Zero+ ; Sixer ; M: 81 ; C: 44 ; W: 4 miles = Great Joy
Health R.O.S. (Return on Sobriety):
- Weight – 216.8 pounds
- BMI (Body Mass Index) – 29.3
- Fat % – 22.5
Frankly, I’m a little surprised (pleasantly, of course!) to see a nearly six pound drop in a single day. I expected to see a bit less joyful 2-3 pounds. But, hey, I’ll take it!
Last night I had what I like to call “the big Pee”. This is one of those ‘is it ever going to end?’ pees that results from burning through all your body’s glycogen reserves. It turns out that each gram of glycogen is bound to 3-4 grams of water. If you’ve ever put your body in ketosis, you understand the ‘big pee’. The resulting release of stored water provides that rush of enthusiasm you feel during the early stages of weight loss. Of course, the water release stage is immediately followed by the hard and tedious work of burning fat, and is where many dieters get discouraged.
Happily Closer Than I Hoped
The fantastic news is that rather than worry about having to lose 32.3 pounds (and originally 30 pounds), I only need to lose 26.8 pounds to hit my goal of 190. Additionally, my BMI is basically 29, which is more or less what I expected. A 29 BMI brings me down into the ‘overweight’ category versus 30+, which is defined as ‘obese’. According to my research, I’ll need to get my BMI under 25 to be considered healthy.
It appears that my lack of “the munchies” (since kicking my pot smoking habit) and my drastic reduction in drinking alcohol and beer have given me quite the weight loss head start! This makes me wish I had bought the scale sooner so I could have tracked definitive numbers. But, my joy at seeing the readout on my new scale this morning was priceless. I’ll take an upside surprise any day of the week!
Spreading Joy
Today, so far, I’ve texted my brother (whose personal issues are currently sapping his happiness) with a positive wish for the day because I wanted him to know I was thinking of him. I sincerely hope it helps him, even if only a little bit. I know it would help me if I was experiencing similar struggles.
After that, I invited a close friend (who is having issues at work) out for a Sunday morning hike. During our time together, my intention is to give him a sympathetic ear. Men, especially us men of a certain age, don’t seem to have the same support system as women (having someone to talk to). Thus, we tend to internalize our problems and often self-medicate to escape. It gives me great joy to give him the opportunity to get his work and boss challenges off his chest. I hope this will make his burden a little lighter.
Alcohol’s Impermanence
My morning meditation found me visualizing myself at the edge of a clear and fast moving stream. Flowing past me were various thoughts, memories, and emotions. Each rode on a little sailboat around rocks and down through the eddies all the way to the vast ocean where they were released to eternity.
For the first time since I began daily meditation, I felt a warm light emanating in all directions from the center of my chest. This warmth transformed itself into a full body rush – a feeling of true elation. As the elation lifted my consciousness, I perceived clearly the artificial and saccharine nature of external stimuli. These very much include, but not exclusively, my self medicating use of alcohol and marijuana, but also my materialistic pursuits.
The temporarily ‘highs’ of these external stimuli were of an inferior quality to my present elation. I saw them as they truly are: fleeting and empty. And ultimately deflating.
As I work to rebuild my mind and body, feelings such as this internally generated elation are establishing a firmer hold on me. While I still have constant thoughts about when I can have my next drink (in this case tomorrow following my Lucky), even these are lessening in severity. I wish alcohol would dismiss itself like pot did, but it appears I’m going to have to work through my relationship with alcohol with greater intention over a longer period of time.
Today, let’s make it a lucky. Day 21…
