Today, I feel awful.
I’m significantly overweight and struggling against time to short-circuit mild to borderline severe hypertension before it kills me.
The only that I can see any of this changing is to force myself back into the old frame of mind, old compulsive behavior of eating properly and exercising regularly. Some of you reading this might think, duh, isn’t that what the experts have been saying. Others still may think, OK, that’s no so hard to do.
The reality is that if you are not inclined to exercise regularly and if eating healthy is at all foreign to you then the challenge is that much greater. On the upside, the reward for being successful is that much sweeter (sorry, couldn’t pass up a food reference here).
Those who know me, know that I love my food. Not one to discriminate against most cuisine, I won’t eat the brains of any animal, nor the stomach lining or various other parts that don’t belong on my plate. This breaks with tradition, of course, from my Portuguese ancestors who would eat just about all the parts of an animal. Basically, that’s just very very gross. No pig ankles on my table please!
OK, so back to the challenge.
For 2009 (and actually starting September 1, 2008), I am making it my personal mission to lose weight, build muscle, eat healthy and hopefully (are you listening God?) get off of these horrible horrible medications that most of the time don’t feel like they’re doing all that much (except pulling cash out of my pocket).
In all honesty, I probably need to lose a minimum of 120 pounds. I’m 43 – soon to be 44 – so the challenge is much larger as body fat tends to accumulate at this age rather than go away. That said, it can be done. The right combination of intake, and output will bring about the desired results. If I want (hope) to drop much of my excess weight in 12 to 15 months, I will be at my goal for Christmas 2009 if I start September 1.
September 1 also has significance, because it is the birthday of my late baby brother who died at the age of 4 from Cystic Fibrosis. I often wonder what life would have been like were he alive today. So many “what ifs” – questions that can never be answered. September is also my birth month, so as I approach the ripe old age of 44, I must realize that this challenge won’t get any easier as the years accumulate.
I’m realistically looking at a weight loss of about 8 pounds a month, or roughly 2 pounds per week. This is a very doable pace and a very safe one at that. The challenge will be in maintaining a consistent exercise schedule, keeping the activity varied so as to not allow my body to get “used” to the challenge, and to keep a positive outlook and be ready to manage any setbacks. There will be numerous holidays over the next 15 months, and almost all of them include the cultural significance of food.
I once lost 42 pounds by following the same militant process I’ve touched on within this post. I ate very healthy (not a single morsel passed my lips that I didn’t know about), I exercised faithfully and perhaps almost psychotically (cardio every day with cycling several days a week and water aerobics), so I know I can do it again. My added challenge is that I have a longer commute to work and am considering a graduate level program, all of which will take more and more of my precious free time and make adhering to a schedule such as this an absolute challenge.
I know I can do this. I must do this. Failure is not an option. The alternative is a very short life, and I don’t want that.
My mom has expressed her concern that she doesn’t want to lose another son. How can I let her down? I’ve spent my life trying to protect her from added and unnecessary pain. I owe an improvement in my health to her. I simply cannot let her down.
So over the next few weeks, I hope to post more about my challenge. Who knows, maybe I’ll even create a support group so that readers can join me on the journey.
Be Well -
Rob for Oh So Virgo!
