Friday, January 27, 2012

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.

3 comments:

  1. Awesome post, Dave! After having to take insulin during my last pregnancy, I really changed my eating habits. Now, 21 months out, they have slipped. My movement has stalled, but thankfully, I've picked up the pace again. Nathan's work encouraged us to sign up for a pedometer and to upload our data. They ask for 7000 steps and 15 "active" minutes of walking (135 steps/min). On January 1, I set my goal for 45 active minutes and 10,000 steps. It stopped the weight gain, but didn't take it in the other direction, so now I'm at the gym. You are right about getting in motion. It's easier to stay in motion than to try to get started again. I am trying to convice my husband of that....as his blood sugar is elevated, his cholesterol elevated, blood pressure elevated...but alas, he is still content to be drug into the future.

    Keep moving; keep blogging; keep motivating others! <3

    ReplyDelete
  2. P.S. Love the pic of you and The Princess!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What an awesome post and photo!! I totally get the inertia thing...winter tends to make it worse. But my is becoming more motion-ful too. :-)

    ReplyDelete