Stop USED to BEING something....



1992

When I graduated from high school back in 1992 I weighed 242 pounds.  During my high school years and even before, my mother would encourage me to eat better and take care of myself.  My mom has always exercised and been conscious of keeping in shape but it never seemed to rub off on me.  After high school I was around home more during the day and she would help me plan out my lunch when I was attending college.

At home after a Hulls Gulch ride 1993

In the spring on 1993 I got serious about eating right and I took my mountain bike with me to school everyday for exercise and to help me cross campus quickly.  Many times after school I would take my bike to the foothills and ride the Hulls Gulch loop or the Table Rock loop.  My mom was going to Jenny Craig at the time and they said I could use their scale for my official weigh in every week.  They all got a kick out of me coming in there and were amazed at my results.  Over the course of two short months I lost about 60 pounds and got down to 180.  When I joined the Navy in May of 1994 I was 175.  Over the course of the next 7 years I gained it all back plus another nearly 80 by 2001.  All a result of not taking care of myself and not paying attention to my health.  

Fall 1993

Summer 1993

Over the course of those 7 years I started many stories with, "I used to..."  I was usually talking about how I used to ride my bike all over the foothills and was in really great shape.  Or when I used to be an awesome water skier. 

I remember feeling ashamed saying I used to be good at anything given my situation at the time but never did anything to change.  Between 2001 and 2009 I was about the same weight.  I can't tell for sure because we didn't have a scale.  The only time I remember my weight was when I stood on the rock scale at Victory Greens Nursery one day when we were buying landscaping materials  in 2003 and I was 298 pounds.

Spring 2008

When I decided to make the commitment to get in shape in 2009 I remember thinking I needed to make some new memories so I could stop recalling those days so long ago.  I have done lots of fun and amazing things since I started getting back in shape to replace those I used to stories. 

Boston and Bear

I was in my bathroom the other day and noticed something that made me smile.  I have my St. George Marathon, Lake Lowell Marathon, and Pocatello 50 miler race medals hanging on the corner of my mirror and they are collecting dust and cobwebs.

On the counter, my Boston Marathon medal is proudly displayed in a ziploc sandwich bag that sits on top of my Bear 100 miler plaque that is stuffed in a Walmart bag and surrounded by junk.

Medals with cobwebs...

I say it made me smile because it was a new reminder that I always need to be moving forward and have a new goal as soon as possible after finishing the last one.  Race medals to me represent a lot of hard work, training and commitment but I don't run races for medals or belt buckles.  I run races to test myself and stay as active as I can. I read a statistic recently that said 95% of people who lose weight gain it back in 3-5 years.  Most people gain it back because they fail to change the behaviors that led to their weight problem in the first place.  I am doing everything I can to stay in the 5% minority, medals or not.








Stop USED TO being something and be something RIGHT NOW!

Wilson Creek Frozen 50K