Monthly Update

I was talking with a student the other day who's struggling in some classes to the point that he's ready to give up - he's so far behind that it's causing him to think he'll never get it all done.  As I sometimes do, I managed to turn it around and make it all about me, and talked about setting achievable goals, like the thought process I went through last December/January.  At the time I was thinking I needed/wanted to lose fifty pounds (50 pounds!!).  Not possible.  So I started small, with the first goal being to exercise five out of seven days.

Well, here I am 15 months later, and I can tell you that the idea is basically working!  "Basically" because I have learned a few things along the way that have surprised me; more on that later.

First, the update:

Weight as of January 1, 2013:  226 pounds
Weight as of March 31, 2014:  194 pounds
Net loss: 32 pounds!
Miles ridden in March:  100 miles (March is always the lowest mileage month for me.  Unless April is...  Way too much going on in life for March to be too good.)  
Total bike miles in 2014 - 575!!  (new PR for this time of year!)
The good news:  ALL of my clothes fit me.  I am receiving regular compliments from people (one former student sent me a text after seeing me at a concert - "you're not allowed to lose that much weight again without telling me!").  I feel pretty good.  (I still don't look good in a spandex bicycle jersey, but we've had that conversation...)

Here's the weird thing:  I hate getting compliments and stuff about this.  Why?  Because I think I'm sort of afraid I'll ultimately fail.  You've all seen "that guy:" the one who loses a ton of weight, supposedly turns his life around, then starts eating "regular" food again and gains it all back.  Sometimes more.  Then what does he say to all of those folks who told him how great he looked?  What does he tell himSELF??  I can imagine that would do wonders for my fragile self-esteem...  

Why should that worry me?  Maybe because it's actually happened.  I lost 25 pounds back in 1995; became a lifetime member of Weight Watchers (I should write about WW - I really appreciate the help I received from them).  Got down to 178 pounds (do the math - 16 more pounds to go to get back there).  And at various times in the ensuing years I have gained, lost, gained, lost, etc.  If you don't think there's a little voice inside my head reminding me I will fail once again, then you have probably never met me.  So, for a peek inside my head (a scary place), you can imagine, "hey, I've lost more weight than I did before," is quickly answered with, "yeah, and you gained twice as much as you lost, which is why you needed to lose again."  BUT...  So far I haven't quieted those voices with a pint of Ben and Jerry's!

I honestly don't think I look all that different.  People say that's because I see myself every day, and the folks who don't can really tell a difference.  Perhaps.  I'll feel better when my waistbands no longer roll over when I sit down, I guess.  On the upside, I actually need a belt for all my pants as a functional accessory, not a fashionable one :)

But back to the "regular food" idea for a minute.  What if I don't go back??  Could that possibly work?  Because here's the thing, gentle reader: there really might be something to this whole vegan idea.  Seriously.  You read the post about my cholesterol and other health stuff, right?  (really? sigh...  go read it right now...)  Well, I've done enough vegan-style eating to realize a couple of things:
 - If it's plant-based it's probably not bad for you 
 - I haven't counted calories in several months (except for fun to figure out how many calories might be in something)
 - My body is responding in ways I didn't think possible
 - I think I can continue on this path for the long term
 - I think I have to continue on this path for the long term...

Here's something that I found out based on my own non-scentific research; turns out others are figuring it out as well.  Apparently you can't just exercise away all of your weight.  That has always been my thing - if I just rode my bike 20, 50,100 miles, I'll eat whatever the heck I want to, thank you very much.  And I would lose weight every season.  Until I wasn't riding as much in the fall/winter.  We discussed this in class a few weeks ago.  Seems it's really a thing; your body uses fuel in a certain way.  It needs the right fuel to operate properly.  So the wrong fuel, like that pizza or pint of B&J's after a ride, won't burn properly.  Or something like that.  You get the idea.

Check this out: here's an article about a guy who's 59 and runs ten miles a day.  And was diagnosed with coronary artery disease.  Finished something like 130 marathons.  Coronary artery disease.  Wow.  Read this:
 - http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303949704579461381883678174?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303949704579461381883678174.html

So there you go.  This post is a week late, and possibly not all that good, but I did some editing today and it's better than it was!  As soon as the two guys working on my hot water tank and new drinking water system are done, I think I'll go for a bike ride!