The Life and Times of the Watters Family

Facing The Fat

I’m fat. That much is certain. On the morning of January 10th, 2005 I weighed two hundred seventy-two pounds. Now, that would be a fine if I were, say, 7′ 4″. Unfortunately, I’m only 6′ 2″. That gives me a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 34.9 on January 10th. Ideally, a person’s BMI should not exceed 25. While I realize that this measure isn’t perfect (weightlifters have high BMIs, but are not really “obese”), and is simply one of many indicators of increased health risk, it is nonetheless clear that I’m way out of shape. Fortunately, since January, I’ve managed to lose approximately 20 lbs, leaving me with a current BMI of 32.5. Beyond the health issues, I’m just sick of being physically this overweight from a practical perspective. I run out of energy much too quickly and most of the time, it just feels gross. It’s time for a change.

Now, I’ve said this to myself (and maybe a few others) before. One thing that I’ve realized, however, is that I’m terrible at achieving anything that doesn’t have a fixed, well-defined goal associated with it. Without that, the criteria for continuing is the As Long As It Holds My Interest™ standard which, frankly, isn’t particularly effective for this kind of thing. So I decided to find and set a goal for myself. It couldn’t just be any goal, though; it had to be one worth achieving. It also had to be one that required enough work that it wouldn’t be achieved easily.

In my life, most everything I’ve attempted has been something for which I’d previously demonstrated a proclivity. In other words, I typically only try to do things that are “in my wheelhouse” so to speak. Athletic prowess hasn’t exactly been one of my strengths throughout my life. Oh, sure, I was an active kid, but I was always a little lazy (still am…lazy that is) and a little flabby, but I wasn’t always fat. However, I now sit behind a computer all day and I’ve got to make time for physical activity. As someone who grew up with pretty bad asthma (mostly gone now), I’d never particularly enjoyed running, but it seemed like a good fit for my schedule and met the other requirements (not easy, requires diligent, disciplined effort over time). So, with that in mind, I decided that I’d like to run a marathon.

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