As I explained in the previous post, about a year ago I came to realize something had to change. I had gone past the point of being charmingly plump. I was now more in the range of a disgusting pile of lard. And more than that, I was a disgusting pile of lard who consumed at least 1,500 calories a day in soda.
Yeah, you read that right. At least 1,500 calories a day in soda, and often times it would be more. An average adult should consume about 2000 calories a day total. I was getting almost all of that just in soda. I love me some soda. Coke, Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, A&W Root Beer, Sprite, Sunkist.... Love it. LOVE it. Loooooovvvveee it.
I could down a 2-liter with a meal, plus almost a six pack and several 20 ounce bottles a day. One of the local convenience store/gas stations has 44 ounce fountain sodas for 99 cents. One or two of those were also in the mix each day. I was an expert at watching the sales and getting my best deal so I could buy as much soda as possible with what I had budgeted for my habit.
Other than the occasional candy binge, I wasn't eating a lot of sweets. I didn't eat bigger meals than anyone else. In fact I've got several friends that would easily consume more than me when eating. Granted, I wasn't a poster-boy for healthy eating, but it didn't seem that bad.
Obviously a big step in the right direction would be to cut out the soda. Not cut back, cut out. Completely. I knew I couldn't cut back. I couldn't just have some. At various times I had halfheartedly tried to cut back. If anything I wound up drinking more.
It was time for a drastic change. And I wasn't looking forward to that.
Feb 28, 2011
Feb 27, 2011
What led to the Journey?
Last post I introduced the Journey. Now is time to begin to elaborate on what I'm talking about.
I'm fat. I know that may come as a shock to some of you, but it's true. Some have used the term "morbidly obese". But I think that doctor was just trying to be a meanie. I've been fat most of my life, with a few exceptions.
My freshman & sophomore year of high school I was in wrestling and thanks to Mr. Short's coaching I was in decent shape. My first four years out of high school I worked in the timber industry and it was an extremely physical job. I was actually in really good shape then.
And then I moved to Wasilla. For the first time in my life I had easy access to fast food. And I continued to drink large amounts of soda. Although I was active, I wasn't nearly as active as when I was logging. And because I had always been at least chubby, I didn't notice that I was getting fatter & fatter until it was too late.
Well, that's not entirely true. I noticed. Everyday there was reminders that things weren't right. But I did my best to ignore them. It's like people do with personal finances. They know they are in debt, but avoid actually adding up how much because the amount will scare them. But that doesn't fix the problem. Often it makes it worse. Denial isn't just a river in Egypt.
So there I was a little over a year ago. I was down to just a few clothing items that actually fit. Physically, more and more things were getting harder and harder to do. It's not a good thing when you can no longer get bent over to tie your shoes.
I knew things had to change. And I knew it wasn't going to be easy. And I'm a big fan of easy.
So, I began the Journey...
I'm fat. I know that may come as a shock to some of you, but it's true. Some have used the term "morbidly obese". But I think that doctor was just trying to be a meanie. I've been fat most of my life, with a few exceptions.
My freshman & sophomore year of high school I was in wrestling and thanks to Mr. Short's coaching I was in decent shape. My first four years out of high school I worked in the timber industry and it was an extremely physical job. I was actually in really good shape then.
And then I moved to Wasilla. For the first time in my life I had easy access to fast food. And I continued to drink large amounts of soda. Although I was active, I wasn't nearly as active as when I was logging. And because I had always been at least chubby, I didn't notice that I was getting fatter & fatter until it was too late.
Well, that's not entirely true. I noticed. Everyday there was reminders that things weren't right. But I did my best to ignore them. It's like people do with personal finances. They know they are in debt, but avoid actually adding up how much because the amount will scare them. But that doesn't fix the problem. Often it makes it worse. Denial isn't just a river in Egypt.
So there I was a little over a year ago. I was down to just a few clothing items that actually fit. Physically, more and more things were getting harder and harder to do. It's not a good thing when you can no longer get bent over to tie your shoes.
I knew things had to change. And I knew it wasn't going to be easy. And I'm a big fan of easy.
So, I began the Journey...
Feb 26, 2011
Introducing You to the Journey
This begins a new theme to this blog. My posts up to this have come in spurts on a variety of topics. And I will continue to post on Geocaching, personal finances, and pursuing God.
But I am now going to also focus on a Journey that is already a year in the making.I'm talking about my transition from a man to a woman using hormone treatments and eventually surgical gender reassignment.
Ha! I'm just messing with you! I got your attention, though... I'm way too ugly to be a woman.
So, what is this Journey? Stay tuned to find out...
But I am now going to also focus on a Journey that is already a year in the making.I'm talking about my transition from a man to a woman using hormone treatments and eventually surgical gender reassignment.
Ha! I'm just messing with you! I got your attention, though... I'm way too ugly to be a woman.
So, what is this Journey? Stay tuned to find out...
Jan 22, 2011
Are You a Nail or a Bullet?
A successful nail is one that does it's job by staying in one place for a very long time.
A successful bullet is one that does it's job and then gets out of the way for the next bullet to get in there and do it's job.
A bullet makes a lousy nail. A nail makes a lousy bullet.
Using a bullet when you need a nail is bad. Using a nail when you need a bullet is bad.
Trying to be a nail in the chamber of a rifle is not good. Trying to be a bullet stuck in the wall is not good.
Bullets are useful. Nails are useful. Figure out which one you are, or what your situation requires. Don't get the two mixed up.
A successful bullet is one that does it's job and then gets out of the way for the next bullet to get in there and do it's job.
A bullet makes a lousy nail. A nail makes a lousy bullet.
Using a bullet when you need a nail is bad. Using a nail when you need a bullet is bad.
Trying to be a nail in the chamber of a rifle is not good. Trying to be a bullet stuck in the wall is not good.
Bullets are useful. Nails are useful. Figure out which one you are, or what your situation requires. Don't get the two mixed up.
Jan 14, 2011
Ironic, Isn't It? Part Three...
From Uncle John's Heavy Duty Bathroom Reader:
"At the head offices of the National Association of Telemarketers in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, a sign is posted on the front door that reads "Absolutely NO SOLICITING"
Anyone that has ever had dinner interrupted by a telemarketer not only sees the irony here, but the glaring hypocrisy. They represent a group that regularly intrude into our homes and workplace via the ringing of a telephone; but they themselves do not want to bothered.
A few years back we dropped our home phone. The wife & I both had cell phones and that's how most of our friends & family would contact us. The only calls we got on our land line phone were telemarketers.
I work in an office of a company that does the testing, adjusting & balancing on commercial HVAC systems. During the course of any one day at least 30% of the calls are telemarketers. It's incredibly annoying.
I'm sure there's some clever lesson I could draw out of the irony here, but just talking about gets me all riled up... Grrrr....
"At the head offices of the National Association of Telemarketers in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, a sign is posted on the front door that reads "Absolutely NO SOLICITING"
Anyone that has ever had dinner interrupted by a telemarketer not only sees the irony here, but the glaring hypocrisy. They represent a group that regularly intrude into our homes and workplace via the ringing of a telephone; but they themselves do not want to bothered.
A few years back we dropped our home phone. The wife & I both had cell phones and that's how most of our friends & family would contact us. The only calls we got on our land line phone were telemarketers.
I work in an office of a company that does the testing, adjusting & balancing on commercial HVAC systems. During the course of any one day at least 30% of the calls are telemarketers. It's incredibly annoying.
I'm sure there's some clever lesson I could draw out of the irony here, but just talking about gets me all riled up... Grrrr....
Jan 8, 2011
Ironic, Isn't It? Part Two...
From Uncle John's Heavy Duty Bathroom Reader:
"After actress Brittany Murphy, 32, died of a heart attack while taking a shower in December 2009, First Look Pictures immediately recalled and replaced the DVD cover art for her recently released film, Deadline. The reason: It depicted Murphy as a lifeless corpse lying in a bathtub."
The lesson we can take from this: Sometimes things just happen. Now, I deeply believe there are times when things happen for a reason. Sometimes what we want to call a "coincidence" is God orchestrating His divine plan for our lives.
But, sometimes things do "just happen." Some people would read this story and say: "Well, she cursed herself by letting herself be depicted dying in a shower." The truth is people die in the shower every day. In fact, my grandfather passed away in 1995 after having a heart attack in the shower. And to come at it from the other side, every day actors in film, theater & TV regularly "die" without dying.
If every actor who died in real life died the same way they died while acting, then we could say Brittany Murphy's death was not a coincidence. An example of this is the "Madden Curse." Almost every NFL star who has appeared on the cover of the Madden NFL video game box art has experienced a decline in performance, usually due to an injury.
David McRaney at the "You Are Not So Smart" blog talks about the Texas Sharp-Shooter Fallacy. (David is a genius. It would be well worth your time to read this post...)
The basic premise is that with hindsight being 20/20, we take what are really random events and force them into an picture that makes sense to us. We don't like randomness.
The hard part is discerning when something is a random coincidence and when it's not. And if you figure out how to do that, let me know so you can teach me...
"After actress Brittany Murphy, 32, died of a heart attack while taking a shower in December 2009, First Look Pictures immediately recalled and replaced the DVD cover art for her recently released film, Deadline. The reason: It depicted Murphy as a lifeless corpse lying in a bathtub."
The lesson we can take from this: Sometimes things just happen. Now, I deeply believe there are times when things happen for a reason. Sometimes what we want to call a "coincidence" is God orchestrating His divine plan for our lives.
But, sometimes things do "just happen." Some people would read this story and say: "Well, she cursed herself by letting herself be depicted dying in a shower." The truth is people die in the shower every day. In fact, my grandfather passed away in 1995 after having a heart attack in the shower. And to come at it from the other side, every day actors in film, theater & TV regularly "die" without dying.
If every actor who died in real life died the same way they died while acting, then we could say Brittany Murphy's death was not a coincidence. An example of this is the "Madden Curse." Almost every NFL star who has appeared on the cover of the Madden NFL video game box art has experienced a decline in performance, usually due to an injury.
David McRaney at the "You Are Not So Smart" blog talks about the Texas Sharp-Shooter Fallacy. (David is a genius. It would be well worth your time to read this post...)
The basic premise is that with hindsight being 20/20, we take what are really random events and force them into an picture that makes sense to us. We don't like randomness.
The hard part is discerning when something is a random coincidence and when it's not. And if you figure out how to do that, let me know so you can teach me...
Jan 1, 2011
Ironic, Isn't It? Part One.
I"m a huge fan of Uncle John's Bathroom Readers. They are full of articles on history, science, pop culture and other assorted stuff. All pure brain candy...
This will be the first of a series of short posts from an article in the "Heavy Duty Bathroom Reader."
"A 2010 Indiana University study found that anti-drinking commercials that use scare tactics tend to bring out "feelings so unpleasant that alcoholics are compelled to eliminate them by whatever means possible." According to the study's respondents, they cope by drinking. Result: "Alcoholics actually drink more that if they hadn't been exposed to the ads in the first place." "
Anyone that has ever inhaled a gallon of Rocky Road ice cream while watching the Biggest Loser finds this as no surprise.
The lesson for leaders/teachers/preachers: Guilt & scare tactics are not effective motivators.
The lesson for the rest of us: Know what triggers your bad behaviors and be prepared to react differently.
This will be the first of a series of short posts from an article in the "Heavy Duty Bathroom Reader."
"A 2010 Indiana University study found that anti-drinking commercials that use scare tactics tend to bring out "feelings so unpleasant that alcoholics are compelled to eliminate them by whatever means possible." According to the study's respondents, they cope by drinking. Result: "Alcoholics actually drink more that if they hadn't been exposed to the ads in the first place." "
Anyone that has ever inhaled a gallon of Rocky Road ice cream while watching the Biggest Loser finds this as no surprise.
The lesson for leaders/teachers/preachers: Guilt & scare tactics are not effective motivators.
The lesson for the rest of us: Know what triggers your bad behaviors and be prepared to react differently.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)