What Would Happen…

• If you committed, I mean really committed to this weight loss journey of yours?
  
  
• If you made an honest effort instead of a halfhearted swipe?
  
  
• If you traded those restaurant menus for a little healthy home cooking?
  
  
• If you turned off the TV or computer every so often and did your best to see just how much sweat you could wring out of your body?
  
  
• If you blogged to truly hold yourself accountable?
  
  
• If you made your story something exceptional instead of exhausting, something phenomenal instead of pedestrian, something remarkable instead of run-of-the-mill?
  
  
• If you cornered and killed just one of your bad habits?
  
  
• If you reached deep down and found a gear that you didn't know you even had?
  
  
• If the wind could really catch your sails, are you even aware of the places you could go, the future you could make for yourself?
  
  
• If you simply wouldn't take "I can't" for an answer?
  

What do you think would happen?

My 500th Big Fat Post

Something You May Not Know About Me...

Weekly weigh-in: 206.6
Loss: -0.9
Total loss: -86.2
Emotion: On a roll


Shhhhhhhhh….

I’m going to tell you a secret.

Sometimes, I’m really terrible at this weight loss business.

I seldom if ever track my calories. I have a loosey-goosey way of going about this dieting business. I believe that if I maintain a very active lifestyle incorporating a great deal of exercise, I should be able to eat what I want, as long as what I want to eat isn’t a wheelbarrow filled with Cheeto’s or something equally unhealthy.

And I don’t have a real coherent plan on the exercise front, other than to try to get some exercise every day. I try to mix it up… weights, running, elliptical, basketball, swimming… it’s pretty much whatever I feel most like doing that day. Except for days when I don’t feel like doing anything, in which case it’s the thing that I feel like not doing the least, if that makes any sense.

But here’s the thing: I’m not grossly overweight anymore. I’m not obese anymore. I’m not even overweight anymore. I’ve still got work to do, but my margin for error is getting razor-thin.

My daughter Holly celebrated her 18th birthday this week, and I celebrated with her… a little too much. Too much sodium kept me from the kick-ass weigh-in I so richly deserved from all the sweat I sweated. I can tell from how tight my wedding ring is right now that I’m holding on to water weight like nobody’s business.

So…

I’m going to keep it in overdrive, keep powering forward for all that I’m worth.

I hope you will, too, because we’ve still got work to do.

A Heart-to-Art Talk

Welcome to "Same Old Sh*t" Saturday, where I replay one of my "golden oldies" so I can spend extra time trying to overload my Philips DirectLife activity monitor (Hi, Directlife Coach Jen!). This one started out as a silly little something-something and turned a little more profound in the end...

About six months ago, I was dragging my hefty self down the home stretch of a mile-and-a half walk around the block when my portly, nearly deaf neighbor Art Deco waved me down (that’s not his real name, by the way; his real name is Arthur Deco).

“JACKIE,” he bellowed over the droning of his leaf blower (Art’s got a thing about leaves touching his lawn, so he blows them over to my yard). “YOU TRYIN’ TO LOSE SOME WEIGHT?”

“Geez, Art,” I frowned, putting my index finger up to my mouth. “We don’t need to announce it to the entire neighborhood…”

“I NEED TO DROP A FEW POUNDS, TOO,” he exclaimed, patting his own extended mid-section.

“Great,” I told him. “We can be dieting buddies and help each other out. When I feel the urge to drive out and get a burger and fries, I'll call you first.”

“GREAT!” smiled Art. “I’LL RIDE WITH YOU.”

In the days that followed, I invited him on walks, told him about all the wild and crazy smoothies I was making and clued him in on a senior special the gym I had just joined was offering, but Art wasn’t interested in any of that.

“I’M NOT PAYING FOR SOME FANCY-SCHMANCY GYM,” Art told me one afternoon.

A couple of months passed and Art stopped me on the street again.

“JACKIE, YOU’RE LOSING WEIGHT, SON.”

“Yeah,” I smiled. “That was kind of the idea, Art. Except I thought that you were gonna do this with me.”

“I TRIED THAT SUBWAY DIET FOR A WEEK–YOU KNOW, LIKE THAT JARED GUY,” Art said. “BUT I WOUND UP GAINING TEN POUNDS. TEN POUNDS! CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?”

“THAT DOESN’T SOUND RIGHT,” I said, before catching myself. “I mean, that doesn’t sound right.”

“I DON’T KNOW,” Art shook his head. “I HAD ONE SIX-FOOT SUB SANDWICH EVERY DAY FOR LUNCH.”

“Ahhhhhh,” I nodded. “I think I may see the problem. Well, c’mon. We’ll try again. I’ll help…”

“MAYBE AFTER THE FOURTH OF JULY,” he told me. “WE’RE HAVING A BIG COOKOUT WITH THE GRANDKIDS.”

I shrugged and returned home. Things got kind of busy, and I didn’t talk to Art for a couple of months.

“JACKIE,” he smiled. “YOU’RE WASTIN’ AWAY TO NOTHIN’.”

“Yeah, Art,” I told him. “This program I’m on is really working. The sooner we get you started, the sooner you can drop those pounds, too.”

“OH,” exclaimed Art. “IT’S EASIER FOR SOME FOLKS THAN IT IS FOR OTHERS, JACKIE.”

So here I am, 75 pounds down and believing in my own future. What Art doesn’t understand is that this journey isn’t easy for me, isn’t easy for anybody I know. It’s day after day of dedication, of good choices, of hard work.

For people who believe in themselves, the hard road becomes less difficult. For the ones who don’t believe, the difficult road becomes impossible.

Today’s To-Do-Not List

Here’s a little list of things I’m planning not to do today. I hope you’ll join me in my admirable show of restraint.

• Stack a dozen Pop-Tarts on a plate, bust them with my forehead and see how fast I can scarf up all the pieces
  
  
• Watch a Sanford & Son marathon
  
  
• Stop by Taco Bell drive-thru and order everything on the menu or $20 worth, whichever comes first
  
  
• Attempt to squirt entire canister of whipped cream into my mouth at one time
  
  
• Go to movieplex and watch every different movie at the theater; get extra butter on my Milk Duds
  
  
• Try to surf the entire internet
  
  
• Work all afternoon on my “fried salad” experiment
  
  
• Tie new kettlebells to back of car and race around the neighborhood
  
  
• Fill kiddie swimming pool with rotel dip
  
  
• Skip my midday workout and take a nap in bathroom stall at the office
  
  
• Go to that fancy cupcake place that makes the fancy cupcakes and eat a bunch of fancy cupcakes
  
  
• Get in starting position for sit-ups and then remain in that position for nine hours
  
  
• Watch whatever’s on because I can’t reach the remote
  
  
• Heat up a frozen pizza in the microwave to tide me over until the pizza delivery guy shows up
  
  
• Play a real-life game of “Hungry Hungry Hippo” on kitchen table with malted milk balls
  
  
• Drink a twelve-pack of six-packs
  
  
• Gargle with pudding
  
  
• Have a “You Da Man, Jack!” sheet cake made at the bakery and eat the entire thing as I’m paying at the counter

W.I.D.T.H. All Due Respect

Well, I'm about caught up with all my W.I.D.T.H. pic posts. If you've sent one to me and it hasn't shown up by now, chances are it's gotten lost in the shuffle, so by all means get back in touch with me. I finally realized that my Spam folder was eating a few, too (while letting the "You Just Won 10 Billion Pounds in the U.K. Lottery You Didn't Enter" messages slide right on through, thank you very much). Plus, somebody sent me a video W.I.D.T.H. that I've somehow misplaced, so please, please, please forward me the link one more time.

And it's definitely not too late for you to get in on the act; I may not be posting these every day anymore, but I'm sure I'll continue to get enough to sprinkle them in every so often. Email your contributions to jacksh.tgettinfit@gmail.com and be sure to include a blog link if you want it included.

Pamela @ Less Than Fat - The Fantasy

FitDVDaddict @ Huff And Buff

Sylvia @ WW For Life

Anonymous

Miki @ 247 Days to Change

Coco @ CurvasPeligrosas

Lor @ Lighten Up, Lor

Kristin Hope @ My Little World of Diet and Exercise

Kate @ Fearless


Kerri @ Kat's Adventures in Dietland

Karen @ Before & After: A Real-Life Story

Gen @ I Heart the Band

Draz @ It's Just Me, Drazil & Sheniqua

Angela @ This Awesome Life

Becca @ Beccas Weight Loss Struggles

Cassandra @ The Path to Wellness


Want to know what makes Jack Sh*t happy?
Head over to Eating Journey to see...

I’m Sorry, Billy Joel

We met on web sites that featured weight loss.
We typed on keyboards and ate our tartar sauce.
And we were fat, as fat as hogs,
And we were so gung ho to start our own blogs.

We came in spastic like kids at Easter
We vowed to eat less and move our keister
And we learned fast what not to do
Our hearts were heavy and our bellies were, too

We chose a blog name, we picked a template.
And as for visitors, they came at a grim rate.
We dug in deep and lost a pound.
And prayed to Google that our blog would be found.

We had no grand plan to raise our profile.
But then somebody came, and made it worthwhile.
And it was fun, a real delight,
And we held on to each other
Like blogger to blogger,
We promised each other we'd diet.

And we will all go down together.
We said we’ll all go down together.
Yes we will all go down together.

Remember Tony, remember Mary?
Their posts are so good, it’s kinda scary.
Who showed a gain? And who lost weight?
All that matters is we’re still doing great.

We hold our fates in the palm of our hand
We can change ourselves, and the changes...

Can take as long as six months...

...Of blogging each day.
We answer critics, watch analytics
And we trudge on, try to survive.
We comment by the bazillion
And work out like Jillian.
And wait for our time to arrive.

And we will all go down together.
We said we'll all go down together.
Yes we will all go down together.