Day 497 Why So Serious? And Some Much Needed Comic Relief

Day 497

Why So Serious? And Some Much Needed Comic Relief

I wasn't in the mood for breakfast this morning. What? But Sean, breakfast is something you don't ever miss right? That's right. But since it was close to lunch time when I hit the floor, I decided to eat a lunch type meal first. I grilled a chicken breast to absolute perfection on the Foreman and surrounded the thing with about four servings of green beans. I really need to go shopping. I could have fixed a rice type side dish, but I'm not big on rice or it's calories.

I decided to hit the fitness room not long after lunch. It was a workout. Not the greatest in the world, but I was moving---and to be honest, some days I just feel like that. I'll forgive myself for not giving it a “Biggest Loser” style effort today. Who am I kidding? I've never given it that kind of effort. I'm thinking of buying Jillian's Shred DVD. I have friends that were just appalled at that last sentence, and others that would applaud. Here's the deal: In the last week I've had three different people, independent of each other, tell me what an amazing workout her DVD was for them. If I do buy one, I may need to take a DVD player to the fitness room downstairs because I'm not so sure my downstairs neighbor would appreciate me jumping and Jillian yelling. Does she yell on those DVD's? Hmmm...I might need that.

In reading some of my recent blog postings, I can't help but notice the seriousness of some of the subjects. I've said many times that I don't like dramatics, and that's true. But this journey can get very serious sometimes. Maybe avoiding the seriousness in past weight loss attempts contributed to their failure. Then I thought, I've had a lot of laughs along the way too! When I think of laughing, I can't help but think of the time I was pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt (it wouldn't fit around my 500 plus pound body) and I tried to convince the officer I was getting serious about losing weight. That's not funny really, but the fact that I had a couple of hot fresh steaming bags of McDonald's in the seat right below his nose, yeah...that was funny. It's time to bring that one back. Here's the excerpt from Day 25 Mentally Ready and The McSeatbelt:

A few months ago I was getting ready to head home one evening when I decided that instead of cooking, we would have McDonalds. I drove to the drive through and loaded up with nearly twenty bucks and 4500 calories worth of double cheeseburgers, Quarter Pounders with Cheese, a Filet-O-Fish with extra tarter sauce, and another bag dedicated to the fries. We were going large that night. I was nearly three blocks away from home when a motorcycle police officer pulled me over. He walked up to the passenger side window and stuck his head in right above all that food. I can't believe he didn't sneak a fry or two, they were right there in his face and the hypnotizing aroma filled the van. He told me that he was pulling me over because I wasn't wearing a seatbelt. I want to wear it, and I've tried to wear it, I've even given myself a charley horse in my side trying to buckle that thing, it just will not click. So I told him that I couldn't wear the seatbelt because it didn't fit...I went on to tell him that I was working on losing the weight (a lie at the time) and soon I would be able to click the seatbelt without giving myself a hernia in the attempt. He told me to wait right there, and he went back to his motorbike. I don't know what he was saying on his radio, but I can only imagine the story he told to his fellow officers about the guy who couldn't fit in the seatbelt... “then he said he was working on losing weight...the guy had 23 McDonalds bags in the front seat!”. It was real hard to keep a straight face when I told him that I was trying to lose weight while all the hot food right beside me was wafting in his face. He came back and told me that after considering the circumstances he would give me a warning this time, and that I needed to look into getting some seatbelt extenders. I guarantee he re-told that story when he got home... “you wouldn't believe the guy I pulled over today”. Before he walked away I really wanted to tell him that the food wasn't all for me. I didn't, I was too embarrassed to say anything but thank you. When I got home I told my family about the traffic stop, and despite the seriousness of not being able to fit in a seat belt, we couldn't help but laugh at that slice of comedy gold, then we ate everything in those 23 bags...actually it was only two bags. Day 26 and the beginning of another weekend is only hours away. Thank you for reading this blog, your feedback and support is sincerely appreciated.

You can laugh, go ahead. That's one hilarious situation. Sure it's sad and very serious on many levels too, but sometimes you just have to laugh. I love to laugh. I need to remind myself to do that more. Don't we all?

After my show tomorrow I'm headed to Tulsa for a photo shoot with the Tulsa World. I'm excited! On the way back home I'm stopping in Stillwater to talk to a gentleman about my story. The guys family hopes that my story might inspire him. It's risky, I know, and not something I would normally do...but I will do it for a really good friend who has never said no to me on anything. I can't say no to him now even though I fully understand that unless a person is ready to be inspired, ready to change, and accepting of their urgent need---they just might be offended and hurt instead of inspired and grateful. That's just a chance we'll take this time. I have the entire drive to Tulsa and back to get my carefully chosen words in order. And of course I'm not stopping in Stillwater without seeing my mom! Couldn't do it, wouldn't want to miss seeing her. She's so wonderful. I spoke with her earlier and she had just finished walking. She's a proud momma, and I'm I couldn't be more proud of her for the commitment she's made in losing weight and exercising. She's going to do this!

Thank you for reading. Goodnight and...

Good Choices,
Sean