Jumbo Rider’s BodyBlog

Well, my cravings are down and I am back into the routine of eating clean.  I am still not eating as frequently as I did in the past and my veggie intake is down.  To recap my journey, I lost 40+ pounds during a contest and just as quickly gained it all back.  That won’t happen again.

Any of the big to small folks out there?  If you have lost 100 pounds or more would you give me a shout?  Sometimes I wonder if the effort is even worth it.

Ok, there is no excuse to be as fat as I am, but there are extenuating circumstances.  Genetically I am geared with the great blessing to put on weight quickly.  My dad, grandfather, uncle were all large men.  Looking at pictures you will see the resemblance immediately.  I even found my doppelganger.  You know how everyone says that there is some guy that looks just like you somewhere in the city? Well, I did.  My grandfather enjoyed the women and I found that I had a half-uncle roughly my age and he could have been a twin.

So, what does it take for me to be fit?  Others are close to their ideal weight and never need to worry about eating two slices of pizza or stopping in at McD’s.  Heck, many can even over-induldge and only gain a bit.  Me, I think of pizza and gain 2 pounds.  So I need to work harder than the average joe to keep weight down.

I don’t think I need to be as hard core as a bodybuilder to lose my weight and keep it off, but I need to do more than an average joe and never stop doing it.

Since I have recentered myself and chose to live my life with purpose I have had no problems keeping to my diet.  Today started with a great walk and a focus that is clear and resolved.  I will lift this evening.

My goals for the day:

1. Understand my emotions and not feed them
2. Pray
3. Live as I think Christ would have me live
4. Walk - complete
5. Lift
6. Get my office work done

The difference between me and an Olympic athlete is maybe 5%.  Oh, I don’t mean that I am 95% Olympic capable, but that if I would work, train, and get my mind right I could be.  That leaves 5% for genetics to play their part.  If this is true it means that my physical ability is determined by the way I live life.  Period, end of story.

Am I talking about determination or will power?  Not really.  I am talking about living my life with purpose.  When it comes to my eating and physique I sleep walk through life.  Dreams and wishes about being thin and fit, but doing nothing to make it so.  Those Olympic athletes have a purpose.  Many found and lived that purpose from early childhood.  My life did not find that purpose.

Rambling here and not making my point very clear but I think I am on to something that will change my life and maybe yours.  You can’t get to the will power part or the mental toughness part of the expedition until you have a purpose and live that purpose.

Let me move this to a context that I am successful.  I have always believed that it is my job to provide for my family.  I believe that I have that purpose deep in my soul.  So I live life with that purpose as a focus.  I have gotten jobs and struggled to improve my pay and my security.  No, I am not rich, but you don’t need to be rich to properly provide for a family.  Being rich was not my purpose.

Well, because providing for my family was a high purpose and high on my priority list, everything else took a back seat if that purpose was not being met.  If I purposed to be a great singer/musician then I would do everything I could to fulfill that purpose.

Sitting here I ask myself what are the things that I live purposfully? I mentioned providing for my family, that is probably 2nd on my list.

1. To be respected
2. Provide for my family
3. Not be too busy

Wow, that is fairly crappy if you ask me.  What am I doing with the majority of my life.  I am sleep walking.  Living my Christian life is not up there; no health purpose; I simply don’t live my life well.

Well recently I chose to put purpose behind getting healthy and strong, but I fell back asleep.  Then I tried to workout and eat right while I was still sleeping.  It simply is not working.  Today I think I remember what worked well for me in the past year.  Purpose.

I will live to be fit for my grandson.  My purpose is to be able to play with him and teach him how to play ball.  I will be fit to have energy.  I will be fit so that I won’t lose a leg to diabetes.  I will be fit to live longer and enjoy my family more.

If that is really my purpose, if I believe in this like I believe that I need to provide for my family, then I will get it done.

What is your purpose….not wishes or dreams…purpose.

The ankle is feeling fine and I was able to get in a walk before the rain this morning.  My eating is crap and I know why.

1. I am playing with the idea of food in my head and I need to stop that.  You know what I mean.  You think of an item and then start thinking about how good it would be, and poof you have an uncontrollable urge that can lead to a binge.
2. I am not eating every three hours.  My blood sugar is whack enough.  I must eat clean steadily throughout the day.

Losing weight is simple.  We all know how to do it.  It is just getting my mind and body actually doing what I know to do.  Fighting the initial fatigue, withdraw, and being disciplined is a big hill to climb, but the summit is worth the effort.

Funny note; I went to the pool yesterday to get in some laps only to find that it will be closed until September.