I'm on day five now. I just completed my morning workout and I'm currently getting my steps in on the treadmill. I'm only five days in, technically, but I actually started on some of the diet elements a day earlier. So I have just under a week of the modified food plan under my belt and I'm already starting to see mild results.
I'm about three and a half pounds down and I know a lot of that is water weight, but it's still encouraging to see things moving in the right direction, even after such a small amount of time. I expect that to go up and down as I retain and lose water throughout the week. The last time I did slow carb, I would lose about two or three pounds during the week and then gain about five pounds on cheat day. I would always net out about two or three pounds lost, but the fluctuations would be basically a seven pound swing, which is pretty wild.
I'm probably not going to do daily weight measurements. I'll probably do weekly ones or maybe semi-weekly ones. Even though I'm doing my daily checklist now, I don't think it's super helpful to look at the scale every day because it's not a good indicator, and can be discouraging/distracting. While it's nice to see the fluctuations in hindsight, it's not particularly useful from a progress perspective day to day. So as a refinement to yesterday's post on daily routines, I'll track weight but try not to look at it as much as possible during the week, only really focusing on the weekly trends to see progress.
I was thinking more yesterday about my daily step goal, and in particular, I was thinking back to around 2014 when I was doing a lot of walking. I'm currently in the Houston metro area and it's practically impossible to walk here. Ten years ago, I was in Seattle, and I would basically just go out in the evening and walk around Capitol Hill, downtown, South Lake Union, and Queen Anne for like three hours at a time. It was very hilly but very enjoyable. That memory, comparing it to where I'm at today, really has made me contemplate how important your environment is when it comes to helping you get baseline exercise.
If you're in a place like Houston where everything is a 30-minute drive away, where part of the year is 105 degrees and incredibly humid, where nothing is really built for being done outside, and there aren't many pleasant walking areas (especially in the commercial areas), it just makes it really hard to get your exercise in through your daily normal activities. No one walks to work in Houston, at least not outside of the downtown core—and even there, I doubt they do. It's just too hot in the summers.
This is something that's bothered me since we moved here in 2022. We've been thinking about leaving here basically since we moved here, but it's hard to build up the momentum necessary to do that. In particular, as we're looking at maybe growing our family more, it's hard to imagine moving away when we're about to have another little one and having to reestablish ourselves with new doctors, a new midwife, and a new church community. That's last one is something that my wife in particular has come to appreciate in our time here.
But I really don't see us in Houston long-term. It's just not for me. If it had more of an outdoors culture or if the town were split up differently such that you had more pockets of culture and walkability, then I maybe could be convinced to stay. But as it is, it's pretty tough. All the really great restaurants are in Houston proper, and as you radiate out, you basically get further into the suburbs where you have these large master planned communities that are mostly commercially supported by big box stores and chain restaurants. There are some small businesses but none that are locally famous, especially near us, which is discouraging.
Maggie really likes our church, and there are parts of it that I like too. From a community perspective, she appreciates how there are multiple sub-communities within the larger congregation of about 8,000 members. I've found it a bit large and overwhelming compared to what I'm used to, as I grew up in a much smaller congregation. That said, I haven't put much effort into getting involved yet. Maybe I would find it more welcoming if I invested more time in it, but it hasn't been a priority for me right now.
Reflecting on these environmental differences between Seattle and Houston has made me think deeply about the DRX principle of environmental design. While it's easy to reminisce about the walkable streets of Seattle and lament Houston's car-centric design, that's not particularly productive. Instead, I'm trying to apply the deconstruction principle here: understanding how my environment shapes my behaviors and identifying both the constraints and opportunities it presents.
Looking at my environment through this lens shows how physical spaces shape our behavior. In Seattle, the physical environment naturally encouraged certain behaviors. Those evening walks served multiple purposes: exercise, stress relief, social activity, and environmental engagement. Here in Houston, I'm learning to be more intentional about creating these benefits through different means. The under-desk treadmill I'm using right now is a perfect example of environmental optimization—I'm literally writing this post while walking, combining physical activity with productive work in a way that wasn't possible during those Seattle strolls.
This connects directly to the holistic approach to physical transformation that DRX advocates. Physical transformation requires understanding the interconnected nature of our activity patterns, work routines, and daily habits. In Houston, while we lack those walkable neighborhoods, we have other advantages: world-class gyms, excellent medical facilities, and comprehensive amenities all within reach. Yes, they might be a 30-minute drive away, but that actually creates an opportunity for more structured, intentional training sessions.
This is evolving into an era of deliberate integration rather than just adaptation. My physical environment has pushed me to be more strategic about how I structure my day. Instead of relying on casual, opportunistic movement, I'm creating systems that combine productivity with physical activity. The under-desk treadmill ensures I get movement throughout my workday. The distance to amenities has encouraged me to batch activities and create focused blocks of time. Even the climate constraints have led to more intentional exercise planning.
The DRX framework identifies four categories of environmental influence: physical, digital, social, and temporal. I'm actively optimizing each of these:
Physical: Setting up my workspace with the treadmill desk for consistent movement
Digital: Using technology to track and encourage activity throughout the day
Social: Taking advantage of professional fitness facilities and their communities
Temporal: Structuring my day to combine work, movement, and focused exercise
The central insight I'm gaining through this process: successful transformation comes from understanding how environment shapes behavior and then intentionally redesigning it to support our goals. While I might not have easy access to outdoor walks, I've created an environment that supports both physical activity and productivity. It's not better or worse than what I had in Seattle; it's just different, offering its own unique opportunities for holistic growth. Success lies in recognizing these opportunities and intentionally structuring your environment to leverage them fully.