Change Is Hard

Tonight I've had an epiphany of sorts.

I've made it a habit of trying to breakdown my screwy mindset with this whole losing weight process. I know that I can achieve my goal physically (because I got went from 240-215 during the summer of 2005), but I feel that something needs to click mentally before I can get back to that.

Summer of '05 after my first 10k race (215 lbs)

Do I need to have my world rocked by scary, physical statistics about unhealthy I am? Oh wait, I've been there and done that. Maybe I need to do some physical accomplishment so I can realize what I'm capable of if I put my mind to it. What? I've run four half marathons? Darn...

Sometimes I just sit back, throw up my arms and wonder, "So what needs to click?!?"

Well after talking with my wonderful wife this evening, I think I've narrowed down some things. Maybe I'm scared and intimidated by the lifestyle changes I'd have to endure in order to reach my goal. Could it be that my innate desire to be comfortable and inconvenienced supersedes my desire to put in the work to lose 75 pounds?

Let's hope not.

Does the bad food really taste that good? Nope.  Do I lack support and encouragement not only from family members, but also from those who have accomplished last weight loss before me? Not at all! Am I just being a lazy wuss who doesn't want to "work too hard" to accomplish not only a wanted goal, but a NEEDED one? Now we might be onto something...

Every day that passes is one day closer to my 'goal date' - I need to be making better use of these days!

Me. Gym. 6 a.m. tomorrow morning.

Now Where Were We?

Lately, (especially in the area of weight loss) I've been really good at starting things gung-ho only to fizzle out or give up after a week or two. A recent health & fitness endeavor fell into this category, but it's time to resurrect it and give it new life!

I've actually TWICE tried to do the "90-Day Fitness Challenge" by former Biggest Loser contestants Phil & Amy Parham. If you glance back a handful of posts, you'll actually see some entries pertaining to said challenge. I made it through a solid week of the challenges, but probably only put about 45% of my effort into it.

Before Jason Bourne, I wanted to be Michael Scofield

I'm also the kind of person who likes to begin unfinished tasks from the BEGINNING again. Even though I've seen 3 seasons of the show "Prison Break," I recently started from the very genesis of the series and watch it all the way through to completion. Even though I've already read "The Bourne Identity" as well as "The Bourne Supremacy," I had to re-read them before moving on to "The Bourne Ultimatum" once I got it.

Okay, maybe I'm slightly O.C.D. So sue me.

Either way, I'm giving the Parham's a second chance. And since it's par for the course, I'm starting again from the beginning. But instead of trying to post every day about the challenge, I'll just post once a week showcasing my favorite or most helpful challenges from the previous week.

Sound like a deal? Raise your hand if you care. Yeah, that's what I thought...but it's not for your benefit anyway. Just please read along - because I love watching that little view counter on the right-hand side move in the positive direction. Savvy?

Also, I'll now be posting my weight loss progress in the column on the right of the page. (In case you were curious).

Yours Truly,
Jordan

Post Blog Thought (P.B.T.): Maybe I continue to fall back to my heaviest because of this nagging urge to always start failed projects over from the beginning...

"Obese" & "Poor"

I have a history of thinking that certain things don't apply to me. When I was in 6th and 7th grade, I unfortunately didn't think that my teachers' or parents' rules were things I needed to follow. As a cameraman at sporting events, I figure that regulations and boundaries on regular spectators don't include me, so I can walk all over the football field. 

And for the last couple of years, I thought that the BMI Scale didn't apply to me.

But after visiting Trinity Christian College's new Human Performance Lab and getting some vital statistics tested, I think I need to take off my blinders and face the music...

I'm a big guy.

At Trinity, I found out my Body Fat % (41.7%) and my VO2 Max score (33).

Body Fat % Categories

VO2 Max Norms for Men

After looking at these charts, you can see that my Body Fat % puts me WELL into the "obese" category, and my measly score of 33 for my VO2 Max puts me on the border of "poor" and "very poor." 

But...but...I've run four half marathons! How can I find myself labeled obese and poor?!

I think either I've been lied to all these years, or I've just refused to believe it. 

So what does that mean for today? Tomorrow? 6 months from now? It means that every decision of every day is valuable. It means that my health should be near the top of my list of priorities (behind finding a job and loving my wife), and that it should be a focal point of every day - and especially every meal. 

So here goes nothing!