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| One of those good years |
In the past
few years I have told myself that I would never make a resolution. Why you ask? In
the past 40 years or so, I have never kept a resolution; it’s as simple as
that. I make them but they all seem to fail anyway. So, what I do is just implement
something new into my life which makes it ever so harder to break and fail.
That brings
me around to, weight gain, weight lost. I have the feeling that most of us have
all been there, a few times in our lives, I know I have. I was reading something
today and it stated that the average women, in a relationship, gains about 15
pounds. I don’t know that it is for men, but for me, it’s been a lot.
I don’t
remember what I weighted during my first marriage, but I can say that when I
left and got divorced I got down to 155 pounds and stayed that way for a couple
of year. That’s because I joined a gym and worked my behind off. When I met my second
wife I was still at 155 and I was bench-pressing about 300 pounds. Of course,
at the time, I only pushed it once, but I got it up there.
During my
second marriage, I found out too late, my ex liked to cook! She cooked quite a
lot, the only thing that bugged me; she would always make my favorite, peach
cobbler. But, she would only make it for her brother, and yes, that bugged me.
I would have to go over to his house just to get a piece and I always got a big
piece and second helpings. What made
things worse, I hated to waste anything, especially food. She would make those
Sunday dinners and my two boys would never eat anything, just call me the human
food, never, waste-anything, eat the leftovers, dad.
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| 1980, my first year of marriage |
In the 10
years I was married, at the end, I weighed in at about 270 pounds. When I left I went back
into the gym, which was free for Ford Motor employees. I was there for lunch
and after work, six days a week. By the end of 1990 I was down to 190 pounds
and I stayed there for, maybe, five years or so.
During the
90s I was in and out of relationships, but nothing meaningful, so the weight
stayed about the same until 1996 or 97, I can’t remember what year, but that is when my
department moved to a new building. In that new building was a brand new gym, a state of the art facility. But, the gym didn’t open for quite a few months
after we moved in. So, in the meantime I lost my edge to hang out in the gym. I,
again, don’t remember what I got up to but I am guessing around 240 pounds.
But then
the gym opened and I again spent my lunch and after work time working out. I
got down to my best, what I think I have ever been, 225. And gym staff thought
I was too skinny. But, I had put on about 25 pounds of muscle. Well, I don’t
know if that is right or not, I have worked out in a gym since I was about 15
years old, I would have to say that I rearranged my muscle mass around. I think I looked great
then, especially my shoulders, arms, chest and legs. I couldn’t do anything
with my stomach because I had surgery as a child and they did a bad job of
putting me back together.
Anyway, in
2001 I met a woman and I stayed with her until 2004, when I asked her to leave.
But by then I had put on almost 30 pounds, I had gotten up over 250 pounds. Of
course, in January of 2005 (yes I made a resolution, one of many) I hit the gym
and again kept my weight down and playing racquetball helped a lot. At the end
of 2005 I was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
That took a
lot out of me, then. In 2006 I was still playing racquetball but I was in the
gym for maybe one or two days a week. During that time it was announced
that Ford was offering Buyouts, and with enough time, one could retire. But,
they, my department, would only allow 12 people, considering there were 40 of
us working there, to take the buyout. For a few months we fought as to who would
stay and who wanted to go. Even though I had saved about 60k and would have
gotten 40k for the buyout, I really wanted to stay. But, as I was feeling, I
was going to go anyway.
Around the
end of April it was announced that everyone could go. My vacation was in June
and I decided to take the entire month off because my surgery was scheduled for
June 30th and I was to retire July 1st.
After the
surgery I joined Lifetime Fitness only because they gave Ford employees a discount.
I was there for a year when I realized that the place wasn’t for me. So, I quit
and that was the end of me working out…then.
All during
that time I kind of got back up there, around, give or take, 250 pounds. In 2009
I got into another relationship, she really looked good, and I was still kind
of pokey. In that one year we were together we went to dinner just about every
week and I cooked for her. She kind of just threw everything in the microwave
to cook and most dinners at her house was soup with crackers.
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| 2009, the relationship fervor |
Anyway, not
only did I pick up weight, she got huge. I was walking every day, but eating more,
so I wasn’t losing anything. Now that I think about it, I had joined a small
local gym, it was antiquated but it helped a little and I was walking for those
past three years or so. We broke up in
2010, but I didn’t go back to the gym until March of 2011.
My doctor
told me that my cholesterol was high, my blood pressure was high and everything
else was high. I know me and I knew what I had to do. I joined Planet Fitness
and I worked out hard all that year, until…
In October
of 2011 I caught some kind of “cold”? Upper respiratory infection, flu... I caught something.
I had to go to the doctor to find out what was going on. I was given a “Z” pack
and in about 5 days I was better. My breathing wasn’t great, but I still played
racquetball the next week. Anyway, I just couldn’t get back into the gym;
I gained 14 pounds since that day of illness.
Is this
going to be a resolution or just maintain my fitness schedule? You can call it
a resolution, if you want, but it has always been part of my life, I just have to
do better at it. I started my fast this week, but am only going until Friday
the 6th. And then I MUST hit the gym again so I can maintain or
else. Or is it time for another relationship?
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