What the heck is the deal with being “health conscious”? Do we wake up one day and say “whoa, I’ve had no idea all my life that I had to take care of myself! I should get on that” ? It sure seems that way to me…
I’m used to be one of those guys that most people hate. You know, the people who can eat whatever they want, and never put on any weight. There’s a downside to being one of “those” people. And that is this: eventually, for most of us, one day there is an awakening.
I used to be skinny. One of the “type A” geeks, burning off thousands of calories just sitting still. But in the last three years I gained about 40 pounds and nearly six inches around the waist. Imagine a pregnant toothpick. Yeah, that was my body shape.
I woke up one day in January of this year and realized I was about to go out and buy pants with a 40 inch waistline. I decided this had to stop. I had to institute a program of exercise. And I needed to learn about what I was eating. As is natural with such things, I decided to buy a gadget to help me. Several, actually.
I did some research, and a couple of weeks later my wife and I were proud owners of a Bowflex Ultimate [1] exercise system. And a digital scale that calculates body fat percentage. Armed with these tools, which included a diet plan courtesy of the nice Bowflex people, my wife and I started our new health program.
From sausage rolls and chocolate bars to protein shakes and Lean Cuisines: a startling change. Irene has lost a number of pounds (I don’t think she’d want me to say exactly how many). I’ve lost about 16 pounds so far, and 3 inches off my waist. In about 2 months. My goal isn’t to lose a ton of weight, but rather to start building some muscle: that seems to be happening, although it will be a while yet before Mr Schwartzenegger [2] has anything to worry about. And I now know why its bad to eat an entire bag of potato chips at a sitting.
I’m also feeling a lot better: better, stronger, faster (I see images of Steve Austin running along a highway [3] at this point…). I don’t really feel like I’m suffering. So, why wasn’t I doing this ten years ago? I have to assume that I wasn’t stupid before. I always knew the “eat right and exercise” mantra.
Maybe I’m just a good procrastinator. I remember thinking about exercising a few times back when I was about 16 years old. I guess I just put it off for 23 years…