How Do You Like Them Pickles?

Weekly weigh-in: 221.2
Loss: -2.7
Total loss: 70.3 lbs.
Emotion: Improved & Improving

After last Sunday’s wah-wah-fest, it’s nice to be able to report some good news on the weight-loss front. That’s right: sayonara seventy pounds. See ya... wouldn’t wanta be ya.

As astute readers have pointed out of late, my reward for hitting the 70-lb. mark was pickles, so I did start the day with a ceremonial Vlasic on my plate, pulled from a jar purchased especially for this occasion a few weeks ago. It tasted like dill and vinegar and victory.

And the pinched nerve in my back is on the mend, thanks to Dr. Ly and his magic Chinese torture needles. Anita’s kind of ticked at me because I’m about to run out to go play basketball in the new league I joined. She doesn’t get it. Yes, I run the risk of aggravating my injury and doing more damage to myself, but she hasn’t stopped to consider that if I don’t play, I’ll lose the respect of some middle-aged men I’ve never met before. Women!

I credit this week’s loss to the fact that I was able to get back into the gym. As I was merrily biking along (I switched back to all cardio until I really get all the way healed), a woman on the piece of equipment next to me commented that I seemed pretty damned happy for someone who was making so many grunts/groans and sweating so profusely. Usually I’d have delivered a snappy comeback, but I just told her that I wasn’t taking this opportunity to exercise for granted.

Taking care of our bodies is a responsibility, to be sure, but it’s also a privilege. Not everyone enjoys the opportunity to use their bodies for the betterment and enrichment of their own lives. And last week made it abundantly clear to me that it’s difficult to make this journey without the exercise part of the equation.

So if you’re able to, I encourage you to get your sweat on today, tomorrow… every day, in some form or fashion. Not everyone has that chance, you know, and you may not always have the ability to do so yourself. You just never know. Embrace the good feeling that a hearty workout delivers and know in your heart that you’re doing something positive for your body and yourself. I can offer you no better advice.

But I can offer you a pickle… one’s plenty for me, thanks.