Failing like Thomas Edison

I'm back! 

OK, to be honest, its not like I really went anywhere.  I just stopped blogging, and simultaneously stopped working so hard on losing weight.  Guess what?  I gained!  Since my last blog entry I've returned back 18 of the 75 lbs I lost.

Well, good I say.  Nothing is really going to point out just how insidious weight gain is than a slap in the face like this.  Its not like we all don't realize the trap, but in my case I blithely marched into it, ignoring all the signs.  Fine, I'm not beating myself up over this.  Its done, and now I have several weeks of effort just to return to where I had gotten.

Funny point is, I read the lines above and realize just how at risk I really am.  "Several weeks of effort"?  Seriously?  If there's anything to be learned from the last 5 months its that this is not about weeks of effort, its about a lifetime of committment.  Everyone has their challenges, things they need to overcome that will be with them for their whole lives.  This is mine, and truthfully, though its really hard, I'm much better off than many others I see around me.

My challenge is managable, if I put in the time and the dedication required, I can achieve my goal.  There are many people who either can't say that or who's efforts to get there are so much greater than what I need to put out.  And so, I return.  Both to blogspace and to the goal of getting my weight below 195lbs.

Now you may be wondering about the title for this posting and how it connects to what I'm saying here.  Its based on an anecdotal story that it took Edison more than 10,000 attempts to perfect his design for an electric light bulb.  When asked it he felt like a failure he was reported to have replied "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

Kinda feeling that way myself right now.  Found another way that doesn't work, on with the next!

Didn't weigh in this week

Not going to make excuses...no one, myself included cares to hear them anyway.  I'm going to hold off until Tuesday next week and do my weigh in then.  Have really been struggling this week, swam once, did a 2Km on Tuesday and really haven't done the swim/gym thing otherwise.

As happens periodically to everyone else working on losing weight and getting fit, I'm in the doldrums right now.  Its as though the 50lb mark took some of the wind out of my sails.  Just not feeling the level of motivation I was before.  Not to worry though, I will find it again!  In some ways its really good to have this happen, I need to know that there will be problems and times when its not as easy as others, and I can still recommitt and keep going.

On the plus side, I've had several people comment this week on the fact that they can really see the weight loss.  That definitely feels good!  Still a tremendous distance to go, but a little external validation of your successes helps a lot.

I've decided to start posting more regularly here, I find that it makes me more accountable on some level, and accountability is key (for me at least).  I've been reading other blogs from people who are 100+ lbs overweight and are trying to get healthier, they're all really inspirational to me and its good to see that we all have the same issues with motivation at times.  I really hope that someone can read this and find the same thing!  I'm going to throw some recipes and such up here as well, my new mission is to try to "skinny" down some of my favourite dishes and see if I can keep them palatable :)

As far as my recommittment is concerned, its a beautiful day today in Toronto, I'm going for a bike ride this evening (hopefully the chain will stay in one piece this time...) and if the weather holds out for another day I'll run/walk tomorrow morning.  I have a couple of plans in the hopper right now and will update as things progress, but for now I'm going to focus on getting my head back in the game.