Archive for February, 2010
Highway Pinball
February 22nd, 2010 | 
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Guard Rail: 1, Civic: 0
It started with a snow storm. Nothing out of the ordinary for February in Michigan, but it was coming down pretty good. Traffic on I-75 was moving along about 40 mph, and I was in the *center* lane.
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Day 49 of 361 – Scale Day!
A man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder – a waif, a nothing, a no man. Have a purpose in life and having it, throw such strength of mind and muscle into your work as God has given you.
– Thomas Carlyle
Observations on the Week
- Sunday may be “free eating” day, but it’s not a lot of fun working to overcome the extra pounds from a day of binge eating. It’s like filling in the hole after it’s dug, just to dig it out again – makes no sense. Read the rest of this entry »
Recommitting – Motivational Gifts for Yourself
Climb! (photo courtesy of Flickr)
After a dismal week of progress (no pounds lost), I got to thinking about motivation. Clearly it’s possible to lose weight, to alter one’s lifestyle, and to move toward a better life. Why is it that we fail and fall in our journeys?
A spiritual answer might be the concept of concupiscence – that we humans “walk with a limp” as a result of original sin (Adam & Eve). I’ll set that answer aside for now, as it requires more intellectual horsepower than I can muster at 4am.
I think the truth might be closer to “lack of vision”. Starting a new project is exciting! Visually it’s like setting out on a journey. At first, the road is clear and wide, there are lots of excited people happy to see you on your journey, and you can ride that natural excitement out of town and onto the plains.
Day 42 of 361 – Scale Day.
Image Courtesy of Flickr
It’s been a rocky week. Several very long days and a series of evening commitments conspired to pull me this way and that. There were two key things that stalled progress this week:
- Exercise. Although I did the exercises every day, at 5 (now 6) weeks into the project, the body is starting to crave a bit more challenge. I’m not looking for a marathon here, but it seems that stepping up the level of effort will help.
- Diet. Eat healthy, then add:
- A Bavarian Inn Chicken Dinner, with all the trimmings. Tasty, but probably enough in that one meal to undo several days worth of effort. (3 chicken breasts, scoop of potatoes, scoop of stuffing, bowl of peas (likely dripping in butter, I’m blocking it out at the moment).
- A generous slice of chocolate layer cake for Bob’s birthday. Not overly large, but containing enough sugar to manufacture a quart of vodka, I suspect.
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again – this isn’t rocket science. This week was rocky, next week will be better.
Today is 10% Day
Today marks the 10% mark for the project – from a duration perspective, it’s 10% of the way done. At 23 of 100 pounds lost, though, I’m 23% of the way to completion. So, I’m ahead of schedule!