Inertia

Back when I was young and in college, I learned a few things in physics classes. One thing that sticks out in my mind is the theory of inertia or the fact that "A body in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by some outside force". And likewise the inverse is true "A body at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted upon by an outside force".

I never really questioned this, and recently I've come to see it in action in my own life with my own 'body'. I spent most of the last ten years in a sedentary lifestyle (went back to school, studied/read a lot, got sick, got lazy) and my ever expanding waistline was proof of it. I didn't do much moving and really didn't feel like getting up to do much. I had developed a lifestyle that was unsustainable on many levels (more about sustainabilty in an upcoming post). I knew something had to change but didn't have the energy (mental or physical) to overcome the inertia. I believe the confluence of events in the last year of my life have provided the 'outside force' to make the necessary changes to my lifestyle. One month in to my new way of doing things, I'm already seeing some benefits. I'm pleased to report that as of yesterday for the first time in many years I tip the scales at LESS than 300 lbs. I already have more energy or vitality than I have in many years and I only see this trend increasing. And there is something less tangible to report. I am actually optimistic about the future for the first time in many years. I wasn't really pessimistic about the future before, just more like apathetic. Now I'm actually looking forward to 'forming' (or at least having a hand in forming) my future instead of feeling dragged along into it. I have a list of projects a mile long that I actually am excited about finishing. I'll be sharing my progress on them as they take shape as we get into Spring.

As a side note, ask The Princess what it's like to live with an adult with ADD. She'll be happy to tell you that I usually have about 70 projects half done. I'm fixing that too. I'm going to be finishing more. And I'm as excited about finishing as I used to get about starting.

Improvement is good.

I'll leave you with my newest favorite picture of The Princess and me. It's from daughter Miriam's wedding last month.

I think Troy the photographer did a great job. If you want him to do some work for you let me know and I'll hook you up with him.

Settling In.

Here in Northwest Ohio winter has finally arrived (although I was OK with it staying away) and we're settling in for the duration. I'm also settling into my new eating routine.

Someone asked me today what 'plan' I was on. I replied "My own". Being the rebellious type I know myself to be, to attempt to follow a plan that someone else developed would be setting myself up for failure. I did do my homework though. I recently read "Eat To Live" by Dr. Joel Fuhrman and "Food Rules" by Michael Pollan. Much of what they had to say made sense to me. One of the points that the good doctor put forth is that we here in America are getting obese, spending too much of our income on healthcare and dying sooner than we should largely because of our lifestyle. I can't speak for everyone, but when I stopped and took a good hard look at myself, I saw that my highly processed convenience food diet and the 'stress level' in my life were killing me. My goal is to improve both.

I'm starting by cutting WAAAAAAAY back on the amount of 'fast food' I consume and replacing it with things my great-grandmother would recognize as food (i.e. fresh veggies and fruits) ala Pollan. I'm also pleased to report that I've avoided the office candy dish and 'celebration donuts' all year (I know it's only been 2 weeks but this is a BIG accomplishment for me).

I also have to give credit where credit is due here. I COULD NOT be accomplishing this without the direct support of The Princess who pre-prepares almost all my breakfasts and lunches (even though I've never asked her to). Even as I type this she's in the kitchen cutting up the green bell peppers that have replaced candy bars as my work snacks. I've added a 'ticker' to the header of this blog so you all can see how I'm doing with the weight loss portion of my plan.

In the meantime I'll see you all on the #twitterdiet chat session on Twitter every Sunday & Thursday night from 8 to 9.