I have decided to change shape

This blog post has come a bit late as I forgot to post it. So here it is as I wrote it over a month ago.

This last year has been a year of changes for me. In the fall I lost my feline friend Max to cancer, Nov. 29th my longtime girlfriend Lori agreed to marry me, Dec. 23rd I gave up my dependency on Pepsi (yes 80-120 oz a day is a dependency) and now as the Ides of March approaches it is time to make the biggest and most challenging change… I have decided to change shape.

Although the Ides is thought by some to be the day of the full moon I am not a lycanthrope or some other sort of mythical shape changing creature (although I know some people who tell some really good myths about me). For the last few years when people have talked about being in shape I would always respond… I am in shape, round is a shape!

Now it is time for that to change.

This is an adventure I have started numerous times in the past and always seem to go off course. I have tried over and over again so I am hoping that blogging about it as I go will help me stay honest with myself. This is not something that is going to happen overnight but it is something I want it to happen, I need it to happen, and it is something that must happen. My body can no longer handle carrying a quarter keg around with me every where I go. The extra weight has stressed my body in many ways. I have back problems, I have bad knees, I can't run very far, I run out of breath while hiking in the woods and it is time to make sure I get to see my unborn children grow up and have children of their own.

At this point I am not soliciting solutions but rather making an open attempt to become active in two areas that play a big part in determining my shape. First and foremost I must exercise more, second I need to become more aware of how much I consume.

There is just no way around the first item on my list. When the extent of my exercise on some days is going downstairs to the fridge and then back up the stairs to my desk I would consider that a FAIL on this topic I must do more. Using 12oz curls as an exercise… FAIL!! I have no one to blame for this situation but myself. No one can exercise for me I MUST do this myself.

Number two on my list is portion size. Since I really really enjoy eating food I am not going to make a promise to myself that I can't keep. I am not going to "give up" those certain foods that are the biggest contributor to my shape (pizza, steak, fries, ect) because I like them so much I just can't do it (been there, tried that, FAILED). This time I am only going to promise to better manage the portions of those foods that I do eat (and I am hoping Lori will help me with this). Ordering large portions must stop. I have a mental weakness that seems to prevent me from leaving uneaten portions on the table so the cure for this is to order less. Eating till I am full may be satisfying but must also stop.


Now an update on this blog… I am down almost 10 lbs.