No Excuses

Excuses today for not going to the gym:

* Did not have alot of time today
* My back is still sore
* I feel a cold coming on

Excuses for not working out hard today:

* The front desk screwed up the cost of my training sessions
* The locker room is still filthy
* When I weighed myself I was 261 (was 258 earlier)
* The guy next to me had his stuff spread out all in front of the locker I chose. And he smelled like dirty socks and onions even though he was changing into his workout clothes.
* I was thinking about work
* I was thinking about other things

Well, I went to the gym, and I worked out quite hard today. Felt good not letting the little excuses prevent me from exercising vigorously!

Today, that was a victory. Any one of the aforementioned excuses would have prevented me from working out with a purpose in the old days. I'm glad I put in a solid hour at the gym!

For lunch I had one of Moaz's pita with hummus, eggplant, falafal, pickles, chickpeas, and salsa. It really is delicious. They gave me a bag of fries by mistake. I didn't have even one, just gave it to my assistant.

For dinner I munched on broccoli, zucchini, squash, and carrots with hummus dip and hot sauce.

I watched the classic film, "The Hustler." In a poignant scene between Paul Newman and George C. Scott, Scott says to Newman's hapless Fast Eddie Felten:

"No trouble losing when you got a good excuse... All you gotta do is learn to feel sorry for yourself. One of the best indoor sports of all time, feeling sorry for yourself. A sport enjoyed by all."

This evening a dear friend sent me a picture she took of me in picturesque Marblehead, MA. last Autumn. The first thing I thought of was a picture of my mother from 1968 when she was 8 months pregnant with me turning sideways to show off how distended she was. When I first saw that picture five or six months ago I thought, "Shoot, I got to start running again." That was quickly dismissed into the dustbin of memory, as one excuse or another took its place front and center. Something I have been doing for years. When I look at the photo of me now I am simply repulsed. It is OK to be repulsed by how you look, just eviscerate any self-loathing, and take a step, just a step, to do something about it.

I've got 30+ lbs to loose in the next 58 days. Although I am 100% committed to losing that much, the only guarantee is that I will not have any excuses.