn't had a chance to process and utilize what I'd eaten.

Despite the weirdness overall, the last two weeks sparring have been my best yet. This December marks two years at the gym and February will be two years of Muay Thai. I didn't spar much until this summer though due to a couple jiu jitsu tournaments and injuries afterward. I do feel clearer mentally. My heart races less and I feel less moody and out of it at the gym. Better focus.

I'm just plain tired a lot though. My one day job is physically demanding and ruining my already bad shoulders. It's shit mentally since I spend the whole time thinking about how fucked my shoulder is and how I'm going to get out of there. It's the worst job I've ever had.

Going in, I knew my personal life was pretty messy and would be until after my fight at least. I was also aware my body has a tendency to fail and be weird (not respond well to diet changes). Despite this, I knew I'd regret not taking a fight. There was likely going to be no way to take a fight and not deal with these issues; be it now or in the future.

Things I'd Change:
- experiment with diets before camp (is it worth it in some world for me to skip dessert?)
- have a set work schedule that won't change during camp
- enjoy working enough where I don't consider quitting the entire time I'm working
- plan out off-day workouts in advance
- set up times with teammates before the week starts to hit pads before/after class
- keep food simple and portion out before the week
- make sure I have a day off from work to de-stress and train for fun
- go to the chiropractor every other week during camp
- record sparring sessions
- get 7-8 hrs of sleep, especially Tuesday and Wednesdays before sparring Thursdays