Week 45 of Health Happenings, and this week has been a roller coaster. I suffered a personal loss with the passing of my grandmother. Thank you, everyone, for your overwhelming support.

Food everywhere

During a week like this, food shows up everywhere: dinners with family, takeout, pizza and wings. Some of it was really nice, like a home-cooked meal of stuffed peppers and flatbread with the in-laws. But there were a lot of options that weren't the healthiest.

Still showed up: eight exercises

Even juggling everything, I got in eight exercise sessions this week. For the first time I had to move a home workout from Friday to Sunday. One night I came home late and went for a walk on my own, which meant three sessions in a single day.

Working on form

I still ate oats most mornings and as much quinoa as I could. In my workouts I've been concentrating on form, especially reverse squats, which is probably still my worst exercise.

The result

Last week 183.4. This week 186.4. Up three pounds, even with eight workouts. Too much food, and you can't out-train that.

With the Right Choice Christmas party coming up, I'm going to do everything I can to bring that back down. Sometimes life is just hard, and the goal in those weeks is to keep showing up.

Joe is not a doctor or a dietitian. This is his personal journey. Talk to your healthcare provider before making big changes to your diet or exercise.