I moved from Texas to Ohio following my graduation, and then turned around and moved right back three months later. It wasn't the cold (although I hated that) and it wasn't the snow (I hated that too), it was the long grey days, one after another that seemed to never end. It was the lack of sunshine. By mid-March I was ready to retreat from the oppressive Ohio winter and thaw in the Texas heat, and after a week, I have. It's the first day of the rest of my life.
My weight has been slowly but steadily creeping up over the past two years. I've made halfhearted attempts to "get back in shape," losing five or ten pounds, only to get derailed all too easily and gain it back and then some. And that's how it's been, one step forward, and two steps back...over and over. The last such attempt happened right before the move to Ohio. I shed 10 pounds over a couple months of pretty committed working out and was sitting at 180 lbs. Nowhere near where I wanted to be, but well on my way nonetheless. Three months of hibernation in Ohio left me nearing 200 lbs and by far the heaviest I have ever been in my life. It's time make a change.
But, I've said that before, and so, last week, with the best of intentions I started planning how I was going to turn things around and get back to where I wanted to be, where I needed to be. As I started searching through different workouts and planning what races I wanted to register for, I stumbled across something that has inspired me to change my life. It was of all things....a blog. Living myself to Death, written by Johnny Waite.
The first post I read was his account of an intense training for and extreme endurance race: The Death Race. It was an entertaining read, but it was the very end that really hit home. Here is the excerpt from his blog that has made the difference for me in my commitment to healthy living:
But here is the most important thing I learned...
Joe did NOT say "Let's see if we can get this tire to the top of the mountain".
He said "Let's get this tire to the top of the mountain."
There is all the difference in the world between those two statements.
He did not know if it would take two hours or two days. He just knew we were going to do it.
Take a look at where you can apply that in your own life. Where do you say "I am going to try to..." or "Let's see if we can...". Because that will be where you fail. You have already given yourself the "out".
Instead, declare"This is what I am going to do." Period. No matter what.
And that's exactly what I am going to do, No more "outs" for me. I AM going to get in the best shape of my life (Years ago I ran a 4:45 mile and a 16 minute 5k). Beyond working out, I know the importance of a healthy diet and just as I've made attempts to get in shape in the past I've also included healthy diet...or what I thought was healthy. As fate would have it, not a week after reading the first blog by Johnny he posted something that moved me even more than before. His post entitled Do you love your meat? is amazing and thought provoking. Just check out this video.
After watching that video Johnny went to his fridge and one of the things he found was a half of a package of hot dogs. His reaction to those hot dogs is the inspiration for the title of my first blog post.
I personally won't be headed to a vegetarian or vegan diet anytime soon, but it definitely gave me the added incentive to buy the hormone free, antibiotic free, free range, and grass fed, organic, ect. chicken, eggs and beef. But fast food....not if its meat.
I've written far more than I intended, but I'm 100% committed to my new eating choices and to working out, and I'm extremely thankful that I stumbled across Living Myself to Death. Thank You Johnny.
