Winning By Losing

While the determined Sladed spent his Saturday at the desert in a 102.5-mile bike race, I participated in my own athletic challenge. Sladed burned 4,500 calories in his 6-hour 52-minute race; which is pretty good. But I bet I burned 10 percent of that today when I swam one mile, biked 6 miles (or 15% of Sladed’s achievement) and began to run two miles before getting a debilitating cramp in my calf. Sladed is training for an Ironman Triathlon and I’m conducting a Wussathlon.

Please don’t misunderstand, I am pushing my body further than I have since 70 pounds ago, but I much farther to do. Still, I am constantly amazed at how far the body can be pushed in the first place. Six months ago I couldn’t walk for 15 minutes on a treadmill and now, barring nasty cramps, I can usually run – with some walking – three miles on a treadmill. And I can swim up to 2.5 miles in a workout where I could barely swim 1,000 yards last May.

A lot of what I have been able to do is the direct result of watching Sladed continue to push his body to new and amazing limits. If I didn’t have him as an example, I am not sure I would have been as aggressive at testing the limits of my own body. So, I thank him for leading by example.

The interim news of my efforts is all good, too. Back in April, I finally had enough of my huge gut and poor health. I began a program that was something like the Biggest Loser TV show and lost 14 pounds in six weeks, dropping my weight from 246 to 232. I learned to make better choices in the food I put in my body and, as important, I began to exercise more regularly and more vigorously.

Since then, I am exercising on average 5-6 days each week and, while my diet has slipped some, I am still eating much better and much less. I now weigh 214 pounds, a loss of 32 pounds, and have the goal to be under 200 pounds by the end of the year. This also happens to have been my New Year’s resolution that I had no real belief I could keep. I wasn’t even sure I would try all that hard to fulfill the resolution.

My doctor even likes the results as my most recent blood test reveals that I am no longer technically a diabetic, my blood pressure is actually a bit low so my medication has been cut back, my cholesterol is also low, and a lot of the ailments that used to plague me no longer occur. In short, I feel marvelous.

As I am sure Sladed would concur, regular training and regular focus on diet leads the body and the mind to accept this as your normal lifestyle. Something clicks at some point that almost seems like a compulsion, but I am sure it is just the body settling into a routine. I think the routine can be fragile as I have been in this kind of shape before; about the time that Bill died. His death likely contributed to knocking me off course and, once you begin to slip, it’s such a slippery slope.

And I guess that’s the message that you, the reader, were likely looking for. Weight loss, or anything that requires such concentration, is a full time job and so difficult to keep up with each and every day – especially when tasty ginger snaps or gummy cinnamon bears are within reach. But I am thankful that I have Sladed around to set an example and the support and encouragement of my family to continue with this very worthwhile endeavor. Thank you to you all.

Starting Over

This should come as no surprise to anyone who knew I was traipsing around the country, but I gained back all the weight I lost for the year -- 7 pounds -- in just two weeks. It doesn't surprise me, either. I ate poorly, exercised just twice, had a poor sleep habit and even had a decent amount of alcohol at various beer halls.

I tried looking around for someone else to blame but, in the end, I know I alone must accept the responsibility. I was in a pretty good exercise and eating routine before leaving and I think I believed I was more immune from the temptation of rich food and better prepared to exercise regardless of my circumstances. Instead, the two weeks I was gone were a complete disaster.

So now I am beginning my long path back to where I started. I went to the gym today and will get back into the practice of working up a sweat and embarrassing myself in front of shapely women in the abs class (women who don't look like they need an abs class) before slinking out the door and earning my nickname of "Jumper." Heaven help us all.

Putting On The Pounds

Forgive me Sladed for I have sinned. It had been six days since I last exercised.

All too true. Traveling, as I have found, sucks when it comes to keeping up with one's exercise routine. I switched to working out in ways that can easily be done in any hotel (treadmill, elliptical machine, stationary bikes) and even took classes to learn how to work my abs and strengthen my core (new word application in my dictionary). All the same, between a few airline journeys and running around a bit too much, I was either too tired or too overwhelmed to feel like exercising at the end of the day.

The downside is I feel heavier again and likely have gained back the seven pounds I have worked so hard to rid my flabbiness of. Tonight I took a brisk walk and ran some and feel better, but it is too little and, it would appear, too late.

I feel like a contestant on Biggest Loser who goes home and can't keep up with what he's learned at the campus. So I have too choices, please vote for what you believe to be the best idea: One, I suck it up and exercise twice each day and get into a rhythm of working out so that it feels weird not to, or, two, gain an extra 30-40 pound to make me eligible to be on the Biggest Loser so I can get into that six-hour-a-day workout regimen, get on TV, and have a shot at the grand prize. From what I know of the show from paying attention real, real, hard is that to be on the Biggest Loser Couples show, I need to divorce and go with my ex-wife or have a partner who is not my girlfriend. At least that's as I understand it from the two women in my life.

I wonder, openly, if Diane Lane would put on a few extra pounds to be on the show with me? Actresses are always gaining weight so they can play a role with greater honesty. Being on TV with me would be one of Diane's most challenging roles. I think she should do it. Where is her publicist's number? I know I have it somewhere.