Return of the Belly

kendernau

Hello All.

I am back for my second go-round. Last time, I did really well - I dropped from 198 to 182 on a goal of 180 in just a few months (and almost perfectly on my expected timetable), before I had some things happen, and I dropped off the site. I have returned because I miss feeling healthier, and because I have a son who is now 3 years old, a family history of high blood pressure, and watching my blood pressure starting to go up.

In the 14 months since I left, I have gone back up to 197, despite knowing what I needed to do, and how to do it. Now, I am back, and setting a more rigorous goal of 165. Last time showed me I can definitely do it, but also showed me that I have further to go to get to the look and feel I prefer.

I missed my goal last time, so I didn't get myself the reward I had promised myself. I am re-instating the reward, but I have to reach the lower goal now. My reward for getting down to 165 will be a high quality, custom fitted suit (including shoes) to give me a very nice, sharp, professional image, and (if I can swing it financially) a new road bike.

I am setting a couple intermediate goals, with smaller rewards. At 180, I will get myself some new work clothes (slacks and shirts) that will be able to be tightened up when I get to the smaller sizes. At 170, I will get my first full set of matching cycling gear ever (shorts, short sleeve shirt, long sleeve shirt, pants, cleats, fingerless gloves, full gloves, and jacket), so that I can ride in all weather, all year, more easily.

As part of this "rebuilding" process, I am setting several fitness goals for myself, including working my way up to completing a century bike ride towards the end of this year. If that goes well, I'm going to take after a friend who has currently completed marathons in 47 states (including a couple wins in his age category), and set a goal of completing an organized century ride in each state, with a subgoal to get my completion times down to between 5-6 hours.