Forgive me follower(s) for I have sinned. It’s been 11 days since my last post. I have to say its not that I didn’t want to, and not that I didn’t have something to say… but as John Lennon once famously wrote, “life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans”.

I was having a conversation with my boss yesterday when I mentioned that I needed to buy some new clothes. Sure, some of them are raggedy and have more holes than swiss cheese… however more importantly to me at this moment, is that they are all swimming on me. My pants are falling down and I can’t make my belt any tighter without putting another notch in it. 

For many years I have had to squeeze into my clothes, having to take a deep breath early in the morning just to get them buttoned, fearlessly hoping that when I exhaled the button wouldn’t fly off like as they do in the cartoons and hit my dog in the eye. Needless to say, this is a VERY nice change of pace for me. Even hot out of the dryer, my jeans are big on me.  Quite a difference from the days of doing lunges to stretch them out so I can comfortable fit my legs in them.

Yeah I know its a chick... but I feel girly even saying it

In passing my boss said something to the effect that you have to be careful when you buy clothes down a size in case you go back. I can definitely appreciate that. In fact, I essentially lived in that fear mode for many years of my life. In the past when I would lose some weight, I would never really step up and spend the money to buy new duds.

But this time is different. I’ve been scared straight.

When I mentioned this phrase to my wife, she thought I was making some sort of homophobic reference (what kind of guy does she think I am). Perhaps because she was a little angel growing up, she was never exposed to the documentary that was made back in the ’70’s designed to scare juvenile delinquents and keep them out of jail. I think there have been several tv shows since with this same angle to steer troubled youth away from a life of violence and drugs. 

My scared straight is a different version. But my wife has been the director of the program without even being aware of it. And I didn’t get the message right away. I was never a good student… but when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. You see, for over 6 years I have witnessed my wife checking her finger periodically throughout the day by pricking it with a small needle, drawing blood to measure her sugar levels. Dealing with low blood sugars and high blood sugars and the symptoms that come with it (shaky, weak, over tired, confused, sweaty, dry mouth, thirsty and dizziness – just to name a few). Don’t those all sound like a blasty blast? Inserting another needle into her body every few days and wearing a pump to regulate her insulin levels isn’t something that she enjoys, it’s something she HAS to do. She is one of the unfortunate ones. At the age of 11 she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. She had no control over contracting diabetes.

I on the other hand have a fully functioning pancreas. At least currently. I was heading down a path which undoubtedly would have led to it’s demise. Being overweight coupled with my family’s genetics was a double edge sword. Now I can’t guarantee that I won’t still develop type 2 diabetes in my later years, but I know that I can control the variable factors and minimize my chances.

I like to think that my son was the biggest motivator in me making a lifestyle change, but in fact it was a heart to heart conversation that my wife and I had while on a family vacation at this time about a year ago. It took me a few months to put together my game plan and buy in to what I had to do.  I think everyone who wants to lose weight knows how to do it. I know I have known what to do for years. It’s no secret. Eat less, move more. You just have to figure out how to work it into your lifestyle.

The weight loss industry is a multi-billion dollar industry for a reason. Everyone wants an easier way. Because the fact of the matter is, it takes discipline and dedication over a long period of time to achieve results. Especially for someone like me who neglected their health for the better part of 2 decades. I had to find my “why”. I’m naturally lazy and have a tendency to always procrastinate. Why did I want to lose weight? What was going to keep me going and remain focused when the scale didn’t move? What would make me not waver when I lost confidence? What would get me to go out and run in the rain when all I want to do is sit on the couch?

I like to eat. I have always liked to eat. The better it tasted to me, the likelier it was that it was unhealthy. Forget about the weight loss industry. If someone could figure out how to make vegetables taste like chocolate… and chocolate taste like vegetables… the obesity problem in our country would be solved, and someone could make a lot of money. Well, at least in my world. I’ve always wondered why our brains couldn’t process vegetables to taste great, begging you to overindulge. And everything fatty, greasy and unhealthy would be a chore to eat and we would just pick at it and push it around the plate until we were told we couldn’t have more vegetables until we finished our ice cream. Ok, ok, back to reality.

Researchers have documented that it takes 21 days to create a habit. Both good and bad. I’ve been working on habits that will help me live a healthier life since the summer. I know that everyday is not easy, in fact many are still challenging. But with every day passing, my new habits become stronger, and my old habits keep fading off into the distance.

I will always be thankful for the wake up call that I got last year. What will it take for you to make the change?  What is your why? What is going to scare you straight?