Jim's Place

Body-For-Life during the holidays

Well, the holiday season is just around the corner and I can already sense what many of my BFL buddies are thinking...

"There's no way to stay on track during the holidays!!!"

"Maybe I should take a break from BFL and just enjoy the holidays."

"To follow BFL I'm going to have miss all the fun while my friends are partying!"

And I gotta tell ya, I'm right there with you! Heck! I've done 3 consecutive challenges and it only makes sense that I should take a break. Don't I deserve it after all my hard work?!!! Well, that's the kind of thinking that only leads to regret...

Think about it! Don't you feel so much better now than you did when you used to 'just take it easy and enjoy life'? The truth is that living the easy life' inevitably leaves you feeling miserable...just trying to get through each day with the least amount of pain... Not exactly the kind of stuff that excites or inspires you...

Returning home after 9 months of Body-For-Life...

I just returned to San Diego after spending 11 days back in Ft. Worth with my family. I made flight reservations for this trip several months ago with the goal being that I would celebrate a successful 9 months and 3 consecutive Body-For-Life challenges. I had visualized how exciting it would be to see my Mom and family after dropping (hopefully) 100 lbs or so. For the last several years, our conversations have so often centered around my chronic illness and obesity issues...so much concern...and so much worry... But when I buckled my seatbelt on the plane, I noticed there was a lot more seatbelt left over than the last time I flew home... I smiled... Being 103 lbs lighter, I knew that THIS trip would be different...

See ya'll later...

 I'm off to Texas to visit my family tomorrow morning... When I started my first challenge in January I told them that I would fly in to celebrate after I finished my third challenge. I'll be back Oct. 24th although I hope to snag a computer while I'm there to stay in touch with my Body-For-Life buddies...

I've been draggin' a bit lately due to sinus infections and colds and very likely some hormone imbalances since my doctor recently lowered a couple of my medications. Looks like he may have dropped them too much...

However, I've still managed to get in some strong bike rides and a couple of workouts at the gym lately. Today, I even rode up the tough Mission Gorge hill that I mentioned in an earlier post. And I'm taking over the kitchen when I get to Ft. Worth and it'll be Eating-For-Life recipes every day! I also decided to buy my younger brother an exercise bike while I'm there. He's wanting to start BFL and I'll be able to use it when I visit as well.

My biggest cheerleader...

Lately, I've really been grateful for the tremendous comeback I've made in my life over the last 9 months of my Body-For-Life program... Certainly, I've put my heart and soul into losing 103 lbs and getting on top of the chronic illness that has been such a challenge for so many years... I'm so grateful for the support and encouragement of my friends, family and BFl buddies... I'd like to think I'm a very strong man but the truth is that without their support and God's blessing it simply would not have happened... But in all my excitement about my new life and my new body, something is missing...

My brother Jerry... Jerry was always my biggest cheerleader. In those years before my illness was even diagnosed he never doubted me... Even though at the time he was suffering from ultimately fatal heart disease our conversations always started with "How are you Jim?" For years my closest friends didn't understand my struggles with chronic illness but Jerry always knew exactly what I was going through...even though he was over 1000 miles away...

Right now...It IS all about the bike!

Despite being out-of-commission lately because of my cold, I've been feeling a bit inspired about my return to cycling...   

I'm a big picture guy... I try to keep my day-to-day experiences in perspective by not making too much of the occasional setbacks and disappointments that are inevitable in this world. I remind myself often that God still loves me as I am no matter how many times I stumble or mess up. I try to live with an attitude of gratitude - grateful for my family, friends, God's love and every day above ground... I see so many people obsessed with material possessions and the temporal pleasures of this world and I just want to jump in their face and tell them to get their priorities straight!

But despite my focus on not getting wrapped up or consumed by anything too superficial here I am sitting in my living room looking at my beautiful new bike...and dreaming of my next ride... Even though a viral cold has kept me off the bike for almost a week I'm giddy thinking about what my next adventure might be... Will I do that challenging 50-mile ride through the mountains? Wow! That would be cool! Or maybe I'll just take a long ride along the coast... Yeah! That would be great! Or how about really testing myself by tackling some steep climbs that I haven't been able to do for many years?! Decisions! Decisions!

Kind of hard to believe I'm really 50 yrs old... Here I am like a kid at Disneyland having the welcome problem of deciding which exciting ride I want to go on! No more kiddy rides for me - After years of struggling through chronic illness and obesity I'm ready to hang with the big kids! Over the years, I've had quite a few of my Christian friends tell me that I shouldn't be so obsessed with riding my bike, that I should put God first. On the surface, their logic seemed sound but instinctively I've known the truth...

When I'm climbing through a mountain pass struggling to keep my legs going, I never feel more alive...or closer to God. Although I enjoy the excellent and meaningful sermons at my church, I know I'm where I belong when I'm on my bike... Certainly, I've needed the touch of the Holy Spirit while sitting in the pew Sunday after Sunday to overcome chronic illness and life in general...but just as much I've also thrived from the healing and lessons I've learned from those long hours in the saddle Saturday after Saturday...

It's easy to look at my new bike and question why anyone would spend so much for a 'toy'. How could any spiritually-focused man like me be so obsessed with a material possession! But I see so much more than just a cool bike - I see an incredible culmination of many people using their God-given skills and talents to create a masterpiece that honors their creator...

Perhaps, I'll need to adjust my perspective at some point and not be so enamored with my bike. Certainly, I don't want to lose sight of the big picture and God's plan for my life. And I have a lot of reality to address...getting on top of my illness...losing more weight...finding some way to make a living...and finding a good woman to share my life with...

But for now I don't care what anyone says..it is simply all about the bike. That may seem superficial to some but I know it's where I need to be. At some point in my Christian walk, I want to be in church every Sunday and get back into singing in the choir. But for now, the honest-to-God truth is that my 'walk' is actually more of a ride... a spiritual journey that few are so blessed to traverse...

Got a dollar?

The drugs are kicking in and I'm starting to feel better after slogging through a sinus infection and viral cold all week. But I missed a workout and a couple of bike rides as a result. I feel it was best to do that but it got me thinking...

Although I knew it was best to skip the workouts this time, I felt a sense of loss. Unlike when I first started Body-For-Life over 9 months ago, I wasn't too concerned about how the missed workouts might affect reaching my goals for this challenge. It's mainly that I now get so much value from each of my workouts - not just down the road - but immediately...

I love the feeling of being so alive, the empowerment, the giddiness and the confidence that each and every workout brings. Regardless of what happens tomorrow or whether I achieve my long-term goals, I get to feel like a kid for that day. My investment in my physical well-being begins paying off immmediately and makes everything better that day than it would have been if I had just taken the easy way out.

It's kind of like buying a $1 lottery ticket every day and knowing that you'll always win $10. It may sound too good to be true, but I've yet to meet someone who made their fitness and health a priority and regretted it. And on the other hand, I still don't know anyone who has neglected their body and feels good about it. It's an investment you just can't beat...

So make sure you always come up with that dollar each day...even if you have to scrounge up some loose change to get it. You know it'll be worth the effort and besides you can always use the 10 bucks...