Ego Over Matter, 2008: Volume 1: Starting Over Again

Last year, I made a monumental change for myself, in that I went hard core and decided to lose 52 pounds. This brought me from a lifetime heaviest 242 pounds down to a much more svelte 190 pounds. Many people thought that I might have gone too far by dropping down to 190, and that 200 or 205 might be a better target for me at my height and frame (I’m 6’2” and have fairly broad shoulders and mostly mesomorphic features). So I took my foot off the gas pedal and let some of the weight come back. Problem was, I let it slide for too long. A year after losing 52 pounds, I tipped the scales this morning at 220 pounds. That’s been my running average since 1994, with two drops to 200 or lower after considerable work and focus (I dropped to 200 in the year 2000, and a drop to 190 in 2007). Now, 220 is a lot better than 242; I’m still down 22 pounds from my peak, but that’s just nowhere near as satisfying as saying I was 190 or even 200. Thus, it’s time to get back to the training wheels and get this show on the road again.

One of the great and powerful elements of blogging is that it forces me to be accountable, either to myself or anyone else that reads these posts at any given time. Hence the title of my Monday morning blog posts. Ego Over Matter is significant; the average person, if they shoot their mouth off publicly and willingly open themselves to public scrutiny and ridicule, is much more likely to make their goal and to hit their goals. Since I’ve vowed to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so far as I know it to be and remember it to be (let’s face it, I’m human, and there’s a good chance I’ll get something wrong without intending to) my Monday entries from here on out will track progress, share some piece of wit or wisdom (or perhaps some piece of incredibly bad judgment, who knows (LOL!)). Ultimately, it’s meant to be a way to motivate myself to get back to “fighting shape”.

Everyone needs a goal, and sometimes it helps to have outlandish ones. However, it helps to be a realist, so I’m going to try hard but be within the realm of healthy and possible. So here it goes… my Troop departs for Summer Camp at Camp Oljato on July 19th, 2007. On that day, it is my intention to weigh in at no more than 205 pounds, with a stretch goal of 200 pounds. That works out to seven and ½ weeks. The realistic physiological limit to lose body-fat without catabolising muscle mass is about 2 pounds per week; that puts my 205 goal in very realistic focus. The 200 goal, maybe not as easy or realistic, but hey, if it happens, I’ll be quite happy :).

So here’s where the rubber meets the road. Today I weighed in at 220 pounds. Overall, I feel pretty good, but don’t like the way my clothes fit any more (I did this as a deliberate gate on myself last year; once my clothes started to feel uncomfortable, it was a sign it was time to get back to losing weight again, and that time is now). Size 32 waist pants feel crushing at the moment, but again, I wear them to remind me of the work I need to do… no new clothes, no slacking off. The problem buttoning the pants is my reminder that it’s time to get back to basics. The next Ego Over Matter post will go up next Monday, and I hope to have good news and good progress to report. Til then :).