299.6 lbs

I haven’t written in a while. And this will be a shorter post, ok, maybe not. I thought I would be more excited to dip under the 300lb mark. I mean it’s a big deal. I’ve dropped, from my high water mark, 88lbs. Or 22.6% of my body weight. That’s a significant loss. And I am happy about it. But it took longer than I thought it would. And I have been given even more significant gifts during this journey. Here are a few of them.

Encouragement of family, friends and followers! So many people are paying attention to my journey and I’m getting so much positive feedback it feels like a gift. I go for a run or walk post the work and get virtually instant feedback thanks to social media. So many of you have been rooting for me – I had a neighbor say today that she and her husband report to each other about my activities. One sees me leave and they will share  what I’m doing today. 

Freedom, confidence and even bravery! I have so much more energy than I used to when I was lugging 400 lbs about. I get a bit restless when I sit too long. The other day I walked with Mary Esther and when we were done I decided to walk/jog back to Mike and Connie’s house – a five plus mile journey. I knew I could do it. As it turns out I didn’t have to, they passed me on the way home from dialysis and mercifully picked me up; I could have finished but I was glad I didn’t have to. I started a blog with my daughter’s help. And have written about my journey. Two weeks ago I decided to enter an Iron Man sort-of. The traditional Iron Man is 2.4 miles of Swimming, a Marathon – 26.2 miles of Walking/Jogging and 112 miles of Cycling. The one I entered is called a Lazy Man. Which I totally think is a misnomer. No lazy man would commit himself to that much activity in a year much less a month. But that’s the deal, I’m going to bike, run and swim my way through the month of August.

Greater understanding of nutrition and fitness. This one was by necessity. I was completely untrained in how to keep this shell from premature deterioration. I have always used food for pleasure. Now it’s fuel. Although I still try to make food that is delicious, I also try to cook with a view to my shrinking waistline. I’ve also learned that I can do more than just sit in my chair. I can jog, bike and swim. I can throw a Frisbee around a golf course.

Health. My articulated goal was to lose half my body weight. But really that was more the how and not the why. I didn’t want to widow my wife or orphan my children at a young age. During this journey my weight has dropped sure, but so has my resting heart rate and blood pressure. And it happened without popping a handful of pills. I have been told by more than one person that Halftheman is unrealistic; that in order for me to reach that goal I’m going to have to lose about 50 pounds of loose skin. This maybe so. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Anyway, getting below 3 bills is exciting. But it’s not the only thing. There have been so many gifts I’ve been given on this journey and each one is more precious than crossing an arbitrary threshold. Even one as significant as 300!