Turned 39 today...A good chance to reflect on my 30's and think about all that changed for me. Interesting to note, I turned 30, weighed 268lbs, got separated, changed careers, moved back home, got divorced, lost weight (210!), met new girl, got engaged, got married, gained weight(240), shattered right leg, lost weight(220) changed careers, had first child, gained weight (250), had second child, turned 39 weighing..268lbs!
Seems a bit like a treadmill, but I'll tell you honestly, despite the fact my weight is the same, there is not one part of my life that is not better now than it was 10 years ago. I am thrilled with my life, maybe not with my weight and wellness, but with a great family, a supportive wife, a good job, now is the time I can concentrate on the changes I need to make.
Birthdays bring new temptations, I want my big steak dinner tonight, but I think I'll get some light thai food instead. My wife and daughter thoughtfully made a low-fat cake for me, and I'll be very mindful of the portions.
My big present? A night at a Toronto Maple Leaf hockey game. Tomorrow night in fact. Stadiums and I are not good from an eating perspective, so I'm going out to dinner before the game to better regulate my options, and hopefully come through the next couple of days with my weight unscathed.
The Biggest loser season 11 started last night. I love watching this show for the motivation and, honestly, the cautionary example. Two things stood out for me. One was a contestant who spoke of watching the show for years and always judging the people on it for their weight issues. He was very emotional when he took the scale and had to admit he was one of them. It is a lesson to us all that we should be mindful of how we perceive others, how we judge them, how we react to them. It is a slippery slope from us to them sometimes, and a real wakeup call when you hit the bottom of that slope.
The second thing that stood out was a contestant that commented how most people guess his weight wrong, he weighs over 400lbs, most people guess him around 300. This happens to a lot of us who are overweight. When I announced I was doing this, and said my starting weight was 272.4, people were stunned. Most had me 230-240. I tell people who don't know my weight I want to lose 50lbs, just to start, and they think I am nuts, that it is too much.
We can be deceived by these attitudes, we can allow those around us who tell us its ok, that we aren't "that" big, that we don't need to lose "that" much, we can allow them to shape our self-image and change it to a false one. We can say things about having a "real" body, that we like our curves, our love handles, our booty. I liked being the big guy. But it was false. All lies. Step on a scale, get a body fat analysis, try and run 1 mile. See if you are really where you think you are, where you want to be.
No, we don't all need to look like cover models, but we need to be honest with ourselves, we need friends to be honest with us, and us with them. If you can honestly look at yourself, and be perfectly happy, I congratulate you, don't lose that, do what you have to do to maintain it and be a model for others.
If, like me, you can't do that, then make this the day that the self-deception ends. Don't wait, start today, do it now, make the changes. Say goodbye to that person in the mirror and don't look back.
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