Slowly but Surely

Well, I am on week six of my physical transformation.  I started at 222 pounds and completely disgusted with myself.  This past Tuesday was my 45th birthday and my designated weigh in day.  I stepped on the scale and the number I read almost made me sick.  I have been eating right and exercising 6 days a week for 6 weeks so one would assume that the weight would just be rolling off, right?  So what did I weigh on Tuesday July 10?  218.8!!!!  I probably would have hung myself right there in the lobby of the YMCA if I had not noticed several other changes in my life and in my body.  Things like, I just feel better mentally.  Since I started working out, things that used to really bother me, are just not that important.  Or at least I don't make them as important.  Eating healthy has become a passion for me.  My wife says I'm militant, but I don't care.  I see the difference in how I feel.  Then there are my clothes.  My shirts are getting tighter in the shoulders and my pants are looser (is that a word?) in the waist.  I am beginning to see muscles that have been hiding for almost 15 years.  My kids only know an overweight dad.  Well, beginning in June of this year, I decided that they needed a new dad.  A dad that they could be inspired by.  Instead of having a dad that   tells them that  they can accomplish anything because they are awesome, they will have a dad that shows them that they can do anything they want if they work hard enough.  I will SHOW them that hard work and persistence will allow them to set their goals as high as their dreams can take them.
I finally decided on my triathlon.  On September 15, I will be competing in the Crescent Moon Sprint Triathlon in Aurora.  I will swim 500 meters, bike 12 miles and then run a 5K.  I get excited just thinking about it.  Although, I understand that most folks think I am insane, running a triathlon represents the culmination of my first goal in my physical fitness.  It represents starting out to do something and not quitting until I get it; something I don't feel like I have done in a long time.  If I inspire my family and just one other person along the way to set goals and achieve them, I will consider it all a success.  Have a great week!

One Day at a Time....

Today has started off well.  I got in a good workout and my swimming seems to be improving.  I still have a long way to go in a short amount of time to compete in my local triathlon in September.  I will get there though.  A lot of people have asked me why would I want to complete in a triathlon.  I keep telling them that it is the healthiest way that I am aware of to go through a mid-life crisis.  Tomorrow, I will turn 45 and I don't have the money to buy a sports car and I love my wife and kids too much to get a girlfriend!  I say it all in jest but it has got me to thinking, why am I doing this?  I am doing this so that my kids can see that they can do anything they set their hearts on.  I am doing this to motivate my father to get up out of his chair and move, so that he can see his grand kids grow up.  I am doing this for me, so that can show myself that I won't quit.  No matter how much it hurts, no matter how much I don't want to go to the gym at 5:30 in the morning to learn how to swim, I won't quit.  I have quit too many things in my life, but this time I refuse.  I will not let this challenge beat me.  I am in control this time.  Just go to Youtube and look up the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.  There are dozens of stories about people that set a goal and finished.  People with no legs, people that are blind and people that others say have no business running an Ironman at their age.  These are people that would not quit and would not allow others to talk them into quitting.  There is even a story about a guy that decided to run the ironman after contracting Lou Gerrigh's Disease.  He knew he was going to die and he would not have the chance for long.  He competed, finished and the next year he watched the race from his wheelchair.  The following year he passed away.  These people motivate me.  Life has dealt them a blow, and they move ahead.  It makes me feel guilty that I would whimper about my job or money or any other insignificant part of my life.  This is why I will loose my weight, keep it off for the rest of my life and run a triathlon on September 9th.  I can do all things through Him, who strengthens me

Do you remember me?

Well, it has been such a long time since I posted on my blog.  I think about it a lot but, then I see a butterfly and away I roll.  Much has happened in the last 6 or 7 months since I wrote but so much of it was negative that I don't really care to rehash it.  I feel like I went into a bad place but I am back.  Since my hindsight is a perfect 20/20, I can see that what started leading me down that path was getting away from studying my Bible.  Works every time.  I fall away from studying and little by little things seem to start getting screwed up.  One conclusion that I came to is that I am fat and I am tired of being fat.  When I look in the mirror, I don't see it so much, but when I see a picture of myself, it really bothers me.  How did this happen?  When did all this weight appear?  Well, it was a long process.  A long process of eating garbage that is not good for me and a lot of hours sitting on my butt doing nothing.  What weight does to a person's self esteem is terrible.  Well, I am here to tell you that soon, those days will be behind me.  I am not a fan of dieting.  I hate Atkins, don't want to go to South Beach and don't even talk to me about your hot dog diet or some other crap that makes the weight just melt off.  Tell me about eating a healthy diet void of processed foods and sugar and tell me about what you are doing to exercise.  Other than on a couple Sundays and one weekend at camp, for the last month I have been eating right and working out 5-6 days a week  I enjoy it but was hoping that I would see more results by now.
So far I know I have lost inches because I am fitting into pants that I have not worn for years and tightening up my belt a notch.  I started off at 222 lbs and my goal is 195 by Sept 4.  Man, I have not seen less than 200 on my scale in years.  I will be celebrating this accomplishment by competing in the Xterra Pueblo Triathalon on Sept 9.  Swim 100 meters, bike 14 miles and then run 4 miles.  I have always wanted to compete in a triathalon but knew that there was no way I would live through it.  For the first time in my life, getting in shape has become something really personal to me.  It is not about how I look to other people, it is how I look and feel, to me.
By the way, this past Tuesday I was down to 217.  My next weigh in is July 10 and the goal is 210.  What a birthday present that would be!