Now on to the good news. I weighed in this morning and there are 4 more pounds less of Shane! I weighed in at 205 pounds! That definitely puts me within striking distance of below 200 by the end of February! I won't lie, I do miss those days of losing 8 pounds every two weeks now more than ever! haha. But it is what it is and I have vowed to focus on my exercise over the next two weeks. It is my goal, God willing, to stake my flag in One-derland by February 25, 2011!
I was doing some thinking the other day about some exchanges I have had with some people over the past few months or so with various people I have contact with. As I am sure we all have experienced, people love to talk to me about losing weight, how they are so ready to be me, really are inspired by my progress, hey your plan sounds easy, I think I will give it a try. You know the basics. But here is the thing about Americans today. We no longer have a drive to achieve what we want, we think we are entitled. For example, if you look back in history, the "American Dream" was chased after by folks who devoted their life and their energies to developing innovative and creative ideas, marketing them, and making money, and lots of it. We led the world in innovations. The legend of America grew and grew and the world came to dream of the possibilities in America. However, you have heard that most people love to eat steak, but they don't want to hear about the way it got to their plate? Same thing has happened to Americans. I want to have "X", but I don't really want to put the effort into getting it. I just hope it happens by and I can grab it basically. I can talk about those people cause I was one of them for years! I wanted to be in a more fulfilling job, I wanted more money, I wanted to be thinner, I wanted a happy marriage. But I didn't really want to step out of my comfort zone to get them. Life is about chasing what you want though. A select few may have manifest destiny on their side, but the rest of us, well we have to go get it folks! I wanted a better job, I bucked up and went to school! I want more money, I have taken the steps to put me in position to go to law school, I hope to do well and get some good offers, and I will then likely triple or better my pay. I wanted a good marriage, I became more flexible in my relationships, and I lucked out and found Kathy, who by the Grace of God was willing to marry me and make me the happiest man in the world! I wanted to be thinner, so I started this little blog up, started watching my food intake, started increasing my activity levels, and voila! My dreams are beginning to become realities! But again, that is only because I have been proactive (and quite frankly, God has done some wonderful things for me as well, giving me the motivation to do well being one of those things)and made it happen. And I wonder something. In this age of shortcuts and I don't really want to put the effort out, if someone developed a pill that would guarantee that you would reach your ideal weight in a short amount of time and even further, would guarantee that you would remain that ideal weight no matter if you ate ice cream daily the rest of your life and never stood up off the couch, BUT it is known that it will shorten your life by 10-15 years, how many people would say, eh it is worth it? I truly believe in this day and age of give it to me now, a vast majority would be short sighted enough to take it! What do ya'll think?
Here's to setting and achieving dreams! That is living and living well! Here's to onederland really soon.
ReplyDeleteI think our short sightedness is killing us as people and a country. We have lost sight of the wisdom of getting the whole picture, whether it be health, politics, education or something else. Too much talk and too little action that is long term! So, I am with you 100% on that idea. No. Now that I know that I can lead a healthy life I would NEVER go for that pill. Ain't worth it.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Shane for your long comment on my blog today. Yes, we are in this together, buddy. You with pizza and me with biscuits: it was a great week!!
Enjoy your weekend! Michele
Great stuff! I have no doubt you'll make it to 'onederland' in February! :o)
ReplyDeleteWhen you get to Onederland, I will be there to cheer you on!
ReplyDeleteMissed you friend! Great job on your loss!
ReplyDeleteWow you are so close to onederland!!! Sometimes it scares me what people will do to take the easy road.
ReplyDeleteHmmm. I think that pill question depends on the age of the person. I think younger folks, for whom 40 years old seems so far away, would take it. But those of us a little more worn around the edges would think twice, and I think a good 40% would say no outright. But you are too right, we want convenience after convenience and have become complacent in our motivation. Honestly though, there are plenty of highly developed societies that are very advanced and technologically forward, but somehow they held on to that drive even though they don't have to farm or hunt for food anymore. And they are not fat. So I'm not sure what went wrong with our society. Maybe it is because we are a newer society, relatively speaking, and don't have culture as far as food. And unfortunately fast food has become our culture, instead of fish in Asia or good fats in the Mediterranean. Good post.
ReplyDeletePolar's Mom
www.polarspage.blogspot.com
You're doing great Shane! You'll be under 200 next month, how awesome is that?
ReplyDeleteI think there are many Americans like the ones you have discussed, but not all. There feeling of entitlement really bothers me. I wasn't raised that way. I was taught early that if you want something in life you need to earn it.
I would however love it if I could wake up overnight and have the weight gone. Still, not at the expense of shortening my life. Since that's not going to happen, I have to put in my time and earn my weight loss. That's exactly what I am planning to do.
Have a great weekend.
Congrats on your loss!
ReplyDelete