It’s been a while since I posted, I know. I’d like to say that I’ve been away from the keyboard rescuing orphans or single-handedly convincing Justin Bieber to get his vocal cords removed, but the truth is much simpler than that. I’ve been trying to stay afloat. Life, and the swarms of stress and responsibilities that seem to follow life around, has been turned up to full blast the last month. It makes it somewhat difficult to think of something pithy or inspirational. When you feel that you have your arms full of the weight of the world, it can be a challenge to reach the keys.
My weight loss continues apace, and while my half-pound in the last week isn’t exactly something to throw an Eyes-Wide-Shut style orgy to celebrate, it’s still a step in the right direction. In addition, discussions with my doctor and others have made me realize that I am fast approaching the point where the number on the scale will no longer be the deciding factor in my progress towards looking like David Beckham’s body with Charlie Brown’s head. (I’ve got a big noggin, and no amount of exercise and diet will ever make me look like anything other than the inspiration for a bobblehead.)
Instead of weight being the focus, I’m now looking at body fat percentage. Thanks to an improbably well-funded Biggest Loser competition at work, I am the proud owner of a scale that cheerfully informs me just how much of my 213 pounds is comprised of jiggling adipose. When I began this process months ago, I was sitting at around 33% body fat, which means that I had nearly 100 pounds of fat clinging to my frame. I’ve dropped that number to 24.4% since then , an accomplishment I’m quite proud of, but I still have a ways to go. As I add muscle (which weighs more), it will become even more important to watch the percentage rather than straight weight to make sure that I’m heading in the right direction.
Finally, a little parting thought. Every one of us that is going through the transition from eating like a garbage dump to treating our bodies with a modicum of respect is going to run into a month like the one I’m dealing with. And those of us who found ourselves in the condition to need something like TSFL in the first place are used to dealing with our stress in that simplest of ways: by stuffing our gullet with cheese and sugar until our stomach was bloated and we were too busy thinking of why in the world we’d ever want to get off the couch to think about being worried, scared, mad, frustrated, or just plain exhausted.
But as you learn to eat the way you should, you’ll discover that you don’t want to fall back on those old habits. The realization of the cost of eating the way so many people regrettably do should always be foremost in your mind. You need to find something else to deal with stress, something healthier and better for you in the long run. I still haven’t quite figured out what to do to vent all of this off. But I haven’t found myself facedown in a chocolate cream pie, so I take some little solace from that.
For those of you who read this blog, thank you for the kind words and thoughts, and as always, thank you for the encouragement. It’s a hell of a thing knowing that there are those in the world who, though they’ve never seen my face, actually care about what’s happening to me. For me, that’s been the biggest magic of Take Shape For Life. It’s connected me to a world of friends who are going through the same struggle I am, and who see each step forward that I take towards my goal as a victory for every one of us. I’m still here, I’m still climbing that mountain, and I’ll still be here tomorrow.
Jan. 2, 2013 Starting Weight: 280 lbs
June 9, 2013 Weigh-In: 213 lbs
Body Fat percentage: 24.6%
Total Weight Loss in 140 days: 67 lbs
Fat Nerd to Slim Nerd 