100 Days

So here’s what happened today: Not a whole lot actually.

I got to the gym, but for an interview with a new coach. But after the interview I managed to get on the elliptical for a half hour. So that was nice. However, I did not come close to working out, which puts me a day off schedule.

Working out has been very beneficial for me. In the four months since I started, there is a noticeable difference (to me at least) in my muscle tone. My arms are much more muscular than they were before. There are muscled that I didn’t really know existed. By the way, my forearms are fucking sexy right now. All this from lifting for about 25 minutes two to three times per week. Its not that hard, its not that exhausting, it burns calories and it works for you.

See, lifting is good for you.

But, of course, if I don’t keep losing weight then lifting won’t make a damn bit of difference. After the elliptical today, I was down to just under 277 pounds, which marks a new low point, actually. So yeah, that is pretty sweet. Look, it might take a year or two to get down to 240. There’s no doubt about that possibility. But I’ll keep saying it: as long as the numbers keep going down, one tenth of a pound at a time, I’ll be happy as hell. The key right now is to continue going downward. It doesn’t have to be 70 more pounds in 100 days. More likely, it will be 10 pounds in 40 days. That would be a fantastic leap right now.

Why? Because I couldn’t have been expected (by myself or anyone else) to keep up the pace I was going at in the initial 100 days. That time was lightning in a bottle and I really believe it changed my life.

I was watching something on the discovery channel Sunday night about a guy that lost like 700 pounds. It was the most weight any man had ever lost. But a few years after that, he had gained all the weight back and then some. And for all of his accomplishments, he could never really give anything up.

And I don’t want to be like that guy. I just can’t really do it. But some parts of my story line up with his. He said that, after the got under 200 pounds, he went to Coney Island and had four hot dogs with chili fries. Well, I’ve gone on similar binges (probably bigger ones) in the past few months. I manage to control myself the rest of the time, but those binges signal to me the possibility of recessing back to my old ways.

Basically, I don’t want to get down to 240 and then say “Hey, let’s celebrate” and have that celebration last until the weight comes back. I don’t want to be 240 for a day, then go up to 241, 242, 243… That’s kind of what happened when I hit 265 in college. I started going up immediately before I hit 335 not long after.

So I guess all I can really do is remain strong in the cause here. I can’t avoid eating shitty sometimes (nor would I want to) but I have to realize that I am bigger than that fourth slice of pizza.