Day #2 - I Can Lose It - Again:-p

Today my weight remains the same, and my spirits remain high. As usual I walked both directions to and from the subway. This effort results in 24 minutes of walking at a fast pace which is equal to 168 calories, or in layman's terms 2 2/3 of my favorite Brent & Sams Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies. (Disclosure: Why yes, that is a link to Amazon - if you use it and then end up buying anything there - I make a few cents:) Also today I watched a  half hour TV program while using the eliptical trainer (it is cold outside, ya know?). I am now officially ahead of the game. We shall see what happens by next Sunday:-) Hint: I've been down this raod before, and I know exactly where I'm heading... 


That's the thing, isn't it? I want to continue to eat a cookie or two if I darn well want to, and I need to be willing to take full responsibiltiy for what that means, if I really intend to be in control of my weight.


Life is good. 


Making choices is what we all do every day anyway.


See you tomorrow.


-J*

When weight control is a life changer - not the other way around.

It makes sense to me that always before I would completely change the way I lived to accommodate my endless goal of losing weight, but I can see now that I had it backwards.

When I go after losing weight as if  I were learning a new language I am destined to be confronted with a continuous chorus of misunderstandings. When learning a language we really have no choice but to surrender to the fact that we will make mistakes, and there will be times when we have real difficulty being understood.

When learning a language that difficulty is natural. It's acceptable.  But weight control is, by nature, something that cannot be approached with misunderstandings. We want to gain control and keep it. Which means because the "language learning" approach will present stumbling blocks, it by definition cannot be the way. If I know anything, I know that a stumbling block when I'm trying to lose weight is pretty much the end of that method. And then, what am I left with? Why, nothing! I'm left with, I don't know how to do this - so why bother?

When I get to that point - I stop whatever process I'm engaged in. I disconnect with my goal and I disconnect with my body. For me what is needed is the ability to fully connect with a natural way of taking control, which does not mean giving away all control to someone else, letting them tell me what to do. It does not mean that anyone needs to tell me what to eat, how to exercise...or how to live.

To me natural means - "within the way I live now." What I'm expressing in If I Can Lose It... is living my life and being conscious of the choices I make in a more immediate and complete way. This is a greater awareness of what I already have in the way of tools available to me, and making use of them.

The Hard Part

Life is an art.

...is when new pounds appear and we can clearly remember when not so long ago we managed to take them off. But it must be remembered that these are not the same pounds at all. They are new and must be approached with the same degree of intent. This is not about sliding back or any such nonsense. It's about facing up to a new challenge, the key word being new... these are new pounds. They are not the same pounds that were shaved off a while back. This is the challenge: deal with what is happening right now, and do not be tempted to focus on what has already occurred. Those pounds that were previously lost are still gone. Focus then on how you made them to go away before... and do it again.

I'm Back...

There is no hidden meaning in this photo.

I spent the holiday's in Tucson and in spite of long desert walks and constant attention to "getting enough exercise," there was no amount of activity that could possibly stand up to the onslaught of Mexican delights and grandmotherly temptations.

After closing out the material for the book (which is indeed on it's way. Its currently in final inspection before being released to the publisher. I'll let you know more very soon.), I took some time not paying so much attention to my weight. As a consequence (wait for it) I gained four pounds between Dec 2nd and 22nd. It gets worse because by January 3rd when we arrived home I'd gained another two putting me at 186.8. Aaaarugh! I'm huge! Just take me out to the back country, and leave me to find my way back --- or not.

Mark Twain once said, "I am only human, although I regret it." This is not exactly my stance on the subject but rather the being human part of things just happens to come up at the most inopportune and embarrassing moments. I am, after all, the guy touting my ability to control my weight and here I've gained weight!

Here it is January 16 and this is the first time I've had the inclination to step back into the blog and report on my progress or as it turns out the lack thereof.

However there's good news as well: over these last two weeks, using the methods shown in my own material I've started on the downward journey once again.

Today I weighed in at 185.2...  Progress is being made.

Admittedly, I fell off the horse, but as all the stories tell us, it is important to get right back on. The best news of all is that I have a horse to get back on at all. I know exactly how I was controlling my weight before, and I am fully able to make use of those techniques again. I am successfully using them again,  right now. The rules have not changed. It is always a choice to play by the rules or to ignore them.

As I continue to write I will no longer continue the practice of displaying my weight in gigantic numbers at the top of the post. I will not place a countdown clock at the top of the blog,  nor will I create another graph displaying my day to day losses and gains. Instead I will place all appropriate numbers here in the text. I will take my time in the knowledge that this is not a game nor a contest. I am not in a competition, and there is no deadline. Losing weight is what I am doing. As long as I see progress - I'm on track. Anytime I take the position of one who must get to the finish line on time, I will have to remind myself that I'm looking in the wrong direction...

Or you are invited and quite welcome to remind me yourself.

Taking a Break

Although I continue to live my weight control I have decided to take a bit of a break from the blog until a day or three after the New Year. When I return I will report on my progress to that time but I will make no predictions. One thing I have learned for sure is that no matter what I think about what I'm doing the results will consistently be at least a little bit different than my expectations.

If I Can Lose It... a middle aged tech-fanatic's extraordinary journey & guidebook for losing weight is now  in the hands of the designer. When he has completed his task it will be passed to the publishing house, and printing will begin some seven days later. Does this mean that the book will be available before the end of this month? One can only hope. [Reference last line in paragraph above.]

See you in 2011 where we will surely, each and every one of us, be amazed and dazzled by our own abilities.

Peace and good health,

Jon