A lot happened in 2011. I got engaged in January and then married in August, something which I am still amazed at. I also moved houses in January, to a wonderful home in Belmont, CA. My life now is completely different than it was just 12 months ago. However, my health isn’t, which is both good and bad.
Failed Goals
I had high goals for my health this year. I wanted to:
- Run a marathon in under 5 hours
- Reach my goal weight of 190lbs.
Sadly, I accomplished neither. In fact, most of the year I actually gained weight right up to the point where I came back from my honeymoon at a high weight of around 235lbs. I’ve slowly lost that weight and I’m now back to my normal 220, but that’s very far from the goal I stated in January.
Disappointed
There’s a part of me that’s really disappointed in myself. Why didn’t I lose the weight? Why didn’t I run that marathon. The answer is simple, I didn’t make the time nor did I make health a priority this year. I focused on other things like my relationship to Julie, my wedding and my honeymoon. Still, it actually wouldn’t have taken that much time to accomplish my goals. My weight for example is not a function of time spent exercising, it’s actually a function of my eating.
It’s All About The Food
I know this because I’ve been listening to my body for the past 9 years and because I’ve been tracking my health for just as long. I know that my exercise habits are great. I workout five times a week, I’m active, I walk a lot and I spend a lot of time burning calories in fun and interesting ways. I can tinker with my exercise routine all I want but that would be pointless. I’ve hit the point of diminishing returns and any major improvement in my workout will require way too much time investment. No, the real culprit is my eating. I spent most of 2011 eating very unhealthy. Mostly I ate too much candy and sweets but I also ate too much in general.
Are Things Really That Bad?
That said, am I really unhealthy? Should I be worried about my health?
- My doctor is very happy with me every year when I have my physical. She says I’m in incredible shape and she wishes more of her patients were like me. (It felt really good to hear that the first time I went to her office in 2004 after getting in shape).
- I just benched 295lbs (set of ten reps) and my other resistance exercises are doing just as well.
- I can run for an hour at 6mph.
So yah, all things considered, I’m in pretty good shape and I’m very happy with where I am. Remember that 8 years ago, when I first started doing all this in 2003, I was 290lbs, couldn’t lift the bar (I literally couldn’t do one bench press with 45lbs of weight) and I couldn’t walk for more than 5 minutes without being out of breath.
Next Year!
Still, I made no progress in 2011 and that bothers the ultra competitive, type A personality in me. While I believe we should be happy with what we’ve achieved, I also believe in always striving to achieve more. So I’m going to write 2011 off as a failure and move right on to 2012. My goals for next year are going to be extra ambitious to compensate
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One quick note. Next year doesn’t start on January 2nd, after I’ve eaten too much and drank too much. Next year started in September, when I came back from my honeymoon. I’m just continuing on with higher goals in mind. I say this because I hear too many folks using the “next year” thing as an excuse to binge and be lazy for just a few more days. Sorry folks, it doesn’t work that way. If you keep telling yourself “next year” or “next week” or “tomorrow I’ll be healthy” you’re never going to get there. Start today, start right now.
