Just Do It...

I began "doing it" last spring. I was nearing 300# and enough was enough. I started moving instead of finding reasons to sit and work. I worked to reduce my food intake along the way.

I now work a job where I am on my feet, moving fast enough to hold a rolling sweat for as much as 12-14 hours a day. Yes, at first it hurt. Now, I feel worse when I sit than when I move. I've dropped over 30# and with that 2 pants sizes. I've punched two new holes in my favorite (Amish made leather) belt. As a badge of honor, I now have 5 "smile marks" on that belt where the leather is worn in from use.

My wife and I also started spending 4 days a week in the gym while I was still at the seminary. Monday and Wednesday were in the weight room where I did a double fast circuit of the weight machines with as much weight as I could push, pull, or press for 13-15 reps. I went from big muscle group to small, one after one, and repeated the process for the second loop. No rest between reps. That generally took me an hour. I often finished with 30 minutes on the recumbent bike, set on max, where I tried to get my heart rate above 130 (seldom did, I have strong legs!). When I started the weight routine, I was pushing 60-80# on most machines. After 3 months, I was maxed out on most of the machines (250+). I was also doing 100 reps (50 on each cycle) on the stomach machine with 100# on board instead of the 13-15 reps on all the other machines. It was great feeling strong again!

On the opposing days, I was in the pool for aqua aerobics. We spent an hour in the pool burning calories. In many cases, the pool was a harder workout than the weight room, but the water made it feel less intense.

I'm now in the 250s, considerably tightened up, and walking over 4 miles a day for work and play. Can't wait for skiing season this year, as we are back in Wisconsin where there is real snow and skiing opportunities!