Basic Training

When I signed my name on the dotted line to sacrifice life and limb in servitude to my country I weighed 204 pounds and was 20-years old. They gave my start-date as 30-days out and told me to lose 4 pounds before I got to Basic Training.

30-days of racquetball, Nautilus equipment, ALL-U-CAN-EAT salad bars, and doing pull-ups on the tree outside our house, I arrived in San Antonio, Texas a lean, fit 185-pound monster who breezed through the rigors of Basic Training.

I left the Air Force in 1997, got a job in IT, and have been sitting ever since.

I don't remember when I gave up snuff this last time, or why, but it was a couple of months before Christmas. I remember this because when I became ill with strep throat and went to see the doctor, I weighed in at a whopping 270 pounds. That's about 20-lbs more than I usually carry, and I went into a blind panic wondering why the hell I was so fat.

I decided it was the cessation of tobacco, as that was the only thing which had changed.

I paired up with nicetwins at work on her "ideal" diet:

1. NOT TOO COMPLICATED


2. NO WEIRD/EXPENSIVE/FANCY FOOD


3. EASY AND CONVENIENT


4. SIMPLE RULES (AND FEW OF THEM TO FOLLOW)


5. SIMPLE TO STICK WITH FOR LIFE

And have now lost that 20-lbs over the last two months. Sadly, that means I'm down to 'Lardy Bastard' because 250 isn't exactly 'thin' or healthy.

For reasons too complicated to get into here, I'm now learning Taekwondo and practicing three times a week. Let me tell you - its like Basic Training all over again.

Except this time around I'm 40.

And not 185.

And out of shape.

This may kill me.