Life in general
You never know what I’m going to get into. I’ve made a lot of excuses lately. I’ve been traveling a lot, I had the shoulder surgeries and I’ve worked some long hours over the last month. While those might seem like good excuses for not exercising, they’re not good excuses for not eating right.
I worked very hard to lose the 40 lbs that I’ve lost and while I feel better than I’ve every felt I haven’t reached my goal. The problem seems to be that I’ve settled into this mode of feeling good and not really having the desire to commit myself to continuing the process of Operation Svelte. In all honesty I have another 35 lbs that I want to lose. I want to know what it’s like to be “thin.” I’m in the best shape of my life, and I’m probably close to the lowest body fat percentage of my life. Unfortunately I’m still considered overweight by medical standards. On the day that Sarah and I got married, I weighed 286 lbs and had a BMI of 34.8 (Obese). Today I weigh 238 and have a BMI of 29 (Overweight) to get “Normal” I must weigh 204 and have a BMI of less than 24.9. Now, I understand that BMI doesn’t take your skeleton into account or muscle mass. But, I’ve got a relatively small frame for my size and my only muscle mass is in my legs. So, I should be able to get down to 204 and that’s where I want to be. I would like to be classified as “Normal” for the first time in my life. It may be the only thing that’s normal about me, but that’s fine.
Where things have gone awry is in the fact that I’ve had a really hard time motivating myself. I really do feel great, my clothes fit so much better, I sleep better, I have more energy, and I’m the poster child for weight loss and its positive effects. That is what makes it so difficult to get past this point. You get caught in the web of comfort that and start to think that this is good enough. It’s not, not yet.
Sarah and I talked about this when we got back from vacation and I told her that this was something that I needed to do. I’ve always been someone who has had great goals and ambitions, but I’m not really a finisher. I tend to get off on great starts and then somewhere along the way I lose interest and never finish. I haven’t had a lot of personal successes lately and I feel like I need them more now than ever. I need to know that I can set goals and accomplish them.
A while back I created Todder’s List of Unfinished Projects, I put that list on my refrigerator and after two years I have still not completed all of the tasks. Some where too expensive, but others were left due to laziness and lack of desire. Today I’m laying out a new list of Unfinished Projects and I want you to help me stay motivated to finish them.
1) Finish Losing the Weight. I will set small incremental goals along the way to help myself stay on track. My first goal is to get back down to 235. My second goal will be to get down to 230. You get the picture, but the ultimate goal is to get down to 204.
2) Raise and additional $3000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I’ve already raised $1000 in about 6 weeks. I have until October 28th to finish raising the rest of the money. Again, I’m setting incremental goals of $500 at a time. When I get to $1500 I’ll look for $2000. The minimum amount I have to raise is $3300, but I want more. I definitely need your help with the fundraising. I’m asking you to ask your friends and family members to donate to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society on my behalf.
3) Complete the Marine Corps Marathon on October 28th. Complete means not only finish, but finish well and be able to walk afterwards. I will accomplish this by getting back on track with my training runs. I ran 3.6 miles on the road on Wednesday at an 8:58 min/mile pace and I did a 3.5 mile trail run yesterday at 11:00 min/mile pace. I’m working hard on keeping my Plantar Fasciitis under control by stretching and specific exercises to loosen up and strengthen my foot. This Saturday I’ll do a 10 mile run and next week I’ll get back to my three mid-week runs.
4) As part of my overall fitness regimen I’ve been back to riding my bike. This allows me to work the cardiovascular system without beating my joints to a pulp. However, there is a new goal attached to cycling. On August 25th, I’m hoping to take part in a Team-Relay Ultra-cycling event. Three other riders and I will ride from the Southern Terminus of the Blue-Ridge Parkway to the Northern Terminus in less than 28 hours straight. We will probably take turns of 30 minutes or less on the bike and rotate on and off the bike for the better part of 28 hours. The total length of the ride will be 458 miles.
5) As a continuation of my cycling efforts, I would like to ride the Six-Gap Century in September.
Okay, those are my current goals. I’ll keep you posted on how everything is going. I know it sounds like a lot of stuff, but the fitness stuff is all pretty intertwined.
It really is very hard. I know exactly how you feel as I sit here typing this instead of running myself. Once you have lost a certain amount of weight, and are looking pretty good, it really is so hard to do what you need to do in order to go the final distance. I know what I need to do for those last 8-10 pounds, but I haven’t been able to commit for the last 6 months. Denying yourself is just not fun. On the other hand, shopping after weight loss is great fun. It all goes back to stress levels sometimes I think. The smallest amount of stress keeps me from dieting. But, you’ve already won such a big battle in that while you may have stopped losing, you’re not gaining tremendous amounts. Before now, you would have already been back at 286 and then some. So you really are doing well even if you’re not at your goal. You’re family is strongly behind you, so call us whenever you need to be carried.
Comment by Amy — 7/7/2007 @ 8:34 am