My path to en"light"enment

jklett

Well-Known Member
In the spirit of arangov3's thread(this is the end), this is going to be a chronicle of my journey from a seriously out of shape lump to a normal sized person. I don't have a hard target I'm shooting for, the real goal of this is to give me some accountability for my actions (or inactions, whatever it may be). I'll post updates on my progress here.

A little about me to start. I was pretty active when I was young. I didn't do much in the way of organized sports but I skateboarded and rode freestyle BMX. When I was 16 I was put on a medication that caused me to gain almost 100 pounds in a few months time. Needless to say that put a stop to any significant activity. I also started smoking around the same time and got involved in other very self destructive behavior. I cleaned up the other stuff by the time I was 20 but continued to smoke and eat poorly. That's pretty much where I stayed for years.

Fast forward to April of 2017 at 44 years old. I'm married with 3 daughters and decided to finally quit smoking and try to get more active. I started hiking and kayaking (that actually started a few years earlier) and joined a gym. My starting weight was 240(mind you, I'm only 5'6" tall) and I dropped down to 195. I admit that the biggest part of the weight loss was due to a bet. Unfortunately once the bet was done I fell back a bit and gained back to 215.

Christmas of last year my wife surprised me by getting me my first mountain bike. Obviously I was immediately hooked. I also quickly realized that I'm not in good enough shape to thoroughly enjoy it. The first few times I went out, I would be completely tanked and have barely rode a mile. I've since gotten better but I'm far from where I want to be. Riding as much as I can with my friend and the new friends I've made here has helped dramatically but I realize that I have to do more or I'm not going to get better.

So here we are back to the present moment. I'm going to do my best to improve myself. Hopefully by putting it up here it will give me the motivation to push through any wobbles in my journey. I will get back to a regular exercise routine and a healthier diet and of course ride my bike as often as I can.

Thanks for listening and by all means, give me hell if I stray too far from the path.

BTW, my weight as of this morning is 210.
 

jklett

Well-Known Member
5 by car, about 15 by bike via the tow path. I live in Millstone, grew up there and bought a house there when I was finally able to. My kids are 22, 20, and 10.
 
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Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
I've been called worse!
Maybe this could be our next jersey
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Rusty

Well-Known Member
Been down this road, and I know a couple of guys who recently did same. Start slow, but go...every day you need to say, what am I doing to: eat better, sleep better, exercise better. Find a supportive gym that has a small group class structure that has a fun atmosphere. Ride a lot. Gains come quickly. Learn the difference from pain and injury. Pain, keep working, injury take care of.....Seems hard, but living overweight is much harder.

You put yourself out there so we need before pics, and updates on your plan and progress. Go kick some ass.
 
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