I will go out on a limb and say that most, if not all, of us has a great moment we look back on where we were “in pretty good shape”. It may have been playing sports in high school or when you completed a race in your 20s or after a biggest loser challenge at work in your 30s. There’s some cool memory you have where you felt pretty good about who was looking at you in the mirror.
Mine was in my 20s and playing pick up basketball ALL THE TIME. There is zero exaggeration in all the time. I was probably on some kind of basketball court five days a week. I played basketball instead of going out. I wasn’t really trying to be in shape, we were just having fun and the by-product was I could run and jump and had a little bit of stamina and strength, pretty freaking awesome.
Fast forward from that happy picture you have in the full length mirror to the pictures you take now that are just of your increasingly round-ish face. I was trying to think the other day when I got fat. As with most things it is a slow and arduous process to reach the rotund physique that I created in my soon to be 41-year-old body. I do recall a moment though when I was getting out of the shower and realized that my fat rolls on my back were now touching each other (sexy imagery I know).
Being sloppy was pretty fun though, aside from the aches, pains, shortness of breath, and ice packs. I just ate and slept and ate some more. I was lucky enough that my fat-boy was still able to be a fairly active dude. Those good genetics allowed me to just keep on keeping on with my life because “it wasn’t that bad”.
I remember being smaller, but I really don’t remember what it felt like to be “in good shape”.
I remember the feeling of getting excited about a buffet
I remember the mouth-watering goodness of birthday cake
I remember eating a third plate in one sitting of a holiday meal
But I don’t recall what if felt like to actually be fairly fit…that’s pretty sad.
I remember someone telling me once that while recovering from alcoholism he had to create “new tapes” that would play in his head. He had to create new responses for the situations his entire life that had previously been to take a drink. I want some new healthy tapes too. I’d like to know what waking up and craving green smoothies instead of chicken biscuits feels like. Maybe I can automatically enjoy an apple the way I’ve enjoyed a Twix my entire life.
Reset
Restart
Re-live
Timehop is a pretty cool app that goes back into your social media archive and shows you what you posted in previous years. There has been tons of cool stuff but something I have also realized
DUDE I’VE BEEN FAT A LONG TIME
and I’ve been putting it out there a long time and I’ve been fighting it a long time.
Finding that 20 something basketball kid isn’t about a resolution or a plan or a program. That kid didn’t have any of that. He just played and lived. That kid didn’t eat great but that kid also knew that if he wanted to be able to not suck on the court that night I couldn’t destroy five trips back through the buffet line either.
Reset
Restart
Re-live
Making new memories takes time and most of us hate that part so we’d rather just keep pulling up the mental VCR on the old memories that are comfortable and safe. Gang you can’t find a VHS tape now to save your life, yet you won’t upgrade your mental Beta tapes for fear of losing something special. I think it is a good day to try this fancy new HD life guys…come on, you’ve got nothing to lose.
Ciao
SK
If I can do it... 