Today is the Day
Posted on 10/01/2013 by dsjohndrow
If you have ever run a foot race, piloted a boat out of a harbor or shopped at Walmart on Black Friday, you have experienced the feeling of being confined. I have run races with thousands of runners; so many in fact that the first mile was almost walking until the crowd thinned out. Even a small boat needs to obey the rules, staying within the channel so that it doesn't run up on a reef. And every one knows that you are taking your life into your hands shopping at big-box stores on Black Friday.Many of us are ex-fat people in the making, breaking the chains of confinement. A few of my readers are at thier goal.
This week the scale hit 199.6. That is 12.4 pounds from my goal weight. The dial on the scale hasn't seen this weight for more than a millisecond since 2004. Back then, I lost 32 pounds in 6 months following the Dr. Phil diet. I went to the gym and did 20 minutes of cardio as well as running the weight circuit 3 times a week. I remember being on the treadmill and huffing and puffing after running 6 miles per hour for one entire minute. To make the most of my time, I cranked the incline up to the maximum. This is how I got plantar fasciitis. It was a combination of obesity, lack of proper stretching, improperly fitting running shoes, and the high incline.
Because of the injury, I quit exercising - my progress card lay dormant in the weight room of the YMCA.
I thought I got fat again because I couldn't exercise, but what really happened is that I slowly started eating larger portions and making increasingly bad food choices. Where did I go wrong? After all, I had increased my fruit and vegetable consumption, kicked the daily soda habit and spent more time cooking at home and less time eating out.
You can't out exercise a bad diet.
What happened is that I did not make a lifestyle change. I didn't really care about being fit. I substituted diet junk for the real junk, and I believed a lot of food labeling including phrases like "all natural," "low fat," "0 calories," and a host of other marketing slogans aimed at making me think that my diet was healthy. I embraced an occasional splurge meal, and never read a label. I tried to follow the guidelines in the book, but it was about comparing numbers and never understanding what trans-fats were, the impact of sodium on my health and the difference between whole wheat and whole grain.
I was; however, so serious about my weight loss that I went out and bought an entire new wardrobe of skinny clothes. Unfortunately, as they wore out, the sizes kept pace with my weight gain. I was confused, maybe I lost weight too fast? I didn't really have an answer. Each time I went to the doctor there was a new caution about cholesterol, sugar, blood pressure and that was always followed by "and lose some weight."
What is different this time? In the beginning, nothing. I went back to some of the things I learned before. I dumped the rice, potatoes, and white flour products. I ate less fast food, and I started back to the gym in spite of having a number of issues which made it downright miserable. But I did it.
I came to a crossroad as I lay in ICU.
I could give up, or I could change my life, my eating habits and learn about the foods that would help me recover. I started walking as soon as I could. First a few hundred yards, and then portions of a mile. I got an appointment with a nutritionist and we started working on my food choices. I replaced bad food with healthier options, got a food scale and learned to read a label. In fact, most of the food I bought didn't even have a label!
The details are in my in my new book, ICU to Marathon.
I recently posted "Gaining weight back has next to nothing to do with how fast you lose weight. It has to do with unsustainable dieting and not sticking with a life change." Many of my friends agreed. There was one that mentioned a hormone called ghrelin that makes us feel hungry after we've lost weight. (MORE HERE and a host of others, as well as suggestions for beating the primal screams.) A couple of other long-time friends mentioned emotional eating. As a recovering addict, I know a lot of about emotional binges with just about everything from booze to running. I am not saying I am not tempted to splurge, or have an extra helping of something I like to help me escape the stress. I am not in judgement of those that fall pray either. This is a tough journey!
Many of you know about my miraculous recovery from congestive heart failure, and that fact that I run a lot even though I have had knee surgery. I don't know how you do it, but for me it is through faith, education and living a day at a time.
Yesterday was a tough day. I went to the doctor and had a blood test. Although it is not a definitive test, it reveled the possibility of cancer. I am scheduled for a biopsy.
I have choices. I can trust God like I have in the past or not. I can go for a run, or I can sit home feeling sorry for myself and eat. Most of us can't say we have the perfect life. Something is always going awry: the car, an important relationship, addictions, work, lack of work, our health, finances, kids, no kids, and a long list of other thorns in the butt like flat tires, running out of gas, losing our car keys and donuts in the break room... To quote country singer Darryl Worley, "sounds like life to me; plain 'ol destiny - yeah the only thing for certain is uncertainty."
In the end, we always have choices to make when it comes to food. Today I am going for a run. Then I am going to come home and thank God I still can do that. Then I will look for a job, and because I need it for me and my family, hopefully find a way to keep my health insurance which ended yesterday. Then I am going to be with my family because they are the most important part of my life. And for today, I am going to stick with my long-time food habits.
Thanks for the therapy session, see you at the track in about an hour.
78 votes + -
18 comments:
Add Comment