Day 319 Comfort Walking and The Bright Days Ahead

Day 319

Comfort Walking and The Bright Days Ahead

Today I did something I've never done. I laced up my shoes early and went walking at the trail this morning. We've walked the trail in the afternoon, late afternoon, evening, and late at night, but this was early morning. A completely different set of people out there in the A.M. and many with their dogs. I needed some time to think and clear my head. I took the iPod, but after listening to one song I turned it off so I could think. I didn't jog, I just walked. Instead of turning to comfort food, this was my comfort walk. The feeling you get when you discover something isn't what it seems or what you thought it was can be horrible. I discovered this morning: We've never actually walked a 10K after all. And all of the times we walked a 5K, except for the treadmill and at Boomer Lake in Stillwater, it was actually less. When we first started walking I was told that the trail we frequent was one mile exactly. I was skeptical, but after comparing our walks based on time to that of our treadmill walks, we concluded that one revolution was surely one mile on the dot. No, no it's not. The city has recently put up a sign showing the trail and giving the official distance as .83 mile. So in order to do a 5K, we need to walk almost four times around. A 10K needs to be 7.5 trips around. Wow. All this time we thought one thing and then to find out it's another. Oh well, it doesn't change or take away from our phenomenal results, but I feel like I should go back and place an asterisk beside every time I've blogged about doing a 5 or 10 K at that trail. Something like this can really bother me, but I can't let it get to me, we have more important things to worry about.

My blog last night was inspired by marital issues. Out of respect for my wife and family, that's all I should say specifically about that. It will in no way effect my journey and mission. I wanted to at least say something in regard to the inspiration for last night's blog. I sincerely appreciate all of the very kind and touching comments.

Handling whatever life throws our way without resorting to those old destructive eating habits for comfort is a very positive sign that we've made some serious mental breakthroughs. I was up at my regular time today, made a 180 calorie egg white breakfast burrito and coffee and just had time to ponder everything important to me. Instead of turning to food for comfort, I turned to exercise. This isn't the way the old Sean handled things, not by a long-shot. Is this new way of thinking and reacting really part of the new me? Yes, 100% completely. With a daily blog like this, there's always going to be days and happenings where it's not fun to think about, let alone write about. But this is my journey. This is the story that's unfolding in it's purest form. A Daily Diary. These words kept popping into my mind last night while I sat staring blankly at the computer screen wondering what in the world I would say now. I even thought about posting one line: The Daily Diary of A Winning Loser will return on Saturday August 1st. But that's not a daily diary, now is it? Why do I keep thinking of The Facts of Life theme song? You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have, the facts of life, the facts of life!

The fact is, there are many more wonderful milestones and events ahead for us. I'll be hitting the two hundred pounds lost marker hopefully on Wednesday August 5th...then two weeks later dropping below 300 for the first time since I was 15 years old. It's hard to believe really. Courtney's approaching the 80 pounds lost mark and Amber has lost nearly 70. Irene is down over 130 pounds from her heaviest. So major victories are behind us and in front of us, all around us! And the future, oh wow, the dreams I dream are so possible now. Dreams I never even realized I had until this journey of weight loss and self discovery. Let the good times roll.

Courtney insisted on treating Amber and me to dinner out. Our fridge is still not working even after several attempts from the repair person to fix the thing, so it didn't take much convincing. We visited our old favorite JW Cobbs. I've written about this place before. It's down home country cookin' at it's finest. It can be disastrous to your calorie budget if you allow it to be. It can also be a wonderfully responsible dining experience and a great place to enjoy the company of family and friends. We've enjoyed this place several times in the past 319 days, and every time we've gone in with a game plan—and never once have we left feeling defeated. We also love to go there because the waitress always acts shocked at our changing appearances. Tonight it was: “You don't even look like the same people, I only knew it was you because of her (Courtney's) eyes.” I think she may have been exaggerating a little, it hasn't been that long since she laid eyes on us, but I'll tell you---We never get tired of that kind of response!

After dinner we retreated to the house and prepared for our workout. Then it was off to the YMCA for a wonderful workout. Courtney hopped on the elliptical, while Amber and I picked a treadmill. I thought about getting into the racquetball court too, but didn't. I need to schedule some more matches. It's always a better workout in the court when I'm competing against a real person. I haven't officially won a match yet, but that day is coming, it's coming real soon.

Again, thank you for reading this daily account from 505 pounds to 230 or whatever feels right! We're in the home stretch! Well, almost, we're approaching the home stretch! That's more like it! Goodnight and...

Good Choices,
Sean