Joel: Shamed Into Doing This...

Well, I got this crazy idea yesterday to just do something I've long wished I could do, but also long since lost the ability to do. I wrote about it last night (I've Had It! Why I'm Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired, and What I'm Doing About It) and then went to school this morning. Shortly after my 3rd period Beginner Band class, I got an email from one of my fellow (albeit a tad eccentric) blogging friends with the proposition to start up this blog. I have to admit, her zeal and eagerness to get it up and running has me railing to keep up, so we'll see just how well it all pans out.

A little background
When I was in 2nd grade, I was the fastest kid in class. I was running all over the place. I was happy. I was nerdy, but I just didn't care. It was great!

Over the years, that quickness has left me, as well as the happiness, and just not caring. I remain a nerd. I guess somewhere around 4th grade, I really began to struggle with my weight. I use the term struggle loosely, as I honestly didn't care much about it then. I played some sports on and off (even played football at my junior high my freshman year), but was never much of an avid workout type. Marching band was a lot of fun in high school, but not nearly as physically challenging as the sports had been. But it took up a lot of my time and sports had to go.

The summer after high school, I marched with a drum and bugle corps, touring the United States and Canada throughout the summer. By the end of the summer of 1996, I was really tan and weighed 160 pounds. That is the best shape I have been in in my life.

Fast forward

In the summer of 1997, I was in a pretty severe car wreck, which seriously reduced my physical activity. Laziness compounded, and I entered the fall of 1999 weighing in at just around 230 pounds. A few months of vegetarian low-carb dieting (don't ask why) brought me down to just under 200 pounds in early 2000. I was walking some again, and felt really good. Then low carb turned into less low-carb, turned into regular-carb, turned into high-carb, turned into freak-out-high-carb diet.

Student teaching band = NO TIME FOR ANYTHING

In the summer of 2001, I got back into the walking habit (around an hour three to five times a week), but student teaching really ate up my time. That and the tumor I had between my lung and heart which made breathing a challenge. Finally found it and had it removed in early 2002, followed by months of not lifting anything heaver than 5 pounds. That's not so good for the ol' workout.

Now in my eighth year of teaching

I've had stints of exercising followed by long droughts over the years. This summer, I began suffering from allergies pretty heavily. I also started playing golf and was again reminded of how great it is to be outside in South Texas in the summer. I have been considering getting a Wii (and Wii Fit) for a couple of years now, so when the price dropped in October, I knew it was time to act.

Time to get this whole weight thing under control again

So I have friends who run marathons and half marathons and all these things. None of them have a physique similar to mine. (ahem) So I decided this year to challenge myself and finally step up. I asked one of them who lives in the Austin area if she'll run a 5K with me in April, and she said she'd love to. So it's time to get crackin'.

On top of all this, our school nurse sent out an email today for a two-month weight loss challenge. Weigh-in is tomorrow and weigh-out is just a few days before spring break.

As many years as I've live telling myself I'll lose weight or exercise more or whatever, this time I have specific goals. In order to achieve a goal, the experts tell us, it must be specific, realistic, measurable, and written.

So two goals:

1. Run a 5K by the end of the school year
   If I end up walking in the one in April, I have a month and a half to get to where I can run one before June
2. Lose 60 pounds by the end of 2010
   5 pounds a month is definitely realistic and sustainable, and it puts me weighing under 200 pounds (185 puts me at the top of the overweight category, while 186 puts me at the bottom of the obese category) by the end of 2010

I'm going to be using Wii Fit to do the calculations and post updated numbers each Sunday. Let's see how it goes!