Trevor

I’ve never skydived.

I always wanted to, but never been under the weight limit to tandem-jump. I am now well under the weight limit. Now, I need to get over my fear of heights. (Actually, it’s not a fear of heights, it is the fear of falling from a great height, and then the fear of that sudden stop at the end!)

But exceeding the weight limits was a great excuse to avoid that challenge. So, I think I want to go skydiving. I know that before anyone jumps from a plane, they pack their own chute as a safety and confidence measure. Many wear back-up chutes as well, in case the first doesn’t deploy.

According to the non-scholarly but always entertaining Wikipedia, the US experiences about 1 jumping fatality for every 80,000 jumps.  In 1987, there were 29 fatalities.  That is compared to 856 bicycling, over 7,000 drowned, 1154 died of bee stings, and 80 by lightning. Looked at in the big picture, it is a safe sport. Everyone carefully prepares, and when they are completely ready, they step from the plane.

By now you are wondering how I will relate this to weight management. (I’ve been wondering that myself.) When you purposely fall from a plane, you train, wear the right gear, plan the jump, check the weather, pack your parachute, put on your auxiliary chute (the “Uh-oh chute!”) and usually you do this with friends and teammates.  Everyone always falls down to the ground and most people never get hurt.

This is in contrast to people trying to change their weight. Some people grab at whatever new plan that Dr. Phil or Dr. Oz talks about, or something that they heard on a TV commercial. Others choose one of hundreds of restrictive diet plans. Some see their physician, some see a surgeon, some see a therapist.  Some people try pills, hypnosis, fasting, or purges. Not all people reach their goal. Some get close to the goal, and then drift back. Some try one plan, don’t see immediate results, and give up. Some people work their plan in secret, so that no one can comment on it.

The problem is that many people know what they want, but not how to get it.

Using LoseIt helps guide people to their goal, but it is not magic. Every person still needs to pack their own chute. Everyone needs to know how far they can fall before needing to pull the rip cord and slow down. And, while there are few fatalities in weight management, there is the very real risk of emotional injury. Friends and family that make unkind comments. People that try–purposely or unconsciously–to sabotage your progress. And, to be honest, the very real concern that after the weight is lost, the weight will return, with the subsequent feeling of shame, anger and frustration.

Pack your own chute. (Pick a plan that you will follow.) Wear a back-up chute (know how to modify your plan when needed.) And jump with a team (have a support group to help you get through the rough patches.)

And, with confidence, step through the doorway and let go!

“My Muse.”
“Cookbook guru.”
“Motivational speaker.”
“My hero.”

Those are a few labels that people have recently applied to me on LoseIt. And while those labels are really nice to read, I’m actually none of those. Or, at least I never planned to be any of those. I thought I was only going to be a nurse. But the path that leads to my current position covered a wide-ranging territory.

At age 14, I was a stock boy at a grocery store, and mowed the baseball diamond at the village park. I’ve been a bartender at three bowling alleys, a supper club, a country dance bar, and a Mexican restaurant. I’ve sold vacuum cleaners, memberships to the US Chamber of Commerce, Amway products, and Pampered Chef kitchen tools. I self-taught enough to pass the state life insurance exam and held the license until it expired (but never sold insurance.) I’ve worked at a dairy bottling plant, a car wash, and an aluminum embossing factory. I’ve worked for a company blowing insulation into homes, as a carpet/upholstery cleaner, a day-care custodian, a security guard, and courier. I’ve run fast food restaurants, and I’ve run a grill at a bar, and run a banquet hall as executive chef.

Then I went to school and became a nurse. Two hospitals and two insurance companies later, I ended up teaching at a local technical college in the nursing department.

So, how does all that lead to the labels that I listed at the beginning if this post?

Well, unless I am about 185 years old, I either held multiple jobs at once or I didn’t stay at place for long.  (Actually, both are true statements.) My entire life has been about trying to find the “right place” or the “right thing”. So I job hop, and with each position, I get closer to “it”.

And anyone that has had a sales job knows about motivational speakers. I’ve listened to hundreds of tapes and CDs. (That’s not an exaggeration.) All the sales jobs have given me an undying optimism that I CAN achieve my goals with the right amount of effort. That I should never assume the door that stands in my way is locked and that I should never avoid trying a new path then one is presented to me.

You need to take that approach to weight management. Never quit. Find a goal, and make it real.  Take ownership of that goal. Write it down and look at it daily. Find an approach that you like and works for you, and stick with it. But–and this is important–if it does not give you the results you expect, try something else!

Don’t settle for where you are at. If the job you have is not the one you want, start looking. (But don’t quit until you find a new position.) If you don’t like your home, find a way to make it better.  If you need to lose weight or gain muscle, take the necessary action. Change is within your control. It may not be easy–heck, it almost certainly will NOT be easy–but it is possible. Anything is possible, with enough effort and time. 

Never stop believing in yourself, your right to be healthy, your right to try for what you want. You deserve it. But no one will give it to you. You have to earn it.

As promised yesterday, I am posting two versions of my breakfast bake.  Enjoy!