Day 186 Unexpected Rewards and A Good Kind of Soreness

Day 186

Unexpected Rewards and A Good Kind of Soreness

I’ve heard from several people today that were happy to tell me of their incredible success. I’m so thrilled that I know so many like-minded people! You can do this and you’re proving it everyday. It’s amazing how powerful a decision can be. When I decided 186 days ago to make a commitment like no other I’d ever made, I had no idea how wonderful it could feel. I just wanted to be able to buy clothes at a regular store. I just wanted to breathe normally. I just wanted to be able to walk down the hall without having to stop and rest. I just wanted to inspire my family to follow my lead into changes that would drastically and positively change our lives forever. Well, after 131 pounds, all of those are happening and so much more! When I get e-mails from people I don’t even know telling me they read everyday and are inspired, I’m truly touched. I’m overwhelmed with emotion and I’m so grateful for the strength and guidance I’ve been given. Every now and then I go back and read some of the early days of this blog. I do it to remind myself of things I’ve learned along the way. Lord knows I’m far from perfect and occasionally I have to read my own writing to refresh my resolve. Many times it’s not my writing at all that I rely on; it’s your comments on the myspace and blogspot versions of this blog that inspire me. Your support has been an invaluable part of my success. Thank you my friend.

Tonight we enjoyed a cookout with Amber and KL. They’re going back to school this Saturday, so before they depart, they wanted to cook for everybody. They filled the grill with everything from bratwurst to chicken breast, all beef hotdogs to big angus burgers. Needless to say, most of that protein is now resting comfortably inside the fridge waiting for its moment to nourish. Tonight was very different than it used to be. A cookout use to mean we would all stuff ourselves full of meat and beans and potato salad, chips, dips, and high calorie sodas and for some, alcoholic beverages. Then we would all slowly look for a place to nap, but not before we passed around the prescription strength Zantac. Hey, heartburn and indigestion wasn’t going to spoil our gluttonous get-togethers! My strategy was very simple and I have to say, rather natural at this point. First of all, like one of the early days in this blog, I put the focus on the people around me. I enjoyed the company of my family first and foremost, and then I enjoyed a chicken breast, some beans, and an all beef hotdog on a bun with mustard and onions, and just a few chips. I enjoyed water flavored with Crystal Light. I also grabbed and cut off a third of a bratwurst. I didn’t want to spend the calories on a full brat, after all those things are loaded! I was completely satisfied and still made it out just under 700 calories. Perfect. This isn’t dieting. It’s eating responsibly, it’s putting to rest the obsession with food, and it’s changing the priorities of my life. Visiting with my family was the most important thing tonight, not the food. We were eating because it was time to eat, but what we were really doing was enjoying each other’s company. We were living beautifully.

The soreness in my muscles from the weight training this week feels so good! Soreness use to be the perfect excuse to stop doing whatever caused the violation in my comfort. I celebrate the soreness now. I feel great as a result. My muscles are waking up to a whole new way of thinking about physical fitness. They’re not waking up grumpy; they’re waking up energized and ready for the task at hand. The progress in the exercise department over the last six months is certainly thrilling. In the beginning, when I could barely walk a quarter mile without feeling like I was about to meet my maker, I never imagined that six short months later I’d be blessed to the point of weight training with the advice and guidance from a professional and walking 5k’s on a regular basis. Even flirting with brief spurts of jogging! If you’ve read this blog from the beginning, remember before Thanksgiving when I decided to start a holiday tradition with the Anderson Family Thanksgiving Day 5K? Then we did the Christmas Day 5K, back then I really thought that doing a 5K would be something we did only on special holidays and occasions. Now a 5K is just another workout. Maybe someday soon it will be the “Anderson Family Holiday Half-Marathon,” or at least a 10K, because like this journey, it must progress!

Courtney and I are headed out to the walking trail now. I do plan on continuing the short burst method I spoke of last evening. Now mom, don’t worry…I’m not going to do anything that will get me hurt. You know I’m way too cautious for that. That caution was born from the fear of instant death I carried to that trail at 505 pounds. I have a keen sense of what I can’t handle just yet out there. But I’m learning that I can do far more than I ever thought possible. That’s why my intensity must increase with my newfound abilities. I’m grabbing the iPod and lacing up my shoes for a date with some of my favorite tunes. Good night and…

Good Choices,
Sean