On this blog
a year ago I wrote: Plenty of people have been writing about the uselessness of resolutions.
Here is why I probably need to find some lifestyle change in 2012. (a graph was included at this point, same as below but not
including 2012 data). If I can keep the
km going up, the mass will come down.
As can be seen from
the new chart there has been a modest increase in the number of k’s, but a significant
move in mass.
To drop 10kg in a year means that I must have found some lifestyle
change. And I did. But I don’t think this chart tells the real story. I’ll zoom
in on the last year, on a monthly basis. It looks like this:
I think this more accurately shows what has happened. Since the
end of July I have not consumed alcohol. I was tired of feeling overweight and
underpowered, and knew that I had to change something to make a difference. (Teachers
say that the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same
thing and expect a different answer). Everyone is different and there are
different triggers to starting renewal in life, but for me, at this time, this
is what worked.
For fitness and weight loss there is an obvious reciprocal
benefit, weight loss = feeling like and being able to exercise more. For a time
there is a compounding effect and it is a fun wave to ride. Motivation is high
as benefits are tangible. People notice the change and I feel like I have more self-respect.
Part of the compounding effect is that achieving small goals gives motivation
to set larger ones. As cycling is my exercise of choice (more to do with who I
do it with than what it is) I decided to put my name down for the Grafton to
Inverell Cycle Sportif this coming February. It is a long hard ride. I did it
once before and although I had trained for it, I found it a real killer and I
could not keep up with my group. My goal is to complete the ride with the bunch
in 2013. As the monthly graph above shows, I am clocking up some k’s looking
for fitness and strength. At 93kg I am still a slow climber. I’m not sure if
this is just physics, a mental problem, or that I need to wait longer for the
benefits of my increased efforts to kick in (yes, it is probably all three).
The Grafton to Inverell ride is in late February, about 6
weeks away. Some time ago I set the goal of riding it at 85kg. Still heavy for
a person my height but realistic in terms of what I believe I am capable of. I
do not want to do the ride at 90kg+.
There will be readers of this who know how I can achieve
this goal. There are obvious changes to the balance of products that I eat that
would help, but this must be embedded in the ecosystem of our household and my
ingrained attitude towards eating. For now, what I am doing is working and for
the next 6 weeks I will be maintaining current habits.
I don’t believe in resolutions but occasionally we need a
revolution. I seem to be having one now. It is difficult to conjure and sometimes
it requires the perfect storm of events in our life to set us on the path. This
may sound fatalistic but it’s not meant to. Specific outcomes are achieved only by having a
realistic goal, having a strategy to get there, and finding the determination
to implement that strategy. Support of my wife and friends has been vital to me
in this. So thanks!
I’m not there, I don’t know if I’ll ever get there, but I’m
enjoying this ride. Life is about the journey, isn’t it?
