"Wow, Paul, you look great!"
"I know." I cock my head to the side and smirk.
No, I'm not that conceited, but there is a little truth in the smirk. I feel good about what I have become, even if I don't have that rock hard body I originally wanted. Usually, though, I just say thank you, and sometimes it's the start of a good conversation about how I lost the weight. Often, I hear stories from people about their own struggle with their weight, and since I certainly enjoy talking about it, I can get carried away in discourse.
Sometimes when I meet new people, I forget that they never knew the +80-100 pound me. Sometimes people who did know me then have forgotten what I was like. On Sunday, after my wife mentioned my weight loss in her sermon, someone asked me how much weight I had lost all together. I said between 80-100 pounds, and they told me that they thought maybe I lost 50 pounds. I told her that I carried the weight throughout my body, instead of just one place, so it didn't look like so much.
I'm approaching an anniversary of that transformation. February 6, 2008 was Ash Wednesday and the first day of Lent. My wife and I had previously decided to commit to the Hip Hop Abs program through Beach Body- she wanted to shed the weight she gained from pregnancy and I wanted to finally get to a healthy weight and live a healthy life... this time, for good.
The first level is 30 days, so we started the eating part of the transformation on the Feb. 6 and the exercise part on that Sunday. Lent is 40 days long and is a season of fasting- often, people will give up something for those 40 days, sometimes people will add some sort of discipline during that time- it's rooted in the Christian tradition to mark the 40 days that Jesus spent being tempted by the devil in the desert after his baptism and before his ministry began. We gave up our old eating habits and added an exercise program. Add to that a good dose of regular prayer, and you've got a healthy Lenten discipline.
Hip Hop Abs encourages you to measure your waist, hips, thighs, and chest, then to take shirtless pictures from the front, side, and back before you begin the program. Then to do the same at the end. It's hard to see the difference when you look at yourself in the mirror all the time, but after you take that picture after 30 days and compare, the difference is astonishing.
All this gave me an idea.
I am offering a 40 day Lenten Challenge. Lent this year starts on February 22, so you have over a month to prepare, and to recruit friends and family.
Here's the challenge: begin now to think about one thing that you hold on to so tightly, that you can't imagine living without. Maybe it's soda, pastry, smoking, drinking, sweets, a TV show, whatever. Make your selection and find a partner... and, get ready for this... give it up completely. You are only committing to 40 days without, and in the grand scheme of things that's not too long.
Make it something BIG. For example, if it's soda- then give up soda- not just switch to diet soda or juice, but give up all sweet beverages. If it's beer- then don't just give up beer, give up all alcoholic beverages. If it's pastries- then give up all deserts or sweet treats.
Once you've decided what that ONE BIG thing is, then find something healthful to replace it with. If you gave up sweet beverage, for example, find other ways to enjoy water, tea, or coffee. Try getting vanilla bean and soaking it in a pitcher of water- try squeezing a lime or lemon into a glass of water. Or just try try to learn how to enjoy water.
Add ONE activity that is healthy- a new exercise discipline, like walking, biking, swimming, yoga, aerobics, hip hop abs, etc. Don't throw yourself from a sedentary life into running or P90X; pick something reasonable and start small.
I recommend 4 appointments to make (I will give my reasoning as to why and you decide whether you need to; but none of these appointments are a bad idea for anyone)
1.) Your doctor- tell your doctor what you want to do; get your cholesterol, sugar, blood pressure numbers; get his or her advice on weight loss, then proceed to step 2
2.) Therapist- a therapist can get at some of the deeper issues that you may need to deal with in order to make sure this lifestyle change sticks; who knows, maybe some of the weight issues are related to some emotional stresses and past experiences- a good therapist can help, and insurances often cover it, so get the emotional help you need, it can make a world of difference for you
3.) Nutritionist- sometimes insurance covers this, but a good nutritionist is a professional and can give sound advice on food consumption and help you plan a successful diet plan that can help the transformations in your diet stick
4.) *Personal Trainer- I've never seen insurance cover this, so this may be a little costly. The nice thing about a personal trainer is that they know what exercises target what goals and they can help you do them correctly so that you don't get injured. Only a few sessions can be the difference between getting a good start that continues safely throughout your life and starting too hard and fizzling out too soon and even possibly getting yourself injured.
* another option could be to get involved in a regular exercise class with an instructor OR you could always order a video workout series and follow the program.
So, to review: Start date- February 22; the challenge- give up ONE BIG thing that you are holding on to with a death-grip that you know is holding you back from transformation; then add one new healthy discipline.
You have over a month to get ready, make appointments with professionals to help you, and recruit friends and family. Let's see what we can do together.
As of right now, continue doing those small things- no big 180 degrees turns, just small healthful choices.
Thanks for reading and God Bless!
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