CharlieBoston and the Waving Motivation

[CharlieBoston]

September 2012

 

“Bah-bee? After we put the kids to bed, I think I’mma go for a run.â€

 

My wife, a lovely, redheaded brainiac sat across the kitchen table from me, mouth agape with a hint of a smile; her eyes filled with equal parts surprise and happiness. Next to her sat our daughter, an adorable and intelligent 15 month old who turns from seriously analytical to goofily playful like one would flick a light switch; the lower half of her face covered with spaghetti sauce in such a way that resembled Ronald McDonald. In my lap sat our son, a 2 month old with blue eyes as large as his sister’s. Still a blank slate personality-wise, but you could see a spark of good humor lurking in his pupils. I held his bottle with my left hand, while I shoveled a forkful of my own spaghetti into my mouth with my right hand.

 

“Good for you, bah-bee. What brought this on?†my wife asked.

“Well, there’s a 5K in November that I want to sign up for and I think it’s about time I get of my ass and get back into shape.â€

“Go for it.â€

 

Mid-November 2012

 

Weeks passed and I ran the 5K. It was hillier than any route I’d ever run before, and as such I had to stop and walk a few times, lest my knees collapse from beneath me. Still, I finished with a faster time than my previous 5K from December 2009. My motivation had been to imagine my runs as epic battles against the Roman god Jupiter, ruler of the skies who attempted to dissuade me from my runs by causing rain and high winds. And for a while, this battle raged on, with me coming out on top as I ventured out into the elements anyway.

 

But I wasn’t eating better and my weight only dipped slightly below my starting weight of 235 lbs to 230. After the 5K I learned that a community theater I had worked at was going to put on a production of my favorite show, Jesus Christ Superstar. I decided I HAD to be in it. Fortunately, auditions were due in February 2013, so I had time to get in better shape. I acted like the part of Jesus or Judas (the only two parts I wanted and the only parts my wife would allow me to accept) was already mine and as such I wanted to look the part. Especially if they decided to go with the traditional depiction of Jesus on the cross (i.e. wearing nothing but a loincloth). So began the rebooting of my fitness regimen. I began logging my meals on DailyBurn Tracker again and ran in such a way that I was actually improving my overall pace. My goal: to be in better shape so I would feel comfortable being shirtless onstage.

 

January 2013

 

The weather was getting colder, but still manageable for running. From mid-November to New Year’s I had dropped 7 lbs and was then 223 lbs. My friends and family began a 90 Day â€The Biggest Loserâ€-style challenge. The highest weight loss percentage wins. I started out slow. After New Year’s the cold began getting bitter and running outside was becoming less safe. We have a stationary bike in the basement, but it was not the same. Fortunately, I received an email from DailyBurn inviting me to try their workout video site for free for 30 days. The email promoted their Tactical Bodyweight Training program.

 

“Perfect,†I thought to myself, “this should help out just nicely.â€

 

I began the 28 day program and it killed me in ways running didn’t. My weight dripped off me with each bead of sweat. I was shedding inches like they were articles of clothing. I had begun taking pictures of myself at the beginning of December and the beginning of each month hence and the difference is noticeable. My arms started to see definition, my belly was getting smaller and my waist was shrinking. My clothes got looser as time went on.

 

To date I am 206 lbs (a total loss of 29 lbs since September 2012), my body fat went from 22.1% to 17.5% and I went from a size 38 pant to size 36 or 34 (depending on who makes the clothes).

 

Now

 

However, since I returned from my long Easter weekend, when my wife and I venture up to Maine with her family for some skiing, my motivation has been wavering and I can’t really figure out the cause. One theory that I have is the 90 Day Challenge it coming to a close this weekend. The person who organizes it posts a weekly leader board showing the top three losers for the week as well as a running tally of top three losers overall. For the past few weeks I have been solidly stuck at 2^nd place while the leader, who no one thinks even had that much weight to lose, rests comfortably at the top spot. She’s a woman and weighs much less than I do, so she doesn’t have as much to lose to be me in percentage.

 

Another theory is that I am experiencing what my wife and I like to call my “exclamation point.†This is basically a sort of male PMS and it occurs with me a few times a year for a few days or even longer. I never notice it’s coming on or that it’s over, but I usually notice it’s happening right when I’m in the thick of it.

 

But whatever the cause, I am trying to battle through it until my motivation kicks back in and I’m all gung-ho about working out again. I finally worked out again last night, the first time since Sunday, which was the last time I skied, and I plan to do it again tonight. I’m still doing TBT on DailyBurn. I decided that I liked the results and signed up for a full membership. After this cycle, I think I might want to try their kettle bell program to build some strength.

 

The play was cancelled, by the way, but I still worked out like it was still going on and the show would be later this month and I think I’d be comfortable being shirtless, even if I still have lovehandles and small man-boobs. It’s better than I looked before.

 

I still have other goals, which I came up with the same time as the Jesus Christ Superstar goal. I plan to do at least two 5Ks this year, one of which I want to be in the top 5 finishers. Based on previous years, I would need to improve completion time to 18 minutes maximum. My last run (which was a couple of weeks ago), I finished in 24 minutes. I have until September to improve. Good thing the weather is starting to cooperate again.

 

I also am going to sign up for a Tough Mudder that will take place in the spring/summer of 2014, so I need to definitely work on my running and strength over the next year.

 

I found this site at the right time, I think. Already, writing about how far I’ve come has begun re-inspiring me to get back on the horse.

 

Looking forward to many nerdy shenanigans!

[Teros]

Welcome!  Idk if you know the #1spot woman, but I know when they do challenges like that at a gym there's usually someone that cheats with those 24-hour dehydration weight drops or other means.  Anyway, the focus shouldn't be on how good they are doing.  It's how good you're doing.  Keep up the work and gl.

[CharlieBoston]

Thanks! I do know the current first place holder, I can't say if she's cheating, but she wouldn't need to lose too much weight to have a higher percentage than me. My percentage is at something like 7.5% and although I don't know what her starting weight was, I'd estimate that she'd only need to lose 10 - 12 lbs to beat me out.

 

Don't get me wrong, I am happy with how I'm doing, but sometimes my competitive nature pokes through and pisses me off if someone gets the better of me. I'll get over it soon enough.