Monday, July 4, 2022

18 month update. A few Milestones reached.

Wow, what a crazy year and a half already.

I have now pushed way past 100 pounds lost. In hindsight, it is very clear I weighed far more than just a "little" over 300 at the worst. There are things in life that are better left unknown, I think that actual number is one I never want to know.

On a personal level though, seeing the number drop below 212 was an amazing moment. It was the start of 5th grade the first time I saw than number on the scale. Back in the 1980s, the Presidential Physical Fitness Exam was very important, at least where I grew up, in the Midwest. Near the beginning of each school year all children would line up in the gym for a timed, ranked, competitive fitness exam. Push ups, jumping jacks, pull ups, jump roping, running a mile, and... a height and weight check for everyone in front of everyone else.

So, yeah, that was me, 212 in 5th grade, for all the world to see. It was not good enough to just put these ranks on us, we had to "arrange" ourselves from first to last as scores where given for every test. For height we would lay dawn and form a cascade of heads from top to bottom, seemed fun, but probably not for the really short kids, I was pushing over 6 feet at the time. Then for weight they did a "bell curve." I was so far off the curve, the teacher made me walk out the gym into the hall, so the curve was still "accurate."

I hope I can say this without it being misunderstood, fitness for children is an absolute disaster right now, and we need to do SO MUCH BETTER. But, what they did to us kids long ago, did not make us faster, stronger, better. It simply ensured many of us never got a chance to start life with a positive body image.

It may have taken 3 decades, but if I can break what I saw in the old mirrors, and start seeing something I do not hate in the new mirrors, you can do it too.

You are all doing great. Have a great summer, and remember - Firework mishaps do not count as a responsible weight loss strategy.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/M5lHSLC

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