How Did I Get Here, Part 8
May 1st, 2006 | by Scott |Or, Changes
In May of 2004, I decided it was time for a radical overhaul in my life.
I went on a diet. At my max, I topped the scales around 250 pounds.
My cholesterol was inching higher and higher. I was susceptible to high blood pressure and diabetes.
My culinary choices were keeping me from a healthy lifestyle.
I’ve always been overweight. But, I realized, with two little girls that I owed it to them to do something about it.
I began a rigorous diet and eventually lost in the neighborhood of 70 pounds.
I began to exercise. I began to run.
As a result, I began to look at life and the beauty of living a whole lot differently.
That was a huge accomplishment for the guy in the past whose idea of a healthy meal were extra onions on a hamburger and whose exercise regimen consisted of running to the refrigerator between commercial breaks. (I had wanted a house where the living room television was viewable from the kitchen. That would have eliminated any rash decisions of choosing what to eat before the game resumes. But, alas,it was not to be.)
I have since leveled off around 200 pounds. I would like to lose that extra 20 back and am resolving again to eat healthier.
My running suffered a huge blow toward the end of last year. After topping off at 10 miles, I hit the wall. But, slowly, I am building myself back to where I was.
The reason this is part of this series is because of the added perspective living the healthy lifestyle has given me.
I began to be concerned about what I ate. I began to be concerned about how the additives and preservatives in food contribute to the breaking down of the human body.
I began to be interested in organic and whole foods.
I realized that diet and exercise corrected many of my physical problems and that dependence upon pharmaceutical companies was unnecessary.
This new healthy lifestyle was the impetus for my environmental shift.
What’s more I began to ask myself some questions about the rest of my life. If I could benefit from a physical makeover, what about a spiritual one?
Are there parts of my spiritual diet that need to be questioned? Are there some long held beliefs that need to be overhauled?
Is Calvinism viable?
What about Democrats? Do they know anything?
I began to open myself to ask questions about every aspect of my belief system.
It seems a tremendous jump from a diet to questioning all of my beliefs.
But what that change of lifestyle did was open me up to the realization that I had been living one of aspect of my life so wrongly. So maybe I was doing the same in others.
I am 75% of the man I used to be.
Next: The prayer that transformed everything.
7 Responses to “How Did I Get Here, Part 8”
By Chris Field on May 1, 2006 | Reply
Great story. Congrats on the lost weight but more so on the willingness to open yourself up to ask questions that you maybe weren’t willing to ask before. Blessings on your continued journey. May your questions always outnumber your answers.
By Lachen on May 1, 2006 | Reply
I find myself reading these installments of your life journey (well, in much synopsisized version) and not wanting to say anything or respond until the end of the series - as though it is rude somehow to applaud or comment in the middle of a movie. Weird. But I am here, checking in.
By Scott on May 1, 2006 | Reply
Chris, thanks so much.
Lachen, not rude at all but I understand you wanting to wait until the end. But I feed on comments so don’t hesitate to weigh in.
This series will end soon, I promise.
By Pat on May 1, 2006 | Reply
I have to say that I was a bit worried about you in Abq. Your eating habits and all. And the jump from running to spiritual matters is not weird at all. In fact, running or any regular exercise for that matter, has taught me a lot about self-discipline. You know, the times that exercising is absolutely the last thing you want to do, but you go ahead and do it. Afterwards, I would always feel like a conqueror. Because I had conquered myself. Do that enough times and it encourages the attitude of being disciplined in other areas of your life as well.
Hey, I told Emily that she ought to read Blue Like Jazz and she’s already read it. In fact, Elliott owns it and loves it because he sees his upbringing as similar to Don’s. That’s such a wonderful surprise to me that my new son-in-law absolutely loves a book that I absolutely love. Cool.
By Laymond on May 1, 2006 | Reply
good for you keep at it as one who has had two heart operations I know what I am talking about I certianly wish I had paid more attention to my physical health when I was younger
By R-Liz (Ruthie) on May 1, 2006 | Reply
Your weight loss is really amazing. Like you said, it’s no easy task, but it can really revolutionize your life.
I find myself honing in on some of the asides in this latest entry:
“I had wanted a house where the living room television was viewable from the kitchen. That would have eliminated any rash decisions of choosing what to eat before the game resumes. But, alas,it was not to be.”
–Get a DVR (or Tivo) and you’ll never have to worry about such things again.
“…and that dependence upon pharmaceutical companies was unnecessary.”
–Oh, crap.
By Scott on May 1, 2006 | Reply
Lamont, thanks. I wish you well with your heart issues.
Ruthie, we have had a DVR for about 2 and a half years now. You are right, It has made all the difference. And don’t worry, my disdain for the pharmaceutical companies does not extend to the individuals within.