Well, the last two weeks have been fairly slow as far as fat loss goes. I’m down to 222 lbs now. In some way, there’s a special zen-like quality in contemplating having a weight where all three digits are the same. If I have my way, I’ll never have this experience again. The next lowest number would be 111, and the next highest 333. Both are places I’ll never go.
But what’s been most interesting to me are the small things. My goal, as I’ve stated all along, is to get fit and put on as much muscle as I can while reducing as much fat as I can. In that vein, things are going well.
- The pants that used to fit me snugly and look pretty good when I was fatter are now getting very droopy in the butt, and I can slide them right off without unbuttoning them. Time to retire them… which is a sad thing because I think they are great pants.
- I had to spend a long time bent over at the waist doing some work on fixtures over the weekend, and I suddenly realized partway through that I could breathe. If you haven’t been obese, you have probably never had this experience before. Most of us Big People know this as the “tying your shoes” experience: when you bend over, you have to fully exhale and can get nothing but shallow breaths as you tie your shoes. I was able to breathe deeply the whole time. It was nice to recognize I wasn’t out of breath and light-headed while hunched over.
- I didn’t care about carrying in all the baggage on my family’s vacation. In fact, it was a pleasant workout, and the only part I didn’t like was the cold. I wasn’t breathing hard — despite the 1500 foot altitude difference — and lugging those heavy bags back and forth for a half-dozen trips didn’t leave me tired and worn out.
- One of the Christmas presents I received was one of those “Iron Gym” doohickies, as seen on TV. The thing where you hang it from your doorframe and do chin-ups. Well, I can do two full chin-ups now. Months ago, I couldn’t even do one.
- The Wii Fit says I’m only 9 pounds away from my goal today, as opposed to twenty-five pounds a few months ago.
Hey, in the pursuit of personal motivation, the small accomplishments matter. I haven’t lost thirty pounds… I’ve lost five pounds six times.