Every year, in February, my rugby club does a ski trip. I love going skiing, and have always loved trips like these. Last year I went, and to be honest, it sucked. The skiing was decent, but socially it was a bit of a rough patch. I've always felt a bit like an outsider looking in at my rugby club, for a multitude of reasons, and the ski trip last year really magnified that.
At the end of the summer last year, I stepped on the scale for the first time in a while. The reading of 281 pounds scared the hell out of me. So much so, I realized that I wasn't happy with where most things in my life were at, and I needed to make a change. Socially, the biggest change came with my rugby club. In a somewhat drastic fashion, I sent a note to my coach saying that I needed to take some time to figure out where things were at in my life, and that I'd be out for the rest of the season.
This was one of the couple major lifestyle changes that I made. Dropping rugby seems counter-intuitive, as it was 2 hours of intense physical activity three times a week; it actually helped though, and I think the main reason was in how it shaped the ethos of why I wanted to lose weight.
Before, when I would go for a run, it would be to get in better shape for the season, and not let the team down. Now, it's to enjoy the burn in my legs and to feel accomplished in myself.
Before, when I would hit the gym, it would be to get stronger to be better in the scrum, and not let the team down; now, when I hit the gym, it's to burn off some steam, and to smash PRs.
Before, when I would watch what I ate, it was to make sure I was properly fueled up prior to game time and not let the team down. Now, when I count calories, it's because I can see the changes it can make.
Basically, it switched from being for the team, to being for me, and that's made this way more sustainable this time. Also, we drink a lot of beer with our club. Cutting that out helped ;)
Anyway, this weekend was our annual ski trip again. I was a little hesitant to go, due to my experience last year, but I also hadn't seen anybody from the club in 5 months and 55 pounds, so I figured I'd check it out.
My goodness, what a different trip. I was lighter than I had ever been since being with the club, and got a lot of comments on how I looked slimmer. I was told that I looked way more comfortable on skis than I had last year. My jokes were landing where they didn't before. When we went out to the bar, I ended up asking a couple of girls to dance, and was even told by some onlookers from the club that they were surprised how well I could dance. After a couple of rye-and-diets, all us guys in our group also ended up going "tarps off" at the bar - AKA shirtless - and I had no issues with it. I honestly had a blast, and I was not expecting to.
Ultimately, I think for me, this was the first time I've felt decently confident in myself in a while. I'm still about 25 pounds from my next goal weight, and I still have a ways to go; but seeing how different of a weekend I had was honestly the best feeling I've had in a while.
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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2StSz8v
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