This is the new beginning

Its hard to believe I've been posting on here for as long as I have - since April of 2010 and I really have not posted a selfie.  As I am reading through many different blogs, books and other information on making life changes, I've come across the idea that you can't map out a course to where you want to be unless you know where you are starting from. This idea, which should be obvious, has struck me as an 'AHA' type moment.  With that in mind I have taken a couple of pictures of myself to post here as before pictures.

Now these are not the usual, shirt off, wearing shorts, before pictures - I'm reserving those shot for a true before and after comparison, but these are shots showing where I am at right now. I didn't intentionally have the flash obscure me, but what the heck - it seems like a cool effect:

 

This is my starting point and I hope the last time I will ever be this big.

On a different note, it looks like I am going to get pretty decent at climbing on my bike.  It seems that the new area of the valley I moved to is not flat.  At all.  I was driving around the last few days noticing that there is literally no road within 3 or 4 miles that is not on a grade of 2% to 8%. Time to make sure the bike is shifting correctly and get out and use those gears!  Watch for some more posts showing the new riding area.

Little Decisions are the key

It's been a couple of months since I've posted anything and I apologize for that.  Seems like there hasn't been much to write about.  Hopefully today marks a change in that I am, once again, getting serious about getting healthy.  Seems like its time for a new beginning as we are moving in the next couple of days.  I see this as an opportunity for  new focus and a new beginning.

I find that I'm great at making big decisions.  I take my time, weigh out the pros and cons and eventually come up with what is usually the right decision.  Little decisions are my Achilles's heel. It seems the smaller the decision, the less likely I am to make a good one and this eventually affects everything else.

I can make a big decision to 'get healthier and lose weight.'  Simple, I know what I should do and can map out a plan for getting where I need to be. Then there comes the day to day, minute to minute execution of that plan. In general I am usually pretty good following a plan. OK, mostly. I tend to make a great start but my follow through suffers over time.  That's where those little decisions come in. Little decisions like, "should I eat one or two of these?" or "one more piece of ________ can't hurt, can it?"

Yes, it can hurt.  See once I give in to a temptation or mae the wrong decision, it just seems to snowball and spiral out of control.  Since I did X then Y won't matter. and the justifications begin and the plan is off the rails and out of control.

For me, I need to stay vigilant and on a strict regimen in order to stay on track. I am too easily side tracked when I allow myself too much choice - too much leeway.  Most books and articles I read say that in order to make lasting changes they should be done gradually and not be too drastic at any given pint, but that doesn't work for me.  It seems that if I make those small changes I lose focus and get off track.

So, starting today I'm getting my focus back and eating how I know I should - following what is essentially the Paleo Diet.  Ok, I hate the word diet but it allows me to stay focused and make better little choices in order to support the big changes I need to make in order to get healthy.

Part of my choice for the paleo diet is from a resource I found called Nerd Fitness. (http://www.nerdfitness.com)