The Fun Begins

For what it's worth - I'm 240 pounds.

I guess that's bad. My BMI would certainly tell you that.

I could care less that I weigh 240 pounds. If I was fitting into my pants without a gut hanging over my belt, if I could keep up with my kids at soccer practice, if I could present to people with confidence and be 240 pounds than I'll go with it.

I have no plans to weigh myself again. Ever. I'm sure there will be situations where I'm asked to step on a scale and I'll comply - but I won't be paying any attention to the result. The only reason I weighed myself at all was because I asked to meet with a personal trainer because as much as I hate to admit it I don't know what the hell I'm doing when it comes to weights and part of their schtick is to weigh you. And that's fine.

I started working out a couple of weeks before 2015 rolled in but I guess I could still be labeled a "resolutionary." Statistics say that by mid-February I'll be done with the gym. But I'm doing my best to avoid the mistakes that I've made in the past, the same mistakes people make every year.

I won't make it about weight. That's hardly revolutionary - for years it's been known that if you're weight loss regimen is a constant focus on the scale it's doomed to fail.  But people want that objective win. So the cycle begins: You join a gym, or buy some of that  Nutri-System crap (anybody else ever enjoyed their dry burger in a bag?)  and you have a kick ass first week... You lose 5 or as many as 10 pounds - You're HOT!!! So you double down the second week...You work out even harder, your daily diet becomes a scoop of peanut butter and an apple and you get on the scale and...shit...you only lost one or two pounds. BUT YOU'RE KILLING YOURSELF...And from there the downward spiral begins - it's all over within a month.

Not this time - screw the scale.

I'm starting slow...Slow as hell. The first day at the gym I walked on the treadmill for 45 minutes and notched a whopping 2.3 miles. That's so slow that it insults the concept of slow. But whatever - I've gotten better every day (although I don't use the treadmill every day). In the past I've gone and blown myself out on the first day and killed any joy out of it within 3 weeks.

I won't be "checking in" at the gym. There's just something screwy about that.."Look at me!!! I'm at the gym!!!" To me if you're checking in - it means you don't plan to be there very often. It's also begging for false praise..."You look GREAT!" because damn it...you gotta be polite!

I'll diet eventually - but not until the spirit moves me. I haven't tried to do anything healthy in well over 4 years. If I've learned anything over the years is that I can't overhaul who I am in a day, a week, whatever. If the only thing I change this year is that I exercise more - I'll live with that. In the past I've decided I'm going to exercise 1 hour/day and become a vegan overnight - it hasn't worked.

I'm 43 and even at 18 I wasn't much of an athlete. I'm not trying to become something I never was. I just want to feel better.

And if someone happens to notice that I look better - well I'll take that too!!!