Getting back on the bike... literally

Although I have tons to write about in this blog with being a new dad and how life with a newborn has affected my weight loss effort (surprisingly its been really positive), I wanted to take a moment and make mention of a personal success that happened today.

After several years of collecting dust, I got my bicycle up and running.  This entailed a little minor maintenance, which was luckily simple.  After a full day of work, I went for a short ride around Middletown.  Altogether it was a short, flat 1.23 mile ride, it was a lot of fun and only moderately difficult.  This non-scale victory will have a resonant effect, because it is not only a great milestone, it also opens a fantastic type of activity that I enjoy and fuels my thirst for adventure.

This was a big milestone for me.  Two years ago (and 50 pounds more), this wasn't possible.  I had gotten so big that it was unsafe to ride my bike and I couldn't stay upright.  In addition, my knees hurt so bad that peddling was extremely painful.  Today, this wasn't a problem!  I'm hoping that at this time next year, I'll be riding a bike in Berlin!  

Celebrating Non-Scale Victories

One great element of the Weight Watchers program is their celebration of non-scale victories.  These are victories that are not connected to the scale and are very helpful when you work hard but don't see a change at the scale.  Examples of non-scale victories are going down a notch on your belt, being able to run further than before or sticking with a new routine.  Although last week was a successful week at the scale, I also had a nice non-scale victory as well.

I am an active Freemason and am a proud member of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite.  A significant aspect of the Scottish Rite is the portrayal of ceremonial plays, where our members act  as characters from many periods in history.  Last monday, we conducted a ceremony where I portrayed a knight.  I have acted in this role many times over the past few years, but this time was different.

Normally, the costume that I use for the ceremony does not fit quite right because I was too large.  It wouldn't close in back and I would be forced to tie or pin it closed and hide the impromptu fixes with my cape.

However, much to my surprise this past Monday, the costume fit extremely well and closed without any further assistance.  My efforts since last December, when I last wore the costume, have paid off quite nicely and fitting into the costume was a great non-scale victory!