The Circus Bear and The Skinny Guy

A friend of mine posted the photo on the right on his blog. I thought it would be cool to compare that with a an older photo of me. The picture on the left is from three years ago at the same ride. I look like a Circus Bear on a bike. I am having a hard time understanding the feelings that ran through me as I stared at these two photos. I stared at the photos for over an hour. I was overwhelmed with so many different feelings: happiness, sadness, pleasure, guilt, accomplishment, embarrassment, success, failure and many more. I am overjoyed with the new me, yet I am very embarrassed that the old me ever existed. Do we have to be a failure at something before we see success. Do we need to hit rock bottom before we climb out? What does it take for us to realize we need change in our lives? I honestly thought I was going to cry. I did at one point have to wipe my eyes.

How can something as simple as losing weight make such a difference in your life? Nothing about losing weight is simple. The process is certainly not and the positive affect of weight loss is far from simple. I believe most people realize how hard it is to lose weight. I also believe that most people underestimate the positive affect of weight loss. This leads most of us to believe the hard work to lose the weight is not worth the payoff. I am here to tell you the payoff is worth ten times the work.

The first thirteen weeks were the core of the program. You adhere to a strict plan consuming only the food provided by the program. You are required to go to a class each week. You pick up your food, see a nurse and step on the scales. Every three weeks you take a blood test and see the doctor. This part of the program was very important to me. I needed the accountability and someone watching over my shoulder as I step on the scale.

This week is week fifteen of the program. This is called the Transition part of the program. We start introducing fruits and vegetables and prepare for the maintenance phase. Before this program, you couldn't pay me to eat vegetables. The only may my wife could get vegetables into my stomach was to hide them on my meat lovers pizza. The maintenance phase is just as important as the core phase. In fact, statistically speaking, ninety-nine percent of people that don't go through the maintenance phase regain most if not all of the weight. Putting the weight back on is not an option for me. I will be in maintenance for a long time.

You have seen the visual change so lets get to the numbers. Over the last fifteen weeks I have lost thirty-one pounds. I have lost eight and half inches from my waist and one and half inches from my neck. My blood pressure has dropped from and average of around one-hundred and thirty-five to below one-hundred and twenty. My resting heart rate is in the thirties and averages in the mid fifties during the day. I dropped my bad cholesterol by over twenty points and raised my good cholesterol by seven points.

I have not completely reached my weight loss goals. I still have a few more pounds to lose. My weight loss has slowed the last few weeks. I have been training for the Ironman Longhorn 70.3 in Austin, Texas. That has required me to consume a lot more calories than someone would normally consume at this phase of the program. I expect to regain the momentum after the event and lose the remaining weight.

The 70.3 event is just ten days away. I am in the best shape of my life and I am pumped. I have had two bad experiences in my previous attempts. The first attempt ended with me quitting due to heavy cramping. The second attempt was ended early due to bad weather. To tell you the truth, I am not sure I would have made it. I was experiencing heavy cramping and was already walking the run. I have my chance for redemption. I want my sticker!