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The Fitness Life

UpNorthMinimalist

Anyone who has known me for more than ten years, or has been an intimate part of my life in one form or another, knows that when stress hits, I hit back with exercise. To say that I’m an athlete would be a lie, but I’ve always dreamed of being in shape, not pear-shaped, but with a body that isn’t pudgy. The journey truly started in July of 2023, I’ve been battling depression my entire life, I have ADHD, and just eleven months earlier an event happened.

It was late August of 2022, I was working a job that I took for the money and it was located near the person I was dating and living with at the time. I had moved out in July and was now, once again, living alone, as I had been off and on since my divorce in January of 2019. My ex-wife from that divorce knew I liked to exercise and did it more often when I was stressed or depressed. Divorce does it, another failed relationship does it, and what was coming was definitely going to do it. I had started exercising because the job I had was killing me. I had just upped the weight on a shoulder exercise that week and was doing a pushup challenge, at 53 years of age. I tried to go to bed that night but the pain in my left arm was intensifying and I honestly thought I was having a heart attack. I called my ex girfriend, to stay on the phone while I drove to the ER. When I arrived I literally parked on the front steps of the ER and went inside stating, “I think I’m having a heart attack”. My blood pressure was 179 or something outrageous and I was given nitro. The kick to my head due to it instantly lowered my blood pressure. It was the night before school but I called my daughter that lived locally. She asked if I was okay and I said, “I think I’m dying.” She came as well as my youngest, who was pregnant with her first child, driving two hours to see me all wired up. That brought me back to when I was a young boy, my father had heart issues and was often on a monitor. The nitro had lowered my blood pressure too well and I was unable to be discharged, but they didn’t see any signs of a heart attack. I weighed in at 202 pounds. I texted my boss that I wouldn’t be in, I was the supervisor and payroll was due, he asked me if I could do it from there. I said where? The ER? He did it poorly but he did it, and I was discharged later that day and took the next day off, which angered him more. By the end of September I would walk off the job with no plan and no hope because what truly happened is I had torn my rotator cuff and left pectoral, my hope to get in shape was done, and soon my bank account would be done too.

I decided to take October off to contemplate my future, when in retrospect I should have found work immediately. I ran through my savings and wasn’t doing well. I was single, chatting here and there with people but felt disgusting but knew a grandchild was coming soon. In January of 2023 I met someone. It was going to be a long distance relationship with a married woman with a then six-year-old daughter, married but separated, more or less. Over the next few months we planned to meet, but the months passed until we finally met in July of 2023, roughly six months after we first started talking. We went to the New Zoo in Green Bay Wisconsin, a place I had gone to with my kids and all three wives. I loved it, to be “dad” again, and getting to show them around. Pictures were taken and it was when I looked at those pictures I realized that I was still close to 200 pounds and looked my nearly 54 years.

The visit led to another visit, this time in Texas. By then I had worked my way down to 185 pounds, which was about where I had been for over 20 years. That visit went wonderfully as we toured the Alamo and spent quality time together. But I simply couldn’t get that picture of 200-pound me at the zoo out of my head. In April of 2024, I decided to try to get treated for my ADHD. This required a letter from my therapist, one I had been seeing for a couple of years. I was then put on Aderral. A big side effect of this medication is that it kills your appetite. I started to lose weight and found my drive to return to the gym. May came and went, then June, and again it was time to see them again, this time at a waterpark hotel in Minneapolis before coming to my home in Wisconsin, (that’s a story for another day). I was now 175 pounds and had been working out and for the first time in decades, I took my shirt off to swim. I still wasn’t slim, but I felt good. It’s now the last week of September of 2024, and as of the 25th I’m 165 pounds and in the best shape of my life, but there’s more to do.

In late July I decided that I wanted to make fitness part of my career, to keep me motivated. With my new found focus, (that allowed me to write a book called Relationship PTSD, it’s on Amazon), I signed up for two courses, one on nutrition and one on strength and conditioning. If I pass the tests in February, 2025, I’ll be certified as a training and sports nutritionist. I’ve worked through the nutrition portion and will now need to study, and it has led me to want to be better than the best shape of my life, but be fit too. Today, September 25th I continue my journey from what I’ve learned so far to build muscle, (I have a good start), abs, and too just feel good about myself. I’ll keep you updated as I continue this journey towards the best me I can be, and hopefully a stepfather and one last marriage.

Moving on or moving in?

UpNorthMinimalist

Over the past six years I’ve personally moved 9 times, I’ll break it down for you. Shortly after my youngest graduated high school in 2018 we, (my wife at the time), decided to move to Petoskey. We had an apartment picked out, paid the application fee, and hold fee, about $150 total. When we arrived our Uhaul was packed, the storage unit we rented ended up holding all our stuff, but the apartment…not so much. It was a third-floor walkup without an elevator, I was almost 49 and wasn’t having it. I ended up renting a small house in Harbor Springs, (losing the $150 and putting out $2000 for rent and deposit), but with a catch, the landlord would be staying with us in about a month, (Buck was his name, RIP), move number 1. We truly didn’t want to live with this man, (I ended up liking him later). When the duplex next door opened, a three-bedroom, we took it, move number 2. Divorce happened about six months later, seven months after that I moved to an apartment in Hancock that was in a good location and was what I needed; move number 3. I then moved to Summit Street to finish the remodel, move number 4. I sold that house to my daughter and moved to Chassell, move number 5. My daughter then decided that my new house would suit them better, they, (her and her husband), resulted in them buying my house and myself moving back to Summit Street, move number 6. From there I fled the state and moved in with a girlfriend in Minocqua Wisconsin, move number 7. Five months later with that relationship ending I moved to Wakefield, move number 8. Move number 9 is back to Wisconsin in a small town to have my hobby farm; now on to move number 10.

This time I’m not moving but rather I’m moving my mother in with me…sort of. I’m renovating a camper into a cabin for her to live in for probably 9-10 months out of the year, (unless I do a truly great job and it’s winterized). This came about because finding senior housing isn’t easy. My bad joke is that people are dying to get out of that housing, and truthfully, it’s death or a move to a nursing home that creates the openings. The problems are the waitlists, and leases. We attempted, thought we had one lined up, but it fell through at the same time a new lease would have to be signed at her current place, and that’s just not going to work.

My situation may change but for now it’s about giving mom a different life for the rest of hers, one with chickens, gardens, and backyard campfires. Now I’ve been asked, why not just move her into your place? I have two bedrooms and work from home. My significant other and daughter may be moving, and they will need the space, plus with working from home I do need privacy due to the confidential nature of my day job and the live content from teaching. By the time you all read this I’ll have a good portion of the camper renovation done, (a beautiful 1983 23-footer), and have 90% of the move completed as she’ll be living in my place until the camper is done. My thoughts for the day are; once parents are gone the silence will be unbearable, use the time you have with them before time runs out. Check out my new content on YouTube, search for the Upnorthminimalist there and everywhere.   foremanbrian4@gmail.com

Book is Published

UpNorthMinimalist

If you go to Amazon and search my full name, Brian Keith Foreman, along with Relationship PTSD, you’ll find two ways to read my book on relationships, both in Kindle mode and a print version. The book details how many individuals have difficult relationships. What we often don’t count on is after those relationships are over we tend to keep on alert for those negative qualities that ended our relationship in other people. The book is more of a guide to recovery, to learn to be alone and to not put yourself through the pain of another failed relationship, even if you don’t blame yourself, you’ll still have those “walking on eggshells” moments such as suspicious of your partner, and being constantly on guard about infidelities, etc. My one advice is, if you find yourself walking on eggshells to avoid conflict with a person who didn’t throw the eggs, then you may have PTSD from your past relationships. Take care, please take a read of my book and help me on my journey of being the Upnorthminimalist.

The new normal?

UpNorthMinimalist

“Back in the day” is what we older people say when we are about to complain about something. Today it’s technology. The question came up in an online forum about whether or not your employer can tell you to keep your phone off, keep it in a locker, or in your car. Many people argue but what if there’s an emergency, what if someone dies? The answer I used when teaching is that they will still be dead when class is over and hopefully they would call 911 and not you. This offended many students but the response was always “What if” this or that happened and I didn’t have my phone. The answer is whatever is going to happen will happen with or without your phone. Now if you have children in K-12 you should have a phone on you for you know, field trips, forgotten lunches, and school shootings. But, in my opinion, you should not be able to have it on social media unless your employer specifically states that you can watch YouTube or TikTok, now listening to music on Pandora or something is okay if not needing to hear isn’t an issue. Here’s my issue.

You are paid to do a job your focus should be on that job, yes you should get breaks and during your breaks or lunch hours you should be able to listen to, view, etc. whatever you want as you are on break. You cannot, psychologically proven, you cannot focus on more than one thing at a time. The term multitask is a fallacy as we truly can’t do two things at once, some people can’t walk and chew bubble gum at the same time. What are your thoughts, why can our employers make us wear uniforms when we think they cannot control if we have a phone with us? Share.

Go Fund Yourself

UpNorthMinimalist

My title is related to the frustrations I sometimes feel when the world kicks me when I’m down. About a year ago I was struggling to come up with a down payment on the Dream, of 18 acres of land, a small home with projects, and most importantly, room to grow. At that time I tried a GoFundMe for the down payment with the explanation of why, (health issues, employment issues, etc. ). I shared it on my Podcast the Upnorthminimalist, (all of my social media from Tik Tok to YouTube is the Upnorthminimalist), and was attacked for being “lazy”, “entitled” etc. The GoFundMe still exists, 3186ejjb0o , that’s supposed to get you there if not, it’s Gramps Farm as the title of the fundraiser. I also have links on my TikTok of my Amazon wish list. I’m soon to be 55, I live alone and I’m trying to manage a farm, or rather create a farm, that can be managed by one person. I would appreciate a look at my social media pages, a look at my GoFundMe, it’s up to you all to assist if you want, or not, just send some positive energy my way. Take care.

B