The Long March To Under 200

When I was a child growing up in Dayton, Ohio, we used to go on family vacations and road trips across the country.

As we were driving home, it always seemed to take forever.  That's the way it is, isn't it?  Always fast on the way there, slow on the way home. 

But then we would reach Richmond, Indiana.  A fairly small Midwestern town along I-70 near the Ohio/Indiana border;  it is 41.5 miles from the middle of Richmond to Downtown Dayton. 

And yet, for whatever reason, it always felt like it took hours and hours to drive that last distance home.  Why?  Because it was at the end. 

The same can be said of this lifestyle change.  I have been grinding away at my weight for 2 years, 3 months and 4 days.  

I am down to the last 50 pounds or so.  When I reach 198 pounds, I will be at a weight I haven't weighed since the 4th grade.  That's exactly 30 years ago. 

Because I am near the end, it will take what feels like forever to lose this last 50 pounds.  But I really don't care how long it takes.  I've never cared that. I know it has to be forever. The hard work won't even begin until all the weight is off.  Keeping weight that you have lost off is 10 times harder than losing it is. 

It never ends. In fact, it's just beginning.

Early To Bed, Early To Rise

Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."
-Benjamin Franklin

I've heard this said all my life, but in the last 2 years and 3 months, I have realized that it is 100% true.  I simply could not have lost 328 pounds on my own without converting to a daytime schedule. And I will never work any other schedule, ever again.

There is something about going to bed early that instills discipline. Getting up early is refreshing, energizing and puts me in a completely different frame of mind than sleeping until noon does.

In addition, night time promotes all of the demons.  Darkness.  Being alone.  Brightly lit fast food restaurant signs.  Late night pizza delivery.  Endless TV watching.

To anyone considering a lifestyle change, I would absolutely say switching to a day shift as soon as humanly possible is a total must.