Still on the Wagon

Tomorrow is a big day for me. Not only was January 31, 2008 the premiere of the fourth season of LOST (before the show went totally sci-fi insane), but it was also the first day I set foot in a gym in about 172 years. Unlike past failures, I was able to persevere through those first six habit-forming months. Three years later, I'm still rocking out (almost) every single night.

While Year One was a time of great success and celebration, Year Two was crazy frustrating. I dropped about eighty pounds in that first year, but after a barbecue and taco-filled trip to Texas in December 2008, I started to fall off the wagon. Repeatedly. I would gain fifteen pounds, lose ten pounds, gain fifteen pounds, lose twenty pounds, etc. Seeing weeks of hard work washed away by a few trips to some of our culinary favorites was absolutely maddening.

After all that drama, I desperately craved stability in Year Three. I got off to a great start and went crazy with the weights for a solid three months. Alas, my trip to Thailand totally messed me up and I never fully recovered. After eating $.50 ice cream, smoothies, pad thai, curry, pancakes, and bubble teas fourteen times a day for two weeks straight, it was hard to return to a "healthy" lifestyle. Thus, I packed on a few pounds last spring, but an unexpected benefit to our two months in Cambodia was that we both lost a crazy amount of weight this summer.

Since then, I've faced my biggest challenges: the seemingly endless food temptations at work and my busy schedule. Although I've continued to struggle with my eating (I ate eight pieces of pizza today), I've been able to keep up the late-night gym trips after my lengthy days at work. Although I probably put on about five pounds during the past five months, I've drastically cut back on the work snacks during recent weeks and the weight is starting to fall off again. Although 90-120 minute gym trips (and thus, Netflix) are a thing of the past, I just purchased the Insanity Workout (I'm scared) package to help me get off to a fast, and time efficient, start in Year Four. There are some semi-nude Turkish baths waiting for me in Budapest and I gotta get ready.

Thus, after a more-stable Year Three, I'm confident that this new lifestyle has been fully cemented as an integral part of the "new me." It hasn't been easy, but for anyone out there hoping to shed some weight, it hasn't been the impossible task that it seems like when you're looking at an overwhelming number on the scale. I have yet to diet for a single day and I probably eat worse than 99% of adults, but just consistently going to the gym an hour a day is enough to create drastic change. Even better, armed with a Playstation Portable, a travel book, or the paper, my hours on the elliptical machine are far from burdensome. Thus, you can do it. You just need a little motivation, a little determination, a little encouragement, and something to keep the new lifestyle fresh and fun. Good luck!

As always, here are some before and after pictures from the pre-2008 days, as well as 2010:

Old:

Probably my last picture from those days. I even added about 10 pounds to this throughout 2007. Sigh.

New:

Bodo's in Bangkok!

Patriotic.

Mr. and Mrs. Christmas

Deep in the heart of Texas...

And finally, Amanda's least favorite picture of all time...

(and those pants are the real reason the Pats lost to the Jets two weeks ago. I distracted poor Tom.)

Oh, and if this Insanity workout kills me during the next two months, will someone please make sure Amanda doesn't get rid of Napoleon.