This is to me siblings. Hey fam, it’s me, your big brother coming to you from the internet highway. If you have read through this site you know what I have been doing for the last few months. If you haven’t, then let me tell you.
When Dad came to visit last Thanksgiving, I was “shocked”. Shocked by his health or lack there of. Shocked enough that I decided I better do something soon about my health or in another 27 years I was going to be just like my father, health wise.
Maybe when you were growing up you said “I’m never going to be like my parents”. Well, I’m here to tell you that nothing could be further from the truth - unless, of course, you do something about it. And that is where I am at.
I think we all know where dad’s health is and if he doesn’t do something about it - which includes admitting that he has a health problem that will put him six feet under in short order, then … I’ll let you finish that thought.
Having kids has made me realize that you bring all of the baggage from your childhood to parenthood. I occasionally take the time to think about what I do and don’t do with my wife and kids and realize that a lot of my behavior is driven by my growing up experiences. It’s both good and bad - no escaping it.
This also means that I have a choice, I can take the programmed route or I can change it. The latter is not nearly as easy as the former. I’m not slamming mom and dad here, just telling you what I have observed.
Now that you know what I have been thinking about, let me tell you what I have been doing.
After dad left, I took and good honest look down at B.O.B., B.O.B. = Belly Over Belt. And it wasn’t a pretty picture. Do you guys remember how much I weighed in high school and college? I don’t think I ever got over 135 lbs in high school. I peaked in college at 142 lbs my sophomore year when I rowed crew for a season. The first two years out of college, the “working years”, I got up to 155ish. Then the healthy lifestyle for the next eight years kept me at a very fit and healthy 148 to 155.
Then there were kids. I think we all know what happens then. Actually, it wasn’t the kids that caused the weight gain - it was the change in lifestyle to afford the kids and the lack of attention to fitness that pushed the poundage on. That lack of focus on maintaining a healthy body and the desk jockeying that has occurred did what it would be expected to do. I gained weight.
Not a lot at first. I was in the 170s at least for awhile, I really don’t know for how long - we were too poor to afford a scale at that time. I do know that I eventually hit the 180s. Then about two years ago, I had my first wake up call. January 2005 I went to the doctor’s office to get my cholesterol checked. I had to fast for 12 hours before getting the blood work done. I was told that the results would be sent in the mail. If there were any issues I would hear from them by phone.
Two days later, I get the phone call. “Would you please come in, the doctor would like to discuss your results with you.” Of course, I tried to pump them for information over the phone, but there was no giving in on their side.
The doctor told me my cholesterol levels were high - the LDL and triglycerides were high and my good cholesterol, HDL, was low. What the hell? I started thinking about it a bit and realized my exercise was actually minimal and while we eat well, I was eating more than I needed to and eating things I shouldn’t be eating so much. Cheese being the major culprit. Right then and there I went cold turkey on eating slices of cheese (I have these mono-maniacal tendencies that make it easy to go do cold turkey type things - you might want to warn your spouse about this tendency if you think you have the same). I still have cheese with a meal, like on a salad or with pizza; but I don’t eat plain old pieces of cheese like I use to. No sir-ree. I also started walking during workings hours more and eating more oatmeal. (Someday, I will have to tell you about my hellish pedometer story). Over the course of the next six months my cholesterol levels improved dramatically with the exception of my HDL (not sure on that one). I haven’t had my levels checked in over a year and half. I suspect that they are as good or even better than when I last had them checked. Still, my cholesterol levels aren’t the best and I mention this because I think it runs in our family.
That was then and I really didn’t do much else to improve my health. I may have lost a few pounds as a result, but no more than five pounds ever.
Getting back to dad and Thanksgiving. After dad left, I fiddled around with the old analog scale and stepped up for the first weigh in in a long time. Then … 190lbs. WTF? I thought I weighed about 185 lbs, but not 190lbs. Phuck! Then the old monomaniacal tendencies kicked in - time to lose weight. How much weight? 23lbs (now you understand the name of this site - genius, huh?). I told myself that I was going to weigh 23 pounds less in thirteen months (the end of December 2007). How was I going to do it though, I’ve never in my life ever tried to lose weight? Why would I have to, I’ve been a great athlete - like we all have.
I thought about what was contributing to my weight - which, by the way, puts me in the overweight category for my body mass index. I figured out that it was likely the after dinner eating I was doing. You’ve been to our house and have seen the pantry we have. It is way to easy to just head over to the pantry, look in, and start grazing. That’s what I have been doing for years. I use to hit the frig pretty hard on my cheese quest. Then I resorted to the pantry and the cookies and cereal that beckon - Cheerios being the preferred medicine.
So, out with the after dinner eating. Yup, I decided to put an end to the after dinner eating right then and there on the 1st of December 2006 - a day that will live in infamy.
Before I continue, let me tell you a little story that sets the scene. When I was in college, I ran track for one season, I think my junior year in college. Since we didn’t have a track program at S.C., we hooked up with the Bellarmine Prep coach and he did some “on the side” coaching for us. The very first and only practice we did with him consisted of him checking out or fitness level by doing intervals around the track. We ran some pretty fast intervals, something like 4 x 800 meter in 2:12 - 2:15. But the last one is the one that did me in. For our last 800 meter interval, he stood at the 700 meter mark and was yelling his brains out telling us to do an extra lap. I don’t know about you guys, but when I have a goal in mind and I’m running balls to the wall, there is no way in hell that I can do one extra step beyond that distance. Can’t happen, doesn’t work. So when I crossed that 800 meter mark and actually kept going, I died quickly. It hurt so bad to keep running. Yes, I did do an extra lap, but the psychological damage was done - I was beat.
I tell you this because I made a goal of not eating after dinner for 30 days. All I had to do was not eat after dinner for the next thirty days. I wasn’t making a life long commitment to never eating after dinner again. If I thought of it that way, there is no way I would be able to keep it. Instead, a relatively short 30 day goal of not eating after dinner. Remember, I can’t go balls to the wall all the time!
So I did it - almost. On Christmas eve, we all sat down and had a root beer float well after dinner and well before Santa arrived (heh, heh). But I did it, I didn’t eat anything after dinner for those thirty days. And guess what, I still haven’t eaten anything after dinner - with the exception of T’s wedding. Even the soccer party for Alroy’s soccer team at a family’s home - no flippin dessert. Not eating after dinner is now a habit and a good one at that.
At the beginning of every month, I have added another new “habit”. For January, it was to exercise every day. I met that with the exception of one day when we were at T’s wedding. And I haven’t kept that one at all - and that’s O.K. We have been painting the old house for the last few weeks - no time to exercise.
February I added 64 ounces of water to my diet. That’s sixty four ounces above and beyond what I drink otherwise. I think this has helped a lot. Think about it. If I drink water, I’m probably not going to drink as much ____ (for instance, milk, juice, soda - or “soder” as they like to say back East, alcohol). Also, drinking a lot of water fills you up. And when you are filled up, you don’t feel like eating as much. How about that, huh?
March was 100 sit ups a day and April is 50 push ups a day. 100 sit ups a day is easy, 50 push ups a day is killing me. Today I did the knee push ups - call me a weenie, I don’t care.
So dear siblings, why am I telling you this? Maybe you need to hear what I have to say. Maybe you feel yourself “slipping”, not really in control of your destiny and want a little motivation from your big brother. Maybe you want to hear what has happened to me since I started on this little adventure four short months ago.
Keep in mind that I have never dieted before - why should I, dieting is for overweight people? Ha! I wasn’t really sure if my first thirty day goal would have any impact. I mean, it wasn’t like I was giving up a lot. But it did help. I lost four pounds by the end of December. I lost another pounds by the end of January. February resulted in another 4 pounds gone. March … drum roll, please … 4 pounds, gone, goodbye. As of today, I weigh 171.8 lbs. I’ve lost about 18 pounds in a little over 4 months. I’m well on my way to losing 23 pounds by the end of this year - probably by the time summer rolls around.
So there you have it, a little motivation to get off your duff and achieve whatever - weight loss if you want - or whatever you want to in your life.
P.S. - Get your butt into the 21st century and leave a comment.
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