Am I Not Pretty Enough? A Good Weekly Weigh-In and a Great Start to the First Full Week of My 60th Year

I've switched my weekly weigh-in day to Mondays in order to accommodate my, er, summer travel schedule, and today's number -- 252.8 -- continues my great progress: I've completed three weeks of BMGS 2.0 and have surpassed my pound-a-week goal by dropping 4.2 pounds over three weeks. Especially good since the past week included lots of birthday festivities for me and Danny, and I did not pass on the cake.

24 laps this morning to get the week started at the pool, and it felt like a snap.

I love this song. I don't know Kasey Chambers from Casey Jones, but I love this song.

Freaky Pizza, and a Great Line

As I wrote on my Facebook page today (June 3, 2009), I am "amazed and grateful for your wonderful outpouring of birthday wishes. I began my 60th year with an absolutely wonderful dinner with multiple generations of family and loved ones last night at Za in East Arlington. I know I am a sap, but so far, it is a great, great year."

Also worth mentioning that both yesterday on my birthday and today in its aftermath I got to the pool and did my 22 laps, and despite a very nice dinner that included what Danny calls "freaky pizza" (others might call it "gourmet"), a pint and a half of Smutty Nose dark beer (I split the second pint with Kippy), and some extremely sinful "bourbon pecan pie with whipped cream," I got on the scale today and can report that I right on track as I head toward my next weigh-in on Sunday.

Said she'd never been in trouble, or even in town

Originally posted to BMGS 1.0 10/8/2007

A little over a week ago Donna made a very thoughtful comment that I’ve been kind of waiting for the right moment to engage:

22 Pounds! That's very good for one month! How does all this make you feel? I would imagine you are having feelings of accomplishment and power, and loving yourself more and more. Those are the real benefits of having a goal, focusing on it and doing it!
Donna

I think those very positive feelings are there, definitely, and as she says they are direct benefits of focusing on a goal and achieving it.

Yet I have to admit that it is so easy to lose touch with the positive feelings, even while I am doing it. It is my proven nature that, far too often, even when things are going exceptionally well, I have a tendency to get all wrapped up in the other things I want to accomplish, the other goals that are not being met, the various and manifold ways in which I am flawed. If that were simple humility it might be a good thing, but I think it is as many parts pride as humility.

I am not bringing this up just now to try to figure it out or conquer it, because I would not be optimistic regarding my chances in that battle. I only want to say that it is part of the condition of things for me, something I must live with and try to keep in its place.

And what I must say beyond that, the almost naming of this probably pointless angst, is that this is a large part of why it is good for me to write things down as I am doing, to record my progress toward this very serious goal – the goal of getting into good shape, a goal that I haven’t yet made specific in terms of an ultimate number. By writing things down here, of course, there is the obvious gravity of accountability that helps me stay on track. But there is also the fact that I am allowed to look at this blog each morning, a few times a day even, and say, “Yeah, keep it up, you are doing it, you hot shit,” or words to that effect.

And every bit as nice is that I get comments like Donna’s and emails and other nice feedback from people who know me and people who don’t, along the way. It helps, and I absolutely believe that I will live longer as a result.

I am getting younger every day. The problem with that is that I could keep going, way too far, and end up a dorky kid again, back in 1965, knowing nothing ... sort of like these guys ... give it up for The Critters. Really, they called themselves that.

American pop music had it moments in the 60s, it really did. These guys made two mildly interesting songs, and just go ahead and try to tell me that this line isn't deep:

Said she'd never been in trouble, or even in town

It's a great line, is all.



Here's a somewhat more interesting cover of the same song, by an English-language band out of Hong Kong, Teddy Robin and the Playboys:

Getting Younger Every Year - and a Good Weekly Weigh-in

I'm just taking a few minutes to squeeze in a post before my pal and I head over to my sister Deborah's house for a pre-birthday dinner, since I've got nice things to share.

Tuesday will be my 59th birthday and it must be a sign that there are great things going on in my life that I seem to be in the midst of several days of birthday celebrations. Last night my pal took me out for dinner at Pho & I and then to a really fun, high-energy, funny performance of Pirates! at the Huntington Theater. Dinner tonight with Deborah, and on Tuesday we're getting together with Danny, Annie (his Mom, my ex), and Kippy for a double birthday do.

All of this might be challenging to the plans and programs of the Big Man Getting Smaller 2.0 -- no more than 2500 calories a day, daily swimming, and losing a pound a week -- but I am doing right fine with it. Just keeping my eye on the priorities and the plan, and I'm happy to report that my weekly weigh-in confirmed my progress:

I lost 1.6 this week after losing 2.2 the week before.

1.6 pounds may not seem like much, but it means that for the week my net calorie intake was 5,600 calories less than my maintenance level. The devil is in the details.

I'll keep on. Maybe by Tuesday I will even feel confident enough to enjoy a piece of cake! But the important thing is that, in addition to enjoying my life and the people I love, devoting myself to this effort gives me hope that this 60th year that will begin Tuesday will be one in which I feel younger at the end than at the beginning. That, after all, is what I am here for.