Let’s Do IT together

This morning I became angry with myself. I had nobody to get angry at outside of me, myself, and I. I could not believe what I had done, and who I had become. I realized that I have been fooling myself for a while now. I kept saying that I was doing alright. I wanted to believe that I actually was making it happen with little or no effort on my part. I remembered telling our daughter only yesterday that if you truly want something to occur, you have to work for it. While I did not use the words, “no such thing as a free lunch,” I came close. Yet, here I was expecting things to happen just because I wished for them. How could I tell our daughter something without living up to my words?

So what did I do that was so bad? I stepped on the scale. Scales do not lie! My wife and I had decided to do this 7 day challenge we had seen on Facebook. It deals with cutting out the bad and adding the good. We are challenging each other. I took it to see if I could restart what I had done last year in the spring. I wanted to see if I could do it.

In order to see if the challenge works, I had to step on the scale. Years ago, I had reached 240 pounds. I could not stand myself at that time. I was tired. I had to buy new clothes. I was alone. At the urging of a friend, I started a boot camp program. After a few months, I was down to 209. Not too bad, but nowhere near my basic training weight of 186.

Since that time, I have done the rollercoaster that so many ride. My weight has gone up and down. Last spring I had gotten back to 214. I was on the way. Then I got busy. I needed to work more. I wanted to sleep a little more. I hurt my knee running. I……insert excuse here (I think I have used them all). I blamed my co-workers for bringing in too many treats. Oh wait, I brought in the doughnuts. I ate out more because….well because. I knew my shirts weren’t fitting the same. Things became tight. I kept telling myself that all was fine, I was maintaining. Today, I admit I was maintaining bad habits.

This morning I stepped on the scale to find the number 235.2 staring back at me!!!!! That does it.

Now I am not going cold turkey. I am not going to start working out two hours a day. I am not going to go nuts. I am going to try and make small changes. The challenge is a great way to start. I will try to slowly move down to my goal weight. The first goal is 5 pounds.

This is all fine, but I started thinking about why I want to get into shape. We are a country that shows off great looking people one second and then fast food burgers the next. In some cases, both are shown at the same time. We receive these mixed messages all the time. Our stores charge more for healthy foods than they do for junk food, but they post signs about choosing healthy. News articles are constantly telling us what is the best way to stay in shape only to contradict themselves a week later. So with all of this happening, why should I buy into it all and try to get into shape? I think that if you have read any of my posts, you already know, we have an eight year old daughter.

My family has a horrible track record when it comes to health. I have been fortunate to this point and all is well. I am lucky to have a doctor who keeps track of my history and watches my health. My father passed while only 42. I have many reasons to do this, but my daughter still tops the list.

I am glad to say that I have some great examples to follow. My wife is not only my biggest cheerleader, but she is also a great example. She shows me every day that excuses are not accepted. She goes out every day to get a work out done. She has never chastised me for my lack, but she is always willing to support. My oldest brother and his wife are two other examples. My brother like me used to have excuses. One day they stopped. He started. Little by little, the weight dropped off. The two of them run together to work out. They both just completed a race in Florida while on vacation. They are heroes to me even if they do not know it. They are older than me. Age has nothing to do with getting in to shape. I have a colleague that who is unwittingly challenging me to play catch up in the “get in-shape” game.

A number of my friends have done it. Some needed a little extra assistance, some had partners, and some did it on their own. I see them and know that I can do this. Again, at the moment I am lucky to not have the health issues, but they are probably closer than I think at this moment.

So here I go. No New Year’s Resolution. No fad diet. I am going to do this and do it right – slowly. I cannot promise that I will be here for every milestone of our daughter. But I can promise that I will change my ways and make sure I am doing all I can.

Who wants to join me? I have added a forum to the site under Let’s Get Fit Together. I have a few topics and will be adding more. They say that it takes support to make it. Let’s support each other. Share your experiences. Share your support. Share your victories. Just be there for each other.

Thank you for meandering with me and hope to see you on the forums.