End of the Road?

My big 60^th birthday has come and gone but it’s one I won’t soon forget. If you’ve been following along, you’ll know that my year-long goal was to be in the best shape of my life (BSOML) at this point. Well, I can safely say I’ve achieved it. I recently accomplished my G2G Challenge which was to run three marathons over three consecutive days – that should qualify, as I know I couldn’t have done that at any other point in my life. Now after such a stunt no one is questioning my physical condition – my mental condition may be another story. Yes, it was a crazy feat, but the road to that goal taught me a great deal. Through my fitness journey I met some fantastic people, gained a wealth of knowledge and my faith in humanity was boosted by those who donated to the Heart and Stroke Foundation. All in all, despite a little rain in the form of a global pandemic, the past year was a phenomenal success.

Now getting into the BSOML has meant I’ve undergone a substantial physical change, after all that was the point. To give you a sense of where I started and finished here are some of the statistics.

I suppose none of these “transformation” stories are complete without before and after shots. I know, I know, I should be holding a current newspaper like some South American kidnap victim but when I started, I didn’t actually think I’d get this far!

What did I learn on this journey? The first thing is that on the list of “hard things to do in life” getting in shape isn’t there. There are lots of things that are far more difficult – high school math, assembling Ikea furniture, and doing your taxes for example! What I realized was that I didn’t suddenly become fat and out of shape. No, it was a slow creep. I didn’t really notice the weight gain as it happened over several years. Getting in shape was somewhat similar. By making small changes over a period of time, I started to feel better, lose weight and gain conditioning but it was a gradual improvement – it didn’t happen overnight. That’s why getting in shape does take some time and effort, but it isn’t hard.

Here are the key steps I took to successfully lose 40 pounds and get in the best shape of my life:

• Make a decision to change. It’s simple, I just decided to change, and I stuck with it. What was important was the fact that I wanted to change more than I wanted to stay the same. I knew I had to change, or change was going to happen to me in the form of disease (I have a family history of hypertension, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes).
• Set a goal. I set the goal of being in the best shape of my life (BSOML). I created a target and a vision for what I wanted to accomplish.
• Create a plan. You wouldn’t set out on a trip without a route, would you? (Okay, I’m a guy and that’s a very guy thing to do so it’s a bad example, but you get my drift) I had to figure out how I’d get from A to B. So, I did some research. I learned about diet, timed eating (Intermittent fasting) and exercise. Through it I developed a simple plan – it was vital that I employed the KISS method (Keep It Simple Stupid) and made the plan easy to follow.
• Attach a realistic timeline. Saying I want to lose twenty pounds by the end of the month is impossible. But losing twenty pounds by this time next year was highly possible. I knew my goal of being in the BSOML in a year was ambitious but doable.
• Be consistent. This is perhaps the most important point. Consistently applying your plan over time is the key to success. Sure, there were times when I fell off the wagon and ate the wrong thing or didn’t exercise but I consistently got back on track with my plan. I have a checkered past with goal setting – I usually lose interest within 8 weeks of starting any goal, project or hobby. I managed to follow through on this one and going public with it may have something to do with that. Trust me on this one, public shaming is a great motivator. Telling people what I was doing helped keep me on track and accountable.

One of the questions I’m asked is, what’s next? Is it the end of the road? Hell no. While I don’t have any plans to repeat my G2G run, I could handle the run but not the divorce it would cause – my wife considered herself a “marathon training” widow as I was out running so much. I will be keeping in shape, but it won’t require quite that level of training. As for this blog and Project 60+, I have exciting plans. Not only will I be continuing to blog but starting in December I’ll be rolling it into a monthly newsletter. It will cover all things related to keeping healthy and vital as we enjoy the second half of our lives. Of course, my sardonic point of view will be sprinkled throughout so please look for that to arrive early December.

But wait, that’s not all. I received such great feedback from the social media videos I did leading up to the G2G challenge (you can see them all here) that I’ve been inspired to do another series of them. These won’t be asking for donations (just your attention) and will explore the countless ways we can stay tuned up both mentally and physically, so please tune in.

The past year was a gift. Not only do I feel better, but I also know more about myself and there’s way less of me (literally). I understand the importance of how and what it takes to stay fit and well. Sure, there were some challenges and there were moments I wanted to throw in the towel, or in this case wolf down a bag of chips, but I held strong. The one thing I know for certain is that anyone can copy what I’ve done. You may not take the exact same route, (as hard as this is to believe marathon running isn’t for everyone) but you can create your own Project 60+. It all starts with a decision to change, taking a walk and then keeping it all goin’. So, this ain’t the end of the road. Hell, I’ve just begun.