Thursday, July 29, 2010

Why get a medium when you can get a large?

I was faced with a question the other day that rocked me to my core.
“I can get you a large pizza for the same price as a medium, would you like me to do that?”
For most, this question doesn’t rival Sophie’s Choice, but most people are not me. I love pizza. I would walk across broken glass to get to pizza.
I’m also slightly overweight. I say this not in a “feel sorry for me” way, but in a “I realize how I look” way. In college I was once told I looked like Ryan Gosling in “The Notebook.” Recently, I have been said to look like Zach Galifianakis and Jack Black. Obviously, something has changed.
Luckily for me however, I joined a local church in Burleson and befriended a family that happens to own The Burleson Athletic Club, a local gym. They remind me of my family and, therefore, I have an inherent need to make them like me.
They encouraged me to start going to gym and start changing my life for the better. I was wary at first because, come on, it’s the gym.
However, after looking at a photo with my wife and thinking, ‘I could paint myself white, where a beret and look like the Michelin Man,” I decided I might need to go to place I have dreaded since the days of elementary school.
I wasn’t exactly what you would call athletic in school. I was the kid they let just hang on the chin-up bar instead of doing actual pull-ups.
In high school, I was on the varsity football team because they needed players and my friends were playing. At practice the coach would say, “Everyone get out here in 30 seconds or you are running laps.” He would then look behind anyone and see me trying to put on my shoulder pads over my helmet and add, “except for Harris.”
I was also, supposedly, a lineman, and when one of my teammates was knocked out during a game, the coach turned to me and said, “Harris, get up here.”
I jumped up and ran to the front, thinking (A) I’m getting into the game and (B) I should really take off my glasses. When I got to the line, my coach said some words I would never forget.
“We need your jersey.”
Apparently, you can’t have a certain number on the line or they just wanted to put one of my teammates in the game pretending to be me. Either way I had two more realizations standing on the sideline (A) My jersey was going to get more playing time than I was, which I was fine with and (B) that half-cut shirt that was funny in the locker room is not nearly as funny when standing in front of your entire school wearing bare shoulder pads and a helmet.
All this to say, obviously, I am not an athletic person. However, I spoke with my new friends and they encouraged me to not try to go cold turkey on everything bad in my life, because, most likely, it would not last. Instead, they said, I should begin to cut back, slowly eliminating the bad habits in my life.
This was great advice and I have taken it to heart. Where I would once drink a 12-pack of Coke a day, I have switched to Crystal Light waters. Still delicious, not nearly as bad for me. Where I would once order a large pizza for myself, I order a medium and save some for later.
Therefore, the question posed by the local pizza man was a difficult one. Did I get the large pizza? You betcha. I’m not shaking my nose at that kind of deal. However, I didn’t eat but three pieces and saved the rest for a future lunch.
This is not that great accomplishment to many people, but it is a big deal for me. I was blessed with new friends who have helped me on my path to being healthy.
It is important to be healthy. There are many ways to try to change your life, but not all of them are smart. If you are lucky enough to have people who care about you and know how to lose weight in a healthy manner, talk to them.
I am excited about the possibility of one day playing a game of flag football or baseball and being put in the game instead of my jersey.

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