Category Archives: Fitness

July 5, 2013 · 4:26 pm

The anatomy of a backslide

y intersectionThis feels like a crucial moment.  Right now.  I feel as if I’ve reached a crossroads.

For the last 16 months I have experienced a spiritual and physical transformation.  From January 2012 through June 2013 I lost 80 pounds.  By paying closer attention to what I ate, and dramatically increasing my exercise, I transformed my body.  I went from size 44 pants to having some 38 pants feel big.  My XXXL t-shirts now look like garbage bags on me.  My doctor stopped my cholesterol medicine.  My blood pressure has gone down.  According to this chart, my resting heart-rate is “Excellent.”  As I have undergone this physical transformation, I have also experienced a spiritual renewal.  My writing, preaching, and prayer life improved.  I found new energy, focus, and drive.  I discovered my mission statement to Love God, Live Well, and Do Good.

My work at church blossomed with new relationships, avenues of ministry, and a vision to create a new participatory worship experience.  My blogging life expanded with the launching of the Pulpit Fiction podcast.  I was invited to speak at the Lion and Lamb Festival, and I felt a need to open a FP Shop.

As I got my personal discipline in order, it felt as if all the other pieces were falling into place as well.  People started asking me if I was going to change the name of this blog.  I kept the name for various reasons.  I never considered that one reason might have been the unconscious fear that this was all temporary.

The world of weight loss and fitness is littered with stories of people losing weight, transforming their bodies, saving their very lives, only to backslide. Many people have shared stories with me about their own adventures in yo-yo weight loss.  I promised myself that it would not happen to me.   Last summer I had an extended plateau.  This was expected.  After losing about 30 pounds in three months, I spent the summer months gaining 2 pounds.  When school started in the fall, I rededicated myself to working out and tracking my calories, and I promptly lost another 40.  When I reached my first goal weight of 260, I kept going.  At the end of the school year, I dipped under 250.

Then the backslide started. This is how it happened:

The school year ended, disrupting my routine.  During the school year, my workout time was built into my day.  I dropped my daughter off at school, I went to the gym, then I went to work.  Four days a week I had a built in date with the gym.  I ran three days a week for nine months. As I approached my first 10-mile race at the end of May, I was running about 15 miles a week.

Annual Conference and Vacation Bible School.  In addition to the lack of routine, I had two major events disrupt my whole schedule.  These two week-long events in June took up an inordinate amount of my time.  I could have gotten to the gym before sessions.  I could have gone for runs after VBS.  I didn’t.  Instead I spent two weeks active, but with virtually no cardio vascular exercise.

I stopped tracking.  Lose It! is a great tool for counting calories, but it is a pain.  My weight loss started almost immediately after using it.  Last summer I stopped using it for awhile, and stopped losing weight almost immediately.

I didn’t gain weight.  After two weeks of not working out and not using Lose It, and amazing thing happened.  I actually dropped a couple of pounds.

At the Railroad Days 5K, I placed second in my age group with a time of 26:28.

At the Railroad Days 5K, I placed second in my age group with a time of 26:28.

I ran fast.  Since June 1, I’ve run four times.  One of those runs was a 5K that I finished in 26:28, my personal best.  I also won a prize for my age group in that race, a first for me.  I ran another 5K on the treadmill this week in about 26:30.  It turns out that my fitness level is at a place that it could sustain a short break.

The Fourth of July.  Two cookouts.  Lots of bratwurst, chips, baked beans, creamy cole slaw, chips, cookies, pop, beer, and chips.  Did I mention that I ate a lot of chips in the last week?

The combination of events created in me a sense of complacency.  After almost a year and a half of changing habits, it took about four weeks for me to slip.  This morning I found that I have gained 10 pounds in the last two weeks.  What’s worse than the weight is how I feel.  For the first time in months, I feel fat.  I feel tired.  I feel like making bad choices.  I feel like staying home is easier than going for a run.  I feel like getting a quarter-pounder is better than making myself a grilled chicken salad.  I put off getting up early to get to the gym.  I put off tracking my food, and working hard to stay under budget.  I put off working on refocusing the mission of this blog.  I put off planning a new way to experience worship.  I put off trying to change the world and settled for less.  It has only been a couple of weeks, but it ends today.

I share this because I’ve been told I inspire people.  I am constantly humbled when people say that to me.  Today I offer not inspiration, but a warning.  Backsliding happens.  It happens slowly, sometimes imperceptibly.  It happens when we get busy, or when routine gets disrupted.  It happens even when we’re feeling fine, and all outwards signs indicate everything is going well.

Right now I’m struggling.  I’m tired.  I’m a little worried.  Yet I never thought this would be easy.  I’m not ready to give up now.  I’m not going back to the person I was, for I have been made new by the power of the Holy Spirit.  I’m confessing my weakness, and I’m praying for guidance and endurance.  I believe God can still use me despite my recent backslide.  God’s still working on me.  God and I have new goals and a new plan.  Today, right now, I have a new chance to love God, live well, and do good.

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May 29, 2013 · 4:05 pm

Run, Robb, Run!

Running has become a huge part of my life.  Running in official races has been one of the most important factors my transformation.  Since February 2012, I have have gone from 325 pounds to 250 pounds.  In June 2012 I ran my first 5K in just under 36 minutes.  I ran three more in 2012, trimming minutes off of each of my times.  Throughout the winter, I continued to train.  In March 2013 I knocked off almost 5 minutes from my personal best.  All of these races have come within the span of a year.  Eventually this crazy rate of improvement will slow down.

June 2012 – Susan G Kommen Race for the Cure – 36:00 (12 minute mile)

July 2012 – Firecracker 5K – 35:15 (just under 12 minute mile)

August 2012 – Crimestoppers 5K – 33:47 (11 minute mile)

October 2012 – Lagomarcino’s Cocoa Beano 5K – 31:40 (just over 10 minute mile)

March 2013 – St. Patrick’s Day 5K – 26:52 (under a 9 minute mile)

May 2013 – Soldier Field 10 Mile – 1:38.30 (10 minute mile)

The Soldier Field 10 was the most rewarding run yet.  After crossing the finish line I was able to pause for a moment and reflect on what I had just accomplished.  When I registered for the race in January, I had set a goal of finishing in 1:50.00.  By the time of the race, I had moved my goal up to 1:40.00.  I knew that a 10-minute-mile pace was going to be tough.  It was tough, but I made it.

Before the race. Soldier Field is a such a beautiful place. It’s too bad that they had that UFO land in the middle of it.
There were 12000 people that ran the race. We were gathered in corrals. The starting system was ingenious and really kept things moving. Right from the beginning of the race, there was plenty of room to run. I did a lot of passing, and never really had trouble getting through traffic.
Before the race. Someone asked me what I was listening to. At this point, I had not turned on the music. I listening to books during long runs. They seem to keep my calm, whereas music can play with my emotions. At about the sixth mile I turned on the music for an emotional lift. Mumford and Sons was the soundtrack for my last few miles.
At about the sixth mile I was starting to get tired. After the emotional lift of passing the halfway point, I was in need of another lift. Then Mumford and Sons’ “Awake My Soul” came on just as this spectacular view came into focus. It was an amazing jolt of energy. I raised my hands in praise as I ran and said a prayer of thanksgiving.
believe this was shortly before the 8 mile mark. The stadium was tantalizingly close.
Very early in the race I started to repeat to myself, “this is for my girls, but it is because of my Angel.” I was doing this for my daughters, but I was only able to do it because of my wife. As I ran, the mantra came over and over “For them. Because of her.” At eight miles I was starting to wear down. My legs had never been so tired. So I pulled out the phone and texted Sarah. “8 miles done for them. Because of you.”
I snapped this picture as I was running. Sarah was waiting for me about a hundred yards after this. I got a little choked up when I saw her. I was so happy because when I saw her I knew I was going to make it under my goal.
As we ran through the innards of the stadium, “Bear Down” was being played. That was a cool touch. This was the view as we emerged from the tunnel. It was a very nice moment.
Inside the stadium after the race. After making such a big deal about being able to finish inside Soldier Field, the organizers were really trying to herd us through to the exits. I paused long enough to catch my breath, and there were people telling me to move on. I didn’t. I lingered. I had just run for 98 minutes to get onto that field, I was going to savor it.
I took this shot of the finish line before I left the field.
After the race, a young man in uniform gave me this medal. It seemed backwards. I shook his hand firmly and thanked him for the medal, and for his service.
Sarah said later that was probably the best seat she will ever have in Soldier Field. I was so glad she was there. It would have been cool if my daughters had been there, but it would have been tough getting them there that early. This was a very nice moment when I hugged her and thanked her for helping me get this far.
The medal is nice. Not sure what to do with it now, though. I just took out my schedule of runs for the summer. My next goals are a sub 25-minute 5K, and a half marathon.

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May 24, 2013 · 11:21 am

Woman of Valor

mccoys girlsShe is my partner.  She is my strength, my inspiration, and my teammate.  We are Team Robb and Sarah, and we are a formidable pair.  We are undefeated.

I just finished reading Rachel Held Evan’s “A Year of Biblical Womanhood.”  It is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time.  In it, Evans describes her year of trying to live out all the rules for women in the Bible as literally as  possible.  She examines Proverbs 31, and digs deeply into Paul’s teaching about women speaking in church.  She re-discovers inspiring Biblical women, some named, some anonymous that must never be forgotten.  The book is about a lot of things.  It is about the Bible.  It is about a self-avowed feminist calling her husband “Master.”  It is about discovering ancient spiritual practices, communing with Quakers, and the value of a well-baked loaf of cholla bread.

As I read the book, I was enlightened by her expert examination of the Biblical texts.  I was touched by her vulnerability when sharing her fears about motherhood.  I laughed with her when she made mistakes, and worried with her as she prepared meals.  Evans’s writing grabbed me, and invited me not only into her experience, but into the Biblical stories in a refreshing and powerful way.

Perhaps her greatest achievement in the book was the way she re-framed Proverbs 31.  She takes a passage that is so often used (abused) to describe the ideal of Biblical womanhood, and transforms it.  Instead of being a nearly impossible prescription for what a woman should do, it is really a love song to men reminding them of all that women are able to do.  It is not a checklist for women, but a reminder for men.  I read this chapter in the Nashville Airport, and had tears streaming down my face.  I wondered if Sarah knew how amazing she truly is, and I worried that I had not done enough to let her know.  I felt compelled to take her, hold her, and tell her “You are amazing.  You are strong.  You are brave.  You are a woman of valor, and I am honored to be your husband.”

Evans’s book is about a lot of things, but to me it is above all a love story.  It is a story not just of a woman, but of a team; Team Dan and Rachel, they call it.

Tomorrow I am going to run the Soldier Field 10.  It is the next step in my journey to love God, live well, and do good.  Less than one year ago I ran in my first 5K.  Sarah and I did it together, and afterwards we nearly collapsed in each others’ arms.  At that 5K, I was able to jog for the first two miles, and had to walk/jog most of the third mile.  I finished 3.1 miles in about 35 minutes, which bested my goal of a 12-minute-mile pace.  Tomorrow, my goal is to run 10 miles in 100 minutes.  I don’t know if I can do it, but I know how far I’ve come.

I have only been able to do what I’ve done because of Sarah.  All along I’ve said I’m doing this for my daughters.  I’ve done this so I can see them grow up.  I’ve done it so I can carry them up the stairs at night and not be winded.  I’ve done it so that I will see them in caps and gowns and white dresses and business suits and hospital gowns.  I have done it for my daughters, but I’ve done it because of Sarah.  Tomorrow we are going to conquer the Soldier Field 10.  We have already conquered so much.

We have conquered ten (almost eleven) years of marriage.  We have conquered selfishness and over-sensitivity.  We have conquered snarky comments, rolled-eyes, and cold shoulders.  We have weathered floods, heat waves, Snowpocalypse, and power outages.  We have screamed and cried and punched walls.  We have laid in bed at night and pondered the great mysteries of faith, the universe, and life itself.  We have struggled with Scripture and shared in prayer and Communion.

We have grown, sometimes kicking and screaming, into a faith that embraces wonder and gray.  We have laughed hysterically and spit drinks out.  We have celebrated wildly and emptied a few bottles of wine.  We have built enduring, life-giving friendships.  We have endured sickness, and mourned loss.  We have started the arduous and amazing task of raising two girls in a world that is full of danger.  They have lost a tooth, but have broken no bones.  We met after a Theta Chi party 15 years ago, and because of that night I cannot believe the saying that “Nothing good ever happens after 2 a.m.”

Tomorrow when we conquer the Soldier Field 10, I might be the one that crosses the line, but she will be there. It will be her power that gets me there.  No, it will be our shared power.  It is the power that we share with Christ, who conquered even death.  It is our shared power that has given us strength to conquer all things.  It is our shared power that will guide us into the future, ready to face the next challenge, the next Mount Laundry, the next 10 miles, the next ten years, the next chapter in our shared lives.

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February 14, 2013 · 4:13 pm

I’ve lost 70 pounds, but I’m still The Fat Pastor

I high-fived my doctor today.  I had my annual physical.  It was a year and a day after stepping on the scale at that same doctor’s office and reading that I weighed 329 pounds.  Today my doctor looked back at what I weighed last year.  When he saw that I today I weighed 259, he gave me a high-five.

I have gone through a transformation in the last year.  I have transformed my habits.  I have transformed my priorities.  In so doing, I have transformed my body.  More than this, I have experienced spiritual transformation.  I pray more.  I study the Bible more.  I have discovered that when I am more disciplined in my eating and exercising, I am also more disciplined as a follower of Jesus Christ.  I am still transforming.  I am striving every day to Love God, Live Well, and Do Good.

I have lost 70 pounds in 366 days, but let me be clear – I am still The Fat Pastor.  For one thing, I am still overweight.  One year ago I was 34% body fat.  Today I am 25% body fat.  That is a great improvement, but it is still too high.  I literally have too much fat on my body.

Yet even if I lose another 70 pounds, have 7% body fat, and can run a marathon in under 3:00:00, there will always be fat that I can trim from my life.  I am, like John Wesley said, moving onward to perfection.  Until I am there, I will be laden with fat.

The difference between fat and fit is choices.  I make fat choices when I choose a mindless television show instead of time in study.  I choose fat when I spend too much time on facebook instead of cultivating relationships.  I choose fat when I refuse to help a neighbor.  I am fat when I objectify a woman.  I am fat when I contribute to an unjust society. I am fat when I forget the needs of the widow, the orphan, the poor, and the oppressed.  I am fat when I am blind to racism, sexism, homophobia, or any other way that humans try to divide and separate and subjugate.

I’m trying not to be fat any more.  I’m trying real hard.  I draw strength from the love and support of family and friends.  I draw strength from the encouragement of a remarkable facebook “following.”  I draw strength from the words of the prophets that remind me that God’s love and God’s promise of a new day is something for which we can all strive.  I draw strength from the Church as the Body of Christ in the world.  Above all, I draw strength from the grace of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.  I draw strength from knowing that it is not my strength on which I must rely.

Jesus said “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

I try to love God.  I worship, and I pray, and I read and listen to God’s Word.  I come to Table of Grace.  I fall down in confession, and I rise up with the Holy Spirit.  I try to live well, because I take seriously the oft-forgotten command to love yourself.  I try to do good, because it is through doing good for others that we best express our love of neighbor.

I am The Fat Pastor.  I’m trying not to be. With God as my strength and my salvation, I will be The Fit Pastor someday.  Until then, I’ll keep on my journey of transformation.  Thank you for going on this journey with me.

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Left: December, 2011. Middle: June 2012, immediately after first 5K. Right: January 2013.

Left: December, 2011. Middle: June 2012, immediately after first 5K. Right: January 2013.

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February 13, 2013 · 10:18 am

This is not a treadmill. This is my time machine…

Image“This is not a treadmill.  This is my time machine.  When I’m on it, I see the future.  And I see me in it.”  I started to say that to myself yesterday as I ran.  It has become my mantra.  Yesterday I ran farther than I have ever run before.  Three miles in under thirty minutes has become my standard run.  Yesterday I decided to do it twice.  I ran 3.06 miles in thirty minutes, then took about a two minute break to stretch and get some water.  I ran another 3.07 miles in thirty minutes.

The longest I had ever gone before was five miles.  As I approached and then passed five miles, I was thrilled to know that each step I took was pushing my boundaries.  Every step I took was pushing me a little further than I thought possible.  At the same time though, I was getting tired.  I was keeping the same pace, but I wasn’t picking up my legs as high as I had been.  It was getting more and more difficult to control my breath.  I knew I wanted to reach six miles, but I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do it.

And then I said it.  “This is not a treadmill,” I whispered to myself.  “This is my time machine.  When I’m on it, I see the future.  And I see me in it.”  I kept going.  I turned off the little TV monitor, and could see my face in the black screen.

“This is not a treadmill…” I said again in barely a whisper.  With every step I was redefining who I was.  With every step I was transforming.  With every step I was leaving behind a less healthy me.  “This is my time machine…”  I said again, this time a little louder.  Someone standing next to me might have heard, but I was alone.

I passed five and half miles, and knew that the end was getting closer.  I was getting stronger.  I felt energy surge through my body.  “When I’m on it, I see the future…”  I said out loud now.  And I saw it.

I saw first days of school.  I saw softball games and ballet recitals.  I saw slumber parties and Phillies hats at Wrigley Field.  I saw broken hearts and mean boys.  I saw high school basketball and halftime dances.  I saw first loves and Prom.  I saw piles of books, messy desks, and graduation gowns.  I kept running, and turned up the speed on the treadmill.

I saw silver streaks in the hair of my wife, and wisdom wrinkling her eyes.  I saw light in her eyes, felt the warmth of her smile, and was briefly taken back to the first time I saw her, the first time we kissed.

“And I see me in it,” I was almost shouting now. I felt the same flutter in my heart that I did 15 years ago, but now it has depth.  I saw her clutching my hand as we drive away from a dorm.  I saw her fixing the veil she wore on the head of our daughters.  I saw myself dancing with a beautiful woman in white to Isn’t She Lovely, and with another to Lucy in the Sky.  I saw babysitting and storytelling.  I saw ravioli cutting with another generation, crowded laps, and adventures I cannot even imagine.

Running as fast as my legs could take me, I passed six miles.  The time on the treadmill ran out, so I slowed.  I wiped off some sweat, maybe a couple of tears, and then I stepped off the treadmill.  Only it isn’t a treadmill.  It is a time  machine.  When I’m on it, I see the future.  And I see me in it.

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Goal reached

goal

Weight on Feb 13, 2012: 329

Goal set a few days later with Lose It!: 260

Weight on Feb 8, 2013: 259

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February 8, 2013 · 11:23 am
January 11, 2013 · 11:31 am

Good choices breed good choices

Image

I love soup, and usually it is a pretty healthy and satisfying lunch. This is a picture of Hot and Sour Soup, found at one of my favorite blogs, “The Rantings of an Amateur Chef.” Click on the picture to go to the recipe for it. I haven’t made it yet, but hope to soon.

I know that I have made significant changes in my life when I can have a granola bar and banana for breakfast, a bowl of soup for lunch, and feel satisfied until a light snack, and dinner.

Today is Friday, so I will treat myself to a trip to the Hy-Vee salad bar.  I’ll likely take two trips, have a cup of soup, and a little something sweet.

I’m actually craving a big plate of spinach, beets, grilled chicken, black beans, and other good stuff.  When I’m done with lunch, it will be about 1 o’clock.  I will be stuffed, and it will be very likely that my net caloric intake for the day will be less than zero because this morning I ran three miles, did 150 crunches, and had a hard upper-body workout.

This is from the guy that used to order a Big Mac, large fries, a six-piece McNuggets, and a large Coke, and still feel hungry, and couldn’t jog a quarter mile without pausing. Eating habits are just that – habits. They can be changed with small choices over time.  When I think about my past McDonald’s meals, it makes my stomach hurt.  I still venture to McDonald’s every once in awhile, but now it is for a grilled chicken sandwich and a Medium fries, or it is for a couple of Egg McMuffins (which are 300 calories apiece), and no hashbrowns.

“How did you do it?” people ask me.  I eat less. I excercise more regularly and I run.  I don’t juice.  I don’t count carbs.  I haven’t eliminated any one food, or sweets, or anything in particular.  I don’t cleanse.  I track everything I eat with Lose It.  I eat between 1800-2500 calories a day.  When I work out, I burn 500-1000.  I’ve never felt like I’m dieting.  I just feel like I’m paying attention.

I choose broccoli instead of fries at TGI Fridays.  I choose grilled chicken over a burger.  I have two slices of cheese pizza and a salad instead of four slices of sausage with a side of chicken wings.  I choose to eat until I’m satisfied, not until I’m stuffed.  I drink a fruit smoothie when I’m hungry at night instead of having two bowls of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  I drink more water.

I’ve discovered that after making one good choice, the next one is easier.  And when I make good choices about my diet, I make good choices about other things too.  Good choices in my diet set my mind right to go to the gym, or pick up my Bible, or pause for prayer.  Good choices in my personal life help me read more, write more, love more.  I don’t know which one comes first, but I know that good choices breed other good choices.

People have told me that I’m an inspiration, and there’s a part of me that feels like that is absurd.  I’m just a guy that is trying to make some good choices.  I’m just trying to love God, live well, and do good.  But if you have somehow been inspired by me, I humbly say, “thank you.”  You have been an inspiration to me.  The words of encouragement have meant so much to me.  Accountability, support, and vulnerability have been big reasons why I’ve been able to make some changes in my life.

So if you feel inspired by me, I hope you are inspired to do this: make a good choice.  Start with one good choice. Today.  Choose to eat something healthier.  Choose the stairs over the elevator.  Choose to go for a walk.  Choose to forgive someone.  Choose to call a friend.  Choose to stand up for justice.  Choose to forgive yourself.  Choose to be kind to someone.  Choose to pray.

Choose to love God.  Choose to live well.  Choose to do good. Make one good choice today, and the next one will be a little bit easier.  Maybe together we can make some good choices, and change the world.

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October 26, 2012 · 4:01 pm

#Fat2Fit Update

All my life, I’ve been on the hefty side.  I was an offensive lineman in high school and college.  I’ve never been a great athlete, or had an Abercrombie-like physique, but I grew up healthy and active.  In college, I played a lot of basketball and lacrosse (but I always preferred to be on the ‘shirts’ team).  Even through seminary, I took regular long walks, played on softball and basketball teams, went to a gym regularly and remained in decent shape. My first driver’s license listed me at 6’2″ 235 pounds, and when I graduated seminary I was about 260.  After becoming a senior pastor in a small town, I promptly put on about 30 pounds.  I stopped going to the gym.  I no longer played on any teams.  I sat a lot, and ate a lot. When I started my blog in 2008, I weighed Three Oh One.

For three years writing this blog, I would exercise  in streaks.  I would workout regularly for a few months, get stronger, and stop putting on weight (I seldom had any weight loss to speak of).  Then I would get sick, or get really busy, and I’d find excuses to stop going to the gym for months at a time.  In the meantime, my cholesterol remained high, my weight would creep up, and my health suffered.

In October 2011, I joined a gym here in Moline.  When I started, I couldn’t jog on the treadmill for two without terrible pain in my feet, ankles, and chest.  For three months, I was in a great routine of going to the gym three times a week.  Yet in February 2012, I went to the doctor and found myself staring at a scale that read 329.

Once again, I rededicated myself to getting healthy.  This time I had a tool.  With the Lose It! app on my nook and computer, I started tracking everything I ate.  I realized that the last four years was simply a steady increase in weight and size.  When I would exercise, the increase would stop, but I never did any significant weight loss because I never significantly changed the way I ate.

I didn’t make any drastic qualitative changes.  I simply made better quantitative choices.  I logged everything, and found myself craving salmon instead of burgers, and vegetables instead of french fries.  When I stayed under my caloric allowance, I lost weight.  In three months, I lost about 40 pounds.  I went to the doctor again, and found that for the first time in my adult life, I was in the healthy range in cholesterol.  My clothes fit again.  I felt better and stronger.  For the first time in my life, I had clothes that were too big on me.  I have some jeans from last winter that look absolutely ridiculous.

Since dropping down to 288, I stopped paying such close attention.  I stopped using Lose It! and kept working out.  The for the last four months, I stopped the weight loss.  I realized that this wasn’t a problem I had conquered once and for all.  I still have a lot of weight to lose, and I want to lose it.  I’ve started using Lose It again.  Since keeping track, I’ve been under my caloric budget for 13 of 14 days.  It feels good again.

The remarkable thing is, I feel like when I am disciplined in my eating, I am more disciplined in other areas as well.  When I control my appetite, and don’t succumb to every craving, there is a positive ripple effect that is far-reaching.  I know a lot of this has been about weight, and a number on a scale.  I know that the scale is only part of the story, but for me it is an important part.  I feel good.  I am still fat.  I still make fat decisions all the time, but I’m working on it.  God is working in me.

For four years I’ve been The Fat Pastor.  At times that has been more true than others.  Right now I believe I am closer to being The Fit Pastor then I have ever been.  I appreciate the support of my friends on facebook, my twitter followers, the people of my congregation, my friends, my family, and my amazing wife.  I don’t know if I’ll ever change the name of this blog.  I’m sure there will always be fat in my life that I would like to trim.  With the Holy Spirit strengthening me, I have trimmed a lot of fat already.

I will always be striving to live well and do good.  Thanks for striving with me.

Fat is not the opposite of thin.

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July 13, 2012 · 1:41 pm

Fat is not the opposite of thin

Left: This picture was taken in December, 2011. Right: Taken in June, 2012, immediately after finishing my first 5K.

Fat is not the opposite of thin.  At least in my way of thinking, it’s not.  When I created this blog and started calling myself The Fat Pastor, I did so with the intent of changing the name someday.  I never wanted to change the name of the blog to The Thin Pastor.

To me, fat is the opposite of fit, and fitness has little to do with the size of one’s body.  Fitness is a state of mind.  It is not about diets, weight loss, and scales.  I’ve lost about 35 pounds since February, and I celebrate that, but my celebration isn’t about the weight loss.  It is because I’ve changed my mindset.  I celebrate the lifestyle change that has taken place in my family.  All the other stuff is great.  I love the looser fitting clothes, the lower number on the scale, the lower cholesterol, and improved resting heart rate, but those things are byproducts of a more important transformation.

Fatness is a state of mind that goes beyond the shape and size of my body.  When I was fat, I didn’t care what I ate.  I made unhealthy choices at restaurants.  I ate too much at home.  I snacked when I wasn’t hungry.  I satisfied every craving.  When I was fat I slept in instead of going to the gym.  Excuses not to exercise were easy to come by.  When I was fat, I acted fat and I ate fat.

Am I still overweight? Absolutely.  I’m 6 foot 2 inches, and weight 290.  The ideal weight for my height is between 170-200.  Honestly, I cannot picture myself at 200 pounds. Am I still fat?  Sometimes.  But not nearly as fat as I was.  Now, I am able to resist foods that are empty of nutrition.  There is an open bag of Doritoes in our kitchen (a visiting friend bought it and left it there).  The life expectancy of an open bag of Doritoes last year at this time would have been about 18 hours.  It has been untouched for six days.  At restaurants I order dinner salads.  At home I cook more salmon, fewer boxed items, and rarely take seconds.   On the Fourth of July, I got up at 7 a.m. just to run a 5K.  My perfect birthday had to include a trip to the gym.

Do I still make unhealthy choices sometimes? Of course.  I have too many refills of cereal at night.  I could probably do without the handful of M&Ms with my popcorn during movies.

People have been asking me, “So are you going to change the name of your blog?”  I don’t know.  I don’t feel like it is the right time.  I have made a lot of changes, but I’m still striving to live well and do good.  Will I ever arrive, and feel the need to change the blog?  I don’t know.  I know it’s not about a number I’m trying to reach on a scale, or a time I’m trying to beat in a 5K, or a weight I’m trying to lift on the bench press.

When will I be the Fit Pastor, and not the Fat Pastor?  I’m not sure, but I like the path I’m on.  I’ll just keep taking it one step at a time, walking humbly with my God.  I love the fact that so many are on this journey with me.  I appreciate every reader, commenter, facebook “fan,” and twitter follower.

We follow a God that is in the business of transforming lives, and through those lives God transforms communities, nations, and the world.  I know that God can transform me from fat to fit.  I want to be more than a witness.  I want to be the evidence.

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The workout begins when you want to quit

workout beginsYesterday was my 35th birthday.  It was important to me to get to the gym.  I’ve actually gotten to the point where going to workout is a treat, not a chore.  As I was jogging on the treadmill I set the pace to my usual 5.5 mph.  For the last few weeks I have set it at that pace for the first mile, then set it down to 3.5 for about an eighth of a mile.  Then I finish with long stretches of 5.5 with some 3.5 walking in between.

In the last month I’ve run two 5K races.  My goal at both of them was a 12 minute mile pace, and I achieved that both times.  Now I’m ready to set a new goal.  I want to jog the entire 3.1 miles.  Yesterday as I approached the completion of the first mile, I was preparing to punch the speed down to 3.5.  Then I thought of this saying.

“The workout begins when you want to quit.”

I don’t remember where I first heard that, but it struck a chord.  I realized that for me to improve, I couldn’t keep doing the same thing.  If I want to grow, I have to push through the barriers that I create.  So I kept going.  I was ready to slow down, but I didn’t.  That’s when the workout started.  That is when the growth started.  That is when getting stronger happened.

I pushed through and found myself jogging past 1.25 miles.  Then I thought about stopping.  Again, I had to keep pushing.  When I finally started walking, I had run for 2 miles.  I completed it in 22 minutes – by far my fastest pace for that distance.

A good friend and I have signed up for two more 5K races before Halloween.  I’m hoping to do at least one more.  My goal now is to run a full 5K without slowing down to walk.  The next step is making a two mile jog routine.  The next is to not let the routine be the limit.

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July 10, 2012 · 3:02 pm