Half measures have availed us nothing

One year ago today I noticed my weight had jumped up to a startling 272.4lbs

I set out two simple goals;

A) lose 53lbs, putting me below 220.

B) run a 5k race

Well, looking back, how did I do?  Not great. Today I weigh 264.4 lbs, so in one year I lost only 8 lbs. I participated in a 5k race, but by no means did I run it.

What happened to my year? I could list some excuses easily, injury, kids, time constraints.

But they are excuses. What's the real truth?

Half measures avail us nothing

That's the cold hard truth. I'm not trying to lose 10lbs to fit into a smaller pair of jeans. I'm trying to reverse years of neglect on my body. And I spent a year doing it half-assed.

Honest appraisal, I have more than 60lbs to lose. That's not to look better, that's simply to be healthy. Say what you want about BMI, but I need to lose 40lbs to not be classified as obese!
These are big numbers, these aren't "I'm going to cut down on my pasta" numbers, these are my life needs an overhaul numbers.

I would eat right, then not
I would log my food, sometimes
I would workout, when I felt like it

Half measures avail us nothing

This cannot continue.  I cannot simply do the few easy things and expect a true change. I cannot simply hope things will get better while eating a cheeseburger. I cannot become more fit by averaging one workout a week.

So lets turn it around. Let's fix it. Now.

Goals for 2012

Goal #1: Get below 205 lbs.  Once I am at that weight I'll take an appraisal of what a reasonable goal weight should be for me

Goal #2: RUN a 5k. Not walk, not half and half. Run. The whole way. This one might be harder than the weight loss.

Half measures avail us nothing

I'm not going to get there without changing how I do things. I can't occasionally log my food. I can't occasionally workout, and I can't occasionally blog about it.

Logging food is how I hold myself accountable for my choices, it has to be a daily thing.

Working out is good for my waistline, my heart, and for easing stress, 6 times a week is not unreasonable.

Blogging is my accountability to friends and family, my way of sharing my struggle, and hoping others are motivated to join me. I need to aim for weekly, but at least every 2 weeks I need to be in here, good or bad.

When I achieved successes during 2011 I did the above. When I stumbled in 2011 I did them occasionally.

Half measures avail us nothing.

No half measures for 2012. This is my year, this is my 40th year, this is the year I meet the fitman again.

@fatfitman

Ho Ho Ho its off to run we go!

Well Ho Ho Ho everyone, the fatfitman stuck by his promise and ran in the Burlington 5k Santa run last weekend

 As you can see from the photos there were a lot of very dedicated people (4000 participants!) out in the morning chill to raise some money and do something healthy this holiday season

 That's me below in the pointy hat, sadly at my current weight I make a pretty good Santa, hopefully at the run next year the outfit will look a little more baggy!

 4000 Santas make a pretty big sea of red as we head out down Lakeshore Blvd.

 The fatfitman, my darling wife (left) our friend LC (right) and our two biggest fans who braved the cold to meet us at the end.

So how was the first 5k? Well, honestly, not as bad as I thought it might be. I finished in 43:03.9, which is not god by any means, but it's a start. More importantly I enjoyed it. I want to do more runs, and the competitive side of me wants to get better at it.

I think that's one of the things I have to key on going forward. I am a competitive person, I love my hockey, karate, and now the idea of running in a competition. I can only get better at each of these as I lose weight, and increase my fitness level. It takes hard work and dedication to to these things and to do them well.

The holidays have been predictably hard, my struggles with eating not helped by a week on the road in Atlanta, but those are just excuses. Self-improvement is hard, and I need to focus on what drives me to get better instead of focusing on what tastes good.

My family drives me, my competitive nature drives me, my desire is fueled by these things. I will improve, I will get healthy, I will lose more weight.

What fuels you, what drives you, what are you looking to change and improve as the year comes to a close?

Next entry will be the one year anniversary of the blog, an update on my status and my goals for the coming year.

Gotta walk before you can run

Ah tis the eating season, and for those of us who are addicted to food every day is a challenge.
The last two weeks have seen piles of my favourite foods, sweets and drinks placed in front of me, and so far so good, I remain around the 260lb mark.

I realized in the last few days that trying to lose weight at this time of year is setting myself up for disappointment, and with me disappointment leads to more eating. So, to stave off this dreaded cycle i am trying something different. I am focusing on not gaining weight, and maintaining my workout schedule despite the busy days ahead.

So far so good, this morning 260.8lbs, and a few days now until my next challenging evening event, so I shouldn't have any trouble eating healthy between now and the weekend.

Ah, and on the weekend, something new!

HO HO HO, that's what I'll be yelling as I participate this weekend in the Burlington 5K Santa run. For those of you not familiar with it, every year a few thousand people dress in full Santa suits and run 5K through the streets of Burlington ON. This year myself, my wife, and our good friend LC have decided to participate.

My frequent readers will know that i am not at a running weight yet, and the last time I tried to run at this size led to a back injury and several months away from training, so with that lesson learned I will be walking the course. This is hard for me, as I am by nature highly competitive, but I know if I keep this up I can start running more seriously come the spring time. If I overdo it now, I'll only disrupt my long term goals.

So get out this holiday season, enjoy yourselves, keep staying healthy when you can, don't overdo it when you can't. And if you are in Burlington this Saturday, I'll see you at the finish line!!

HO HO HO

@fatfitman