The Stairs Are There...and the people are using them

It's catching on. I'm not the first person who has thought of it but I've been telling my co-workers how I walk the 16 flights of stairs to our floor every morning. And, most recently have been climbing to the top floor (23rd).

One came over to me the other day to tell me that she has been climbing the flights from floor 10 (where our lunchroom is) up to 16. She is out of breath from it but feels so much better. It was really fun to talk to her about it and I challenged her to add in a few more here and there and to take the plunge. I said one day you are going to walk through the front doors and decide today is the day and you will huff it up the 16. Or, just stop at 10 and take the elevator. We'll see what she does.

A couple of weeks ago, another co-worker came to me out of breath after a large meeting we had down on the 3rd floor. I took the elevator but she totally showed me up, she decided to just climb them all to 16:)

It's really fun to see people around you getting into it. To me it's just a part of my day but they are beginning to understand how nice it is that we have those to use whenever we want:) I use the stairs as a justification for more coffee (which I don't need). I walk up the 16 to my desk. Then a few minutes later walk down to 10, get my coffee then climb back up 6 to my floor. A few hours later I go back down and repeat. So, by the end of the day I've climbed at least 28 flights... sometimes more!

Just an Ordinary Guy

This morning I was listening to the Blue Scholars. They are a local rap group consisting of two guys and usually I just listen to the songs and then move on to whatever comes up on random. Today I actually listened to the lyrics (not the norm for me!) and I was surprised at the simplicity of the lines and how they concisely convey everything I’ve blabbed on about for the past 5 months. There is a lot more to the song but this stood out to me, kind of like when you hear your name at a party even if it’s loud and you are on the other side of the room! Check out the lyrics…

And people keep asking how I lost this weight
More work and less food on the plate, man
Just a simple plan with a little bit of self discipline

I'm just an ordinary guy, ignoring all the hype
I let it all pass me by

When I’m asked about my weight loss I often stumble at the simplicity of it all. Like he says, “more work (read: get off your ass) and less food on the plate, just a simple plan with a little bit of self discipline”. That’s it, that’s exactly how it happened for me. Some of the lines were left out but when I heard how the chorus started it all just fell together. So here is how I will answer from now on, (minus the whole rapping and rhyming thing).

“Wow man, you’ve lost some weight, how’d you do it?!” so and so asks.
And I’ll say, “I ate less, I worked out and moved more along with a little discipline and will power. I knew it would have to be a lifestyle change not a quick fix. Not anything fun to hear but that’s how it happened.”

Humbled...

Part of what makes writing day in and day out (or every 4th day;) so interesting and rewarding is the people you connect with. Old friends, family and people on the other side of the world have come to this blog to leave me a comment or two... I've been inspired by them and have somehow inspired them, too.

I didn't really struggle at weight loss in the past few years because I wasn't trying to lose weight. For many years I just lived. I ate what I wanted, drank what I wanted, both too quickly. That's a recipe for disaster. Yeah, I felt gross and sick at times...I felt guilty moments after eating something... I was dilusional to how I looked, yes, I've been there. I was always aware of it but I made every excuse (I still make some now)...one of my favorites that always makes me laugh is when I told Sally that "my body must like being 250 so I'll just shoot for that" Ha ha ha. Absurd!

Lately the onset of a stall... a long, boring plateau has just flipped me around. I've written about this way too many times but I kinda lost it, I just wasn't trying as hard. I'm finally feeling a resurgence as of late and have heard so many amazing comments from people around me. I want to share one from my cousin Wendy! She has hit a milestone goal for herself and I have to call her out!!! I hope this is OK Wendy:)

"I just wanted to let you know that this morning when I weighed myself, I was seeing 110! I reached my goal and I am so happy! I owe much of my motivation to your blog and really appreciate you being so honest with your journey of weight loss. For awhile I felt, after 30 you just can’t be as thin as you were in High School. You have been inspirational to me to get back in my good habits and continue to reach for my goals. I have been stuck in the “5 lbs over my goal weight” for about three years now so this day is very exciting for me. Last summer I was even 10 lbs over, so that was very difficult. I can finally fit into my Sevens…are they even in style now…it’s been awhile. I was stuck in what I called my “big girl Hudson’s” for a few years...refusing to buy bigger sized clothes except for one pair of Hudson’s I got on sale at Nordstrom’s. Just kidding…thanks, Jeff! I will continue to follow your journey as I attempt to maintain what I have accomplished. I never thought I would see 110 again, so I am proof it’s possible! I had many things going against me, but I did it to my surprise. I know you’ll be seeing 210 in no time!"

What an amazing thing to read! So happy for her...and you are safe with your Seven jeans...they are still cool :)

Have a great weekend everybody! And, keep the faith! It's gonna happen:)

Rolling with the Metaphors

My back is 75% now…it actually feels like 85% but I'm allowing for 10% failure rate because I'm at the point where my mind is saying it's good to go but one move in the wrong direction could have me laid up again. I was having a tough time this week getting myself motivated to try anything…I figured some rest has got to be good for me!

Lately, when I hit a lull like this I've gotten a friendly kick in the backside and/or reminder to keep on plugging away! I have heard from a lot of you recently during these tweaked back days and I really appreciate it. Last post I mentioned a metaphor that I wrote to Dennis…well, he wrote back. He sent me a metaphor that got me to think about those times when you are either in a lull or incapacitated in some way. Dennis and I write back and forth to keep each other motivated and it works! Lately I've been talking the talk but he's walking the walk. 4 of 8 days he has done his routine and is just killin' it, good stuff. Wish I could say the same.

The metaphor was a good one, it reminded me that I can keep going through motions to not lose the "fire" I've built over these many months. He simply titled it "Pilot Light". During an email to him I told him that I was going crazy driving on my running route and that I really missed all those things that I physically can't do at the moment. He countered with giving me a few non-impactful exercises I could do that would isolate all movement away from my back…then said "why pilot light? I guess, because it's something to keep the fire burning until you come bursting back, exploding onto the scene with full speed and power…" So basically he just reminded me to go through the motions, do a little careful exercise to not lose the momentum I've worked so hard to gain!

Hook, Line & Sinker

It totally had me. Images of people starting their days with the sun rising and so much hope ahead of them… all to the tune of a very influential song, "Today" by the Smashing Pumpkins. I hoped during the first 20 seconds that it was going to be a commercial for something inspirational. I would've been ok with a Nike commercial. Sadly it was a Visa commercial. Visa didn't get me into the financial situation I'm in (it's like saying guns don't kill people, people do) but I was left flattened and confused at how all that inspiration ties into Visa and having a credit card. I mean, I get it…the message is simple enough… but, really?! Visa?

Anyways, now that I totally let the cat out of the bag… try watching it for what it is. It's a great commercial with a great imagery and one of my favorite voice-over voices (I won't ruin that for you). I like to watch it and pretend it's going to be a different product at the end. Kind of like during a suspenseful movie when you try to will a different ending, or maybe that's just me. Another idea would be to watch it for the first 25 seconds then move on…allowing the song and the images to be ingrained as a positive message before the Visa logos are plastered across the screen.

An inspirational message brought to you by the fine folks at Visa.