Leaven Leaving

Many stereotypes of overweight people are true. Take back pain. I have been dealing with back pain because I have poor posture. I've been telling myself that my back pain is because of an ol' football injury (which is partially true). But the complete truth is that I carry myself poorly. I don't support myself when I sit in chairs. And I hunch forward when I type on the computer. How did I deal with this for so long? Since I do not like to take pills, I only took an anti-inflammatory when the pain grew unbearable. My primary method for dealing with my back pain was to have my wife walk on my back. I would lie on the floor, face down, and she would slowly walk up and down on my back. Afterward I would curl into a ball and rock forward and back. Sometimes I would stretch my lower back. I have done this for years. And it kept me going. Since I have started my journey toward long-lasting health, however, I have needed this less and less. Ironically, my back has been hurting...

I still weigh myself everyday. But it's nice to reflect on my progress over time. I started this intervention on a Monday and today marks six weeks. Let's reflect on what these six weeks looked like: Seeing this makes me feel really good! It's encouraging. And I want to keep this going.

I've dropped 50 pounds. It's curious how we set artificial boundaries for ourselves. Or limits. Or goals. When I first started my intervention I told myself I would celebrate if I ever dropped 50 pounds. I would do so by grabbing a New York slice or a burger. But 50 was so arbitrary. And while I do want that pizza I don't want to lose what I've gained (er, lost ). One day I will have a new normal and eating a slice of pizza or enjoying a hamburger won't be forbidden. They just won't be the norm either.

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I hate shopping for clothes. Shopping for clothes is my least favorite activity. In fact, whenever I have a few bucks, I would rather buy books. But the cold, dark reality is I cannot dress myself in paper and ink. Therefore I must buy clothes. And when I do, I have to answer one fundamental question: Does it fit? This question is a curious one for a guy whose weight has fluctuated so much. The real question is actually a two-part question: Does it fit right now? and Will it ever fit? This question goes beyond just my size. The answer to this question truly depends on how I see myself at the time of purchase. Am I buying this article because it fits me right now and am I prepared to accept the size printed on its tag? Or, am I buying this article because I want it to fit? The clothes in my closet sufficiently answer  both of these questions. As I continue on this journey, I am beginning to swim in my clothes. So earlier this week I tried on every piece of clothing I...

Along the way, I am learning a thing or two about myself. Namely, I have allowed bad habits to exist without challenging them. This week I have been paying attention to and making a list of my bad habits and what precedes them. The trigger is tripped and my response is usually an unhealthy one. Whichever bad habit I act out with offers only temporary satisfaction. Getting to the point where I am no longer a slave to unhealthy behaviors is a three-step process. Identify the bad habit Name the trigger Apply a different strategy For example, I have the bad habit of snacking in the evening. Usually, it occurs after the kids have gone to bed and Laura and I are watching a show before we go to bed. The trigger for me is watching the nightly TV show. These two activities have gone together for many a year. One strategy is to not buy things like ice cream and replace them with a healthy option. I have quite a list of bad habits and triggers. Now the challenge is to come up with ...

To be clear, there are two stages of this journey. Stage one began sometime in the spring of 2014 when I hit 306 pounds. That's when I began to change what I knew I could. I dropped 18 pounds on my own. However, I knew that I needed something more. Stage two is what I am calling the intervention . The intervention began at 288 pounds. It has now been 30 days. THIRTY DAYS! And I have lost an additional 22 pounds. To illustrate this part of the journey, I am inserting a graph. Yes, I weigh myself every morning about the same time in the same way on the same scale. When you combine both stages of this journey, I have lost a total of 40 pounds. My clothes fit me. My belt is a couple of notches in. People are noticing. I feel good, feel confident. I'm excited.