Another campfire story from Joshua Tree: Who are the shadow people?

Out here in the desert… the silence does something to you. It stretches. It lingers. And sometimes… it feels like something is stretching back. There are stories—quiet ones—that don’t always make it into the headlines. Stories about figures seen just out of the corner of your eye. Tall. Still. Watching. They don’t move like people. They don’t behave like animals. And yet… enough people have seen them to start asking the same question: Who—or what—are the shadow people? Some say they’re tied to sleep paralysis… the mind caught between waking and dreaming. Others believe they’re something else entirely—entities that exist just outside our perception… only slipping through under the right conditions. And in a place like Joshua Tree—where the nights are long, the air is still, and the line between reality and something else feels just a little thinner… you start to wonder. Because the desert doesn’t just hold stories. It keeps them.

The Long Way Back: 3 month update

I haven't updated in almost a month. It was a busy month with so much family obligations. There were visitor from out of the country and Spring Break and weddings and just a whole mess of things that can come up because that is life. These are also the things that can derail your fitness journey and cause you to spiral and land you back to square one. My last check in I was at 239.6 pounds. Today I weighed in at 231.3 pounds. That's still very respectable for about a month. There were days that I obviously did not track my calories. There were days I missed hitting the 10k steps mark and missed a few workouts....and that is ok. The fact is our fitness journey isn't going to exist in a vacuum. It will be interwoven with everything else that makes up our day to day. I was stressing over getting derailed with the busy month of March. I knew that it was going to be very challenging in maintaining whatever progress that I worked hard for. You take certain precautions. You plan ahead if you can to mitigate certain situations and above all, stay calm. I tried my best to really prioritize keeping my routine. I was willing to adjust. There were days that I just woke up a little earlier and get as much steps in as I can. I made sure my strength training sessions were dialed in with intensity. Meals were always prioritizing protein first and then being ok with substitutions. Most importantly, social functions are supposed to be fun....so I had fun. I made sure I enjoyed those times while also being mindful. Did I go wild at the dessert table at the wedding? You bet I did. I was going to live with my decisions and move forward after that. And you know what? Once everything calmed down...I just went back to my routine. 11 pounds heavier in less than a week. Now let's deep dive that 11 pounds. Unless I went bananas...It would just mean a ton of water retention. The combination of more sodium, carbs and stress, your body is bound to hang on to plenty of water. That's it. Nothing to panic and go in to a spiral for. We just get back to our routine and keep moving forward. Now in the thick of April, my body has adjusted and is on it's fat loss journey again. Time will pass anyway. Just stay consistent and you will get there. We will all get there.