The importance of goals

I am the flabbiest Ironman you’ll ever meet.

I started life as a scrawny kid, then a scrawny young adult, then a fat guy.

In a blink, I was 40.

Fearing mortality, I started running, then thought, “how do people run 13.1 miles in a half marathon?”

To answer this question, I signed up for a half marathon.

“Well, now I’ll have to figure this out,” I thought.

At the finish line, I thought, “Whew! Done! But how do people run twice that far?”

To answer this question, I signed up for a marathon.

“Well, now I’ll have to figure this out,” I thought.

Repeat a few more times, and this happened.

I tell this story not to show off, but to reinforce what Zig Ziglar said about goals.

They work.

In my case, though, I needed external goals (race dates) that I signed up and paid for.

I’m also not showing off because, today, I weigh a fair bit more than the guy in the picture.

Here’s a goal I have, as an example. I use Zig Ziglar’s template to flesh out the details.

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Weigh 170 pounds by June 30 (1.5 pounds per week)

I was probably 175 in 2016. I was right around 195 this morning. I should weigh no more than 170 based on my height and frame.

Benefits:
While there are obvious health benefits, let’s be honest. I just want to look better.

Obstacles:
I have a terrible habit of eating in the middle of the night. Not just regular eating. Huge quantities of junk. An entire box of cereal. A “row” of Oreos.

It’s bad.

Basically every night between 11 and 3, I amble downstairs and find crap to eat. I sit in front of the computer in the den and read CNN, Politico, ESPN, and FiveThirtyEight. And I shovel it in.

Weight Watchers has a great app-based service. Using this, it’s clear that a full half of my caloric intake occurs during these late-night sessions.

Skills and Knowledge required:

• An accounting of my weight and what I’m eating (I can use the WW app for this)
• An understanding of why the hell I lose all control of my senses in the night. Talk therapy perhaps?

People/groups to work with:

• Tell my family of my goal (I usually keep it to myself)
• Tell co-workers (I’m pretty embarrassed about this)
• Tell social media (Ugh)

Plan of action:

• Track calories in WW app
• Weigh myself at least weekly
• Sign up for races to stay motivated to exercise
• When I get up to eat, brush my teeth instead. Because who wants to eat right after brushing your teeth?
• Use Diet Coke as a crutch. It tastes like something but is not caloric. Probably bad for my teeth, though.

Bonus encouragement:

I got a recommendation to use a site called Stikk which allows you to make a tangible, monetary commitment to add incentive to meeting a goal.

In my case, each week I don’t lose 1.5 pounds, $50 dollars of my money goes to the NRA. For me, this is the weight equivalent of signing up for a race.

Well, now I’ll have to figure this out.