Days of abstinence: 42
Days until surgery: 42
Weight: 161.2 pounds
I worked out yesterday morning, went for a 2
mile walk last night with Jack and got to bed early enough last night so that I
could exercise again this morning. It
feels good to be getting back into my routine.
I started my Black Fire video series over again since I had missed so
many workouts in the last couple of weeks.
I hate starting all over again, but I am weaker than I was just a few
weeks ago. It is amazing how fast the
body starts to decay when you don’t take the time to exercise. The book, "Younger Next Year," was absolutely
correct when it said you either grow a little each day or decay a little each
day and we get to make the choice of which one we want, by deciding to exercise
or not exercise each and every day. The
book, "It Starts With Food," is correct (in my opinion) when it says there is no
such thing as a net neutral food. The
food I eat is either going to make me healthier or less healthy. There is no in-between. Sometimes it’s hard not to beat myself up a
little bit and wonder why I couldn’t have figured so much of this out a 10 or
20 years ago. The important thing is to
know that the next 50 years are going to be so much better than they would be
if I hadn’t started making these major changes 4 years ago.
I’ve been tracking my weight in My Fitness Pal
since October 15, 2011. Here is a
snapshot of the graph (you can click on the graph to see it more clearly):
What a road this has been!
On the one hand, I can’t
say I am proud of the 2 year climb back to 179.4 pounds. On the other hand, I am kind of proud that I
topped out at only 179.4 pounds and that it took me two years to gain that much
weight back. In previous cycles, I would
have gained all of the weight back that I had lost, plus ten pounds in much
less time than it took me to gain 29.4 pounds.
What I think is most interesting about this graph is the downward trend
of the peaks. First of all, 228 pounds
is not the most I have ever weighed. The
heaviest weight that I ever saw on a scale was 238 pounds when I was 39 years
old. I believe my heaviest weight ever
was probably right around 250 pounds because that 238 pound weigh-in was after I
had been doing Tae Kwon Do and dieting for several months. I was too scared to get on a scale before
then.
What I see, when I look at
this graph, starting with the 228 pounds on October 15th and ending
with yesterday, is the peaks are getting lower and lower. I am getting more and more uncomfortable with
being overweight and I am getting better at stopping the behavior that is
causing the weight gain and getting back on track. None of the downward ticks, after the upward
climbs, came accidentally. Every last one
of them was a conscious decision to get back on track. I am excited that I am getting close to my
goal weight of 150 pounds. What I am
even more excited about is that I believe I have finally found the key to
keeping my weight close to my goal weight for the rest of my life; abstain from sugar forever.
As I said in yesterday’s
post, I am not struggling with food decisions anymore. I’m not wrestling with an inner voice that
keeps saying, “You can eat that, it won’t matter.” One candy bar does matter. It matters a lot. I have rationalized, hundreds of times,
eating one candy bar. It’s only 210
calories. That’s not much. You can make up for that by going for a walk
or eating less dinner. Of course, as often
as I ate one candy bar, I’d eat two candy bars.
Now I’m up to 420 calories. That’s
a whole meal. And then I am fighting
cravings for the next several days.
I keep using the word “relief,”
to the point that I feel like I am over using it; but I can’t think of a better
word to use. I am so relieved that the
inner voices have quieted and that I am on a plan that I know will get me to my
goal weight and that I know will allow me to maintain my goal weight for the
rest of my life; without a daily struggle with food choices. The books, “Younger Next Year,” and “It
Starts With Food,” got me started on the lifelong changes that I’ve made. Accepting the fact that I am a sugar addict
and making the decision to abstain from sugar forever was the final piece of
the puzzle. It is all falling into
place. Finally. Whew!
What a ride!!
Have a beautiful day!
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