John Is Getting Fit Slowly

This is a guest post from John of John Is Fit. John reminds me a bit of me, before I was able to make fitness a lifestyle instead of a cycle. This time, he’s going to get it done. I can feel it.

Several months ago I e-mailed Mac and asked him if I could write a guest post for Get Fit Slowly. I was frustrated (more on that later) and was hoping that by airing my frustrations in public, I could inspire myself to take action. In other words, I wanted to make a public resolution, as a way to force myself to get back in shape. But, as youÂ’ll soon see, IÂ’ve changed my mind about that.

The Problem

For nearly my entire adult life I have struggled with my weight. I was heavy early in college, lost weight when I discovered running my junior year, had some surgery a few years later that dropped me down to 130 pounds (egad!), then seemed to level off at about 155 through graduate school. Because it was a performing-arts graduate school (and because I was in my 20s), I was active all the time, ate and drank what I wanted, and assumed I would maintain that weight for the rest of my life.

Then I graduated, moved several times, and my weight started to climb. In Los Angeles, I would drive (I kid you not) one block to run an errand, which usually involved food. To make matters worse, I worked a desk job. The weight kept climbing until I reached 230 pounds. I was 32 years old, I had trouble breathing, I looked awful, I battled gout, and I was living in Hollywood, where every day I was faced with men and women with chiseled abs, thin faces and long, lean torsos (and not all of them gotten through surgical means).

It was around this time that I made some decisions rather than resolutions. First, I quit drinking. I also started walking and bike commuting. I began to notice how MUCH I ate and when. And why. Slowly, I started to lose the weight.

But thereÂ’s a saying IÂ’ve often heard: if one bad habit isnÂ’t replaced with a good one, another bad one will quickly take its place. And thus I replaced alcohol with ice cream, often a pint a night. The weight came back on.

The Plan

Finally, I made another decision, to find a plan that worked for me and stick to it. I chose Body for Life. I kept meticulous records, followed it to the letter. I coupled it with a low-carb diet modeled after Atkins (Body for Life doesnÂ’t require this). I began building new, healthy habits. I started going to the gym first thing in the morning, alternating lifting with running. I realized that, for me, exercise had to happen early or it most likely would not happen at all.

In six months I had dropped from 220 to 185. I was extremely happy. I was in the best shape I’d been in since grad school. I met a girl and fell in love. My work life began to improve. I felt like I had “made it”.

Only A Temporary Fix

Slowly, unconsciously, I stopped my low carb eating and slacked on my exercise plan. I moved back to New York and the bagels, pizzas, heroes, cannolis, pretzels, hot dogs and cupcakes all came back with me. I stopped going to the gym in the morning. And while I balanced it out with more walking, it wasnÂ’t the same. Soon I began to feel that tightening in my waistband and could see gaps appearing when I buttoned my shirt. We moved back to Los Angeles, began driving more, and my weight ballooned. I started feeling ashamed. Again. I became extremely self-conscious.

Eventually, these feelings sabotaged every good thing I had in my life. I lost the woman I loved. I stopped working as much. I started to isolate. And about a year ago I was as depressed as I have ever been in my life.

Success, Then Another Setback

It was around this time that I found Get Fit Slowly. And again, I made a decision.

One morning last May I set my alarm for 6:30 a.m. (Well, first I put the alarm clock in the living room. Then I set it for 6:30.) When it started beeping, I jumped out of bed and ran into the living room to turn it off. So I was up. I had laid out my workout clothes the night before. So I laced up my shoes, turned on my iPod and went for a walk.

I made it a block. The next morning I repeated it. And again. And again. Eventually, my morning ritual grew to one hour of walking, followed by yoga and meditation. Then I started alternating it with running on a treadmill. At first I could barely run five minutes. I slowly added minutes until I reached 20, then 30, then 40. I started eating consciously. I began to cook for myself, and discovered that I didnÂ’t need nearly as much food to fill up as I had thought. Slowly, the weight began to drop again. I set a goal for myself: 12 pounds between May and December. From 211 to 199. I hit it early, in October.

And then my life changed again. I moved from Los Angeles to North Carolina. This time, I maintained my new habits for a while. Then I injured myself during a run. I didn’t want to stop exercising, so I switched to the elliptical and started weight training. But I felt like my momentum had been arrested. Discouraged, I stopped going to the gym in the mornings, and eventually, at all. My diet also took a turn for the worse and so I find myself here.

This Time It’s For Life

So I’m back over 200 pounds again—and IÂ’m tired of it. IÂ’m tired of yo-yoing. IÂ’m tired of buying new clothes over and over when my weight fluctuates. And yet I canÂ’t accept where I am. If I could, I wouldnÂ’t be writing this.

I’m tired of making resolutions and not following through on them. Losing weight successfully (as I’ve learned from past experience) is about making decisions on a daily – sometimes hourly – basis. Or setting a plan so that the decision-,making is done FOR me, so I don’t HAVE to think. But let’s face it, I want to have my cake and eat it, too. Literally. I don’t want to live a life of deprivation, and every “diet” plan I’ve ever been on has been just that – deprivation. Eventually, the cravings get to me. Eventually, I stop exercising, either through boredom or injury.

So I feel like IÂ’m at another starting point. Again. But this time I want it to be different. I have read these posts and I believe that if it worked for Mac, it can work for me. ThatÂ’s why IÂ’m here.

So IÂ’m not making a resolution today. IÂ’m making a decision. And that decision is to Get Fit. SLOWLY. Hopefully (and if Mac will allow me), I will keep all of you up to date on my progress over the coming years. Because thatÂ’s the time frame I have to use: YEARS.