Good grief, my thoughts are all over the place as I sit to write this post. I think I'm just going to dump some thoughts out there and then try to tie this thing together.
Weight update - Assuming clothes accounted for 5 pounds when I weighed in at 389, a 100 pound loss is 284. The trend line today says 291.9. I refuse to call the journey half way complete until the trend line says 284. Even so, the scale read 283.8 today. This is a record low for me and signals that I really am closing in on the half way point. Progress hasn't been consistent week to week but it keeps happening. (Weekly average loss for the last eight weeks: 2.1, four weeks: 1.85, two weeks: 3.3.) Increased activity has apparently made an impact.
Fitness - 17 real push-ups and an eight minute run to start the workout yesterday. The SO and I took a 90 minute bike ride this morning. I feel pretty strong all the time now. My energy gauge is no longer stuck on sedentary. To borrow a word I'm seeing frequently these days, I feel needful of exercise and activity. Especially on days when I don't have a scheduled workout. Clearly the fat reduction is making exercise easier but losing weight and/or exercising is making me crave more activity. Long bike ride today, ship wreck diving last weekend, and I'm thinking about taking up Aikido again on the evenings I can fit it in. I feel FANTASTIC!
Ritual - I heard someone talking about happiness and ritual on NPR last week. I think it was a Harvard professor. One of the points he made was that athletes don't have to think about working out. It's just something that they do. They walk in to the gym without thinking about it. I immediately recognized this as being a huge part of my success thus far. I consume 100 calories every day for breakfast with my vitamins. I do sit ups, push ups, and treadmill time Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays without fail. I eat in six hundred calorie chunks. My success is based not just on behavior changes, but on ritualistic behavior changes.
Impersonal support - When the DVR scoops them up I watch The Biggest Loser while on the treadmill. There is no more motivating television for this fat person. The images are all of fat people losing significant pounds from show to show. Yes, there's drama. Yes, there's the game aspect. But at the end of the day most of the people on that show make positive changes and see positive results. These total strangers continue to inspire me.
Interpersonal support - It is huge when someone asks, "Have you lost weight?" or "My goodness, how much weight have you lost?" This sort of positive reinforcement that comes out of left field just helps to keep me on track.
Personal support - No, we're not talking jockstraps or braziers here. My significant other has been so very supportive. The pantry is stocked with snacks and foods in amounts highly compatible with my 100+600+600 diet. Dad asks about my weight every day he swings by the office to visit and encourages me no matter if that days change was up or down. An old friend and I have a competition going on Fridays. Everyone in my life has been so greatly supportive.
So... Things are good on the fitness front. I'm approaching half way to goal weight and more fit than I have been in years. At first, this was all thanks to redirecting personal anger and frustration toward forcing myself to develop exercise and eating behaviors-- I've since come to recognize as ritualistic-- that caused success. Positive messages from media, friends and family have very strongly reinforced those lifestyle changes. And you, dear readers and commenters, you too have helped to cause my success. As always, thanks for reading.
