Consistently coming up short. Is a series of words I would use to describe the dedication I have to my health. I would say that the last 3 years in Arizona were my best. I was extremely dedicated to my overall physical well being. On the average I would say that I worked out at least 6 days a week. Lots of cross training throughout the week as well. I ate extremely well – except for my obsession with breakfast burritos… Dude they’re good. Throughout the year I would throw myself into specific diets to help cleanse my body of toxins. Only to refill it a few weeks later on the lake. But, I was extremely conscious of the things I ate. Home cooked poultry and fish. Lots and lots of it. Before I moved to Tulsa, I was about 180. Five pounds away from my post college target weight of 175. Since moving to T-town, I’ve put on 15 pounds and my diet has been pretty much – crap. Tonight, I had an epiphany. Much like one I had 4 years ago. [To make a long story a little shorter] I’ve decided to make some serious changes in my life. And as lame as this might be – I’m publishing them here. Why? Because I think that if I put it out there, I’ll be more committed to it and I will work my results into my day to day rants. [Whether you like it or not].

It may appear that my physical goals may seem superficial or whatever, but they aren’t. I’m not too bothered with the way I look; it’s more about the way I feel. Over the last year and a half, I have noticed numerous things change in my life: Less energy, chronic headaches, unfocused, poor posture and just overall sluggishness. It sucks. I know my lifestyle has been poor and it has just been ignorant of me to not step in sooner and make the change. Our bodies – what we feed them and how we condition them directly affects everything we do. Everything. It’s 1:18 in the AM and although I didn’t intend to write this post, I was sitting in bed reading when I came across this:

Your health impacts you emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. You can escape from a lot of things that might hurt you. You can quit a hazardous job. You can move from one climate to another. You can stay away from someone who wants to harm you. But you can’t get away from your body. For as long as you live, you’re stuck with it. If you make choices that cause you to be continually hurting or unhealthy, it will affect every aspect of your life – your heart, mind, spirit. It’s always easier to maintain good health than to regain it. Remember what it felt like trying to get back in shape to play a sport after an off-season of inactivity? Unfortunately, some lapses in health are permanent, and you can’t get back what you have lost.

As you can tell, the copy just reiterated many of the things I happened to be feeling this evening. It seemed too coincidental. I had to share. The photo? Taken 1/12/2007 – 7:14AM atop the infamous Camelback trail. It’s a wonderful place to be.