Veritable Virgo

How Much Weight Can I Lose By September 14th?

On Friday, September 14, 2012, I will turn 48 years old. If things go as planned, I will once again celebrate my birthday in Las Vegas surrounded by my friends from the Pride48 community.

Losing weight has been a life-long, on-going process for me. Along this very long road I have seen countless successes and failures alike.

Recently, I decided to get a bit more serious about losing weight, so onto the bathroom scale I went. Not surprisingly, my weight was above the 300 mark. Needless to say, I was not and am not happy with this.

At this weight, my entire body struggles to do the most basic daily tasks. Nonetheless, I push myself forward despite the occasional pain. That said, there are things that I know I can do better if only some of the body volume were not getting in the way.

I’ve been medicated for high blood pressure and acid reflux for several years; two diseases that can directly be traced back to obesity. Now I have sleep apnea and require the use of a CPAP machine. None of this makes me feel good about myself, so the only clear solution is to make change happen so that I can hopefully turn all or some of this around.

Thankfully diabetes isn’t prevalent in my family, for if it were, I would almost assuredly be needing daily injections of insulin as well.

Now, I know some of you might say - well get on a diet and stick to it. If only it were THAT simple. You see, I’ve tried many diets over the many years, with so few of them producing any long-term results. Believe me, I’ve done Weight Watchers more than a few times, along with some of those crazy-fad-diets, as well as a few more nutritionally-sound programs. Some worked, some haven’t, but in many ways, all this dieting has probably done me a disservice since it has almost certainly confused the hell out of my metabolism.

At the end of the day, I don’t want to count POINTS® or feel restricted in any way, and for the most part that’s how most diets make me feel. What I’m told I cannot have, I simply crave.

What I really need is basic healthy food, lots of water and even more exercise. I know this recipe works (pardon the pun), and I just need to dispense with all the psychological bullshit that keeps getting in the way of success. For me, unfortunately, it takes a shitload of upheaval in my life to get me to take action. I’m a master procrastinator and I have a high-tolerance for letting crap amass before I say “Enough!”.

Well, I think I’ve finally reached that critical mass I was waiting for, both physically and mentally.

Tomorrow I begin what I hope is the first of many sessions with a personal trainer. This person has fought many personal battles and has a solid body of muscle to show for it. I’m confident that if nothing else, some good habits for resistance training will stick with me for the long haul. Hopefully what I learn in our time together over the coming weeks will allow me to bring that knowledge into my own health club where I will continue to refine, or perhaps, redefine who I am.

I am looking forward to this new chapter with excitement and caution. I’ve been too sedentary for too long, so the caution comes from knowing that I will be knocked-down-on-my-ass sore and tired after the first workout, but the excitement comes from knowing my body and knowing that overtime I will adapt to this type of lifestyle change.

I’ve done it before and I can do it again.

Each time I do a cycling (spinning) class for the first time, my butt is sore for days and this is true despite the use and aide of padded cycling shorts and a gel seat cover. I guess all that bouncing up and down on the bike seat to simulate riding out on terrain eventually takes its toll. For at least 48 hours post ride, even contact with a soft leather sofa is a painful experience.

I’ve taken some heat for saying that I wouldn’t go to Las Vegas again unless I lose some weight. Many people took that statement to mean that I was worried about what others thought of me because of my weight. That’s not so. My issues come from being stuck on a plane for the six-hour non-stop flight from New England to Nevada. Last year’s trip, my first flight since 1993, was unbelievably uncomfortable. The seat-belt cut into me and my butt barely fit into the standard size seat.

They are 17” wide after all, and I’m, unfortunately not.

While I now understand that you can request a seat-belt extender or purchase an adjacent seat, I don’t relish the thought of doing either. I want to be healthier. I want to feel better. I want to know that I have many years of quality life ahead of me.

Those wants and desires will only be achieved by making changes today, regardless of how difficult they might be, the time is now and I no longer have the luxury of putting any of this off for “another day”.

Thanks for sharing the journey!

V.V.