It’s July, which means it’s been a full month since this mission started. Final weight loss tally for June: just a hair over 19 ex-pounds . I’m pretty happy with the progress, but there’s still a ways to go. Especially since, despite the big number, I don’t actually feel that different yet.
The one noticeable change: many of my pants fit much looser today than they did a few weeks ago. Which poses a new problem with losing a great deal of weight: it’s fucking expensive. If things go according to plan, I’m looking at many hundreds of dollars of clothing that will no longer fit and will have to be replaced. Still, it’s a price I will happily pay.
Now that it’s been a full month, I’m changing things up a bit in my daily routine. For starters, I’m introducing a monthly challenge. Every month, I’m going to set a new challenge that I will have to beat. For July, that challenge is twofold: first, log at least 290 miles of cardio. I turn 29 this month, ergo 290. The ground rules: I can only count the distance logged on stationary bikes, treadmills, or on outdoor runs. Daily steps don’t count towards that number. It’s July 3 as I write this, and I’m at 24.7 miles so far. Great start me, I’m already behind.
The second challenge this month is going to be this blog: namely, sharing it. I invited a few close friends to follow along during this first month, but now I’m posting it on Facebook and sharing updates on Twitter. I’m terrified about taking something so personal and putting it in front of a wider audience, but doing so accomplishes two things: first, selfishly, it adds a layer of accountability. The more people who know about what I’m trying to do means the more people who will know when I’m cheating. If you care about me at all, you will slap my face when I reach for a second slice of pizza.
The second reason I’m sharing this is because there is a less than zero percent chance it might offer a modicum of insight, motivation, or dare I say inspiration to others who are confronting their own inner demons. There is a pernicious kind of stigma attached to conversations about obesity, weight loss and body image in general, and the only way I know how to overcome stigma is with radical transparency.
Anyway, that’s all for now. Thanks for stopping by, I’m always here to listen.
