Week 4.
by Ben Davis
Staff Writer
While climbing Pinnacle the other day, my friend John and I were discussing the fact that the “newness” of my doing life has worn off.
It’s sort of true. I’ve lost 55 pounds, I’ve successfully completed an eight-week Boot Camp fitness class, I’ve even seen my mile time fall from 11:44 to 7:34, and while these things are all good and nice to look at, my success will inevitably slow down. Will my enthusiasm slow down too?
In my experience, one of the hardest parts about projects - whatever form they take - is keeping the fire going, even after the initial luster has worn off.
Relationships, new jobs, Christmas presents… everything is more exciting in the beginning. How do you keep the attitude going? How do you stop something from becoming a grind?
I’ve been going at this for two and a half months now and I’m really happy with where I’m at and how I’m doing, but the initial excitement is over, and there’s always the fear of “what’s next?” you know?
What’s going to happen when I hit my goal weight of 220? What’s going to happen when I can fit into the size-34 pants? What happens when I do a successful pull-up? Run a marathon?
It’s incredibly scary to think about getting there and then coming back. Gaining it all back. How would I handle it? Could I handle it?
The odds are against me and I understand this. The huge majority of people that lose a significant amount of weight gain it all back. And of those people, a majority of them gain more.
Could I be looking at 400 pounds? It sounds crazy, but it’s realistic.
I would like to think that I am mentally prepared for the maintenance portion of doing life. I’d hope that I am in control enough that I would be able to identify problems when they begin to happen, and work to fix them, but who really knows? I don’t. The truth is, I’m petrified of the end. Ben Does Life can’t really happen in the “post-losing” era can it? Doing this column and my blog has kept me motivated: the comments, the support, the ideas… But what about when it’s gone?
The races that my brother Jed and I are involved in, the classes we do, the hikes up Pinnacle Mountain, and the nightly jogs with friends are incredible and I feel like those are the things that will help keep me motivated, keep me on track. Those are the key to “maintaining life.”
At least I hope.
I still have a long way to go. And even when I get there, the hard part will only just be starting. This isn’t “Ben Does Six Good Months.” It’s about life.
I’m making a change here for the better. It needs to be a permanent change. I hope I can make it stick; I would hate to see where I end up if I don’t.
