Day 136 Walking On Sunshine and Riding The Waves of Positive Momentum

Day 136

Walking On Sunshine and Riding The Waves of Positive Momentum

It was so nice to see the sunshine today. The weather can certainly have an effect on our emotions. Yesterday, being a cloudy and cold day, made me huddle down and do some deep inward thinking exercises. I really enjoyed writing yesterdays blog. It was a wonderful experience for me. It flowed so fast that at first I didn't realize how powerful it was to my emotions. Then I finished and tried to read it to Irene and Courtney and couldn't. I had to stop reading. It was an emotional overload. You know what I mean? When something just hits you square and you have no choice but to surrender to the truth and emotion it contains, it can be a tremendous weight lifted. It caught me by surprise, because my intent was to be more humorous, but you know the comedy equation right? Tragedy plus time equals comedy. Well, if you delve into it before too much time has passed, you get something very real and emotional. After I reach my goal and keep it off for some time, I'll be able to write volumes of comedy about these kind of experiences and laugh all the way.

I felt great today. I visited the friend I ran into at the buffet Sunday. He's doing just fine. I planned on visiting with him on Monday, but the weather and a couple of projects really changed my schedule. Today worked, and although it was a very short visit, and he had a couple of friends in his office, I still felt good about it. He mentioned this blog and recalled The McSeatbelt (Day 25). I told that story and we all had a good laugh. Although I didn't have any personal one-on-one time with him, he knew why I was there. He's extremely smart and is the type of guy that knows how to be successful in whatever he does. When I heard that he even occasionally rode his bike to work for exercise, it was a boost for me! How bad do I want it? He obviously wants it really bad to climb up on a bike and pedal all the way to work. But my visit today was about giving him encouragement, the kind his actions have given me. You know that I've learned along this journey that you can't make someone do this just because you want them to, all you can do is set an example and offer encouragement. He's done that for me before without even realizing it, and I'm trying to do that for him too.

We're one week away from weigh day and I'm already getting excited about passing two milestones in one weigh day. I'm sure I've already passed the 100 pound lost mark, but I can't say that officially until I step on that scale next Wednesday. At the same time I should be below 400! I remember how that felt in 2004, but it's going to be much more sweet this time. OK, enough about weigh day! It's too far away to talk about!

I watched a little of the “Biggest Loser” yesterday? Or the day before, I can't remember. Anyway, the trainer was having this 406 pound, 5'8” guy jog on a treadmill. My first inclination was to feel sorry for the guy, but then I thought about it for a second and realized that the trainer was pushing him hard and making him achieve something he didn't think was possible. My workouts are not even close to that intense, maybe they should be. But wow, that kind of intense is a few levels above what I would call intense. This guy is 7 inches shorter than me and I weighed 406 at my last weigh in, same as him, and I haven't been brave enough to start jogging on the treadmill just yet. Oh, I'll get there for sure, but it's hard to imagine right now. I did try a little jogging for a short distance during the start of the Christmas Day 5K, but I quickly realized it was a little much for me right now. One thing is for sure. This journey is constantly changing my “limits.” From barely getting through a quarter mile walk to doing a 5K walk with little to no trouble, that's real progress. I just need to make sure that as my limits increase, I push myself to reach them. I guess that's what the trainer on the show was trying to do with that guy.

Courtney took a quick look at her weight while at the YMCA tonight. It's not an official weigh day, but she can be a little impatient sometimes, I have too before! She's was thrilled to find a loss of another five pounds! I'm telling you this, more than me, I want this for my family. I want Amber and Courtney both to arrive in adulthood free of obesity. After setting a horrible example for their entire lives, it feels great to see them follow along and feed off the success that Irene and I have accomplished so far. We're becoming the incredibly shrinking family! And that's awesome!

I did absolutely horrible today on my water consumption. It's just crazy to me. How I can be so focused and doing the things I know I need to do, and then for whatever reason it's been Diet Mt. Dew and zero calorie ice tea all day? I stopped buying the zero calorie water flavor packets. It got to where I would use four to six packets a day. I just thought it was too much. I plan on buying some again, but I have to limit myself, that stuff can get expensive! And I'm still not convinced it's just as good as plain water...I hope it is! But it taste so good! And you know we've been conditioned to believe that if it taste too good, then it must not be good for us. Speaking of things that taste too good to be good, I had a 100 calorie cheesecake bar today at another friends office. I hadn't discovered these tasty little things yet, but wow, it really tasted amazing, and it's one of those labeled “100 calorie pack” items. That one might just be worth it for a nice sweet calorie friendly treat. Thank you for your support. Until next time, good night and...

Good Choices,
Sean