Just imagine accompanying Sam and Frodo through the Shire. Ducking and dodging the Nazul on your way to meet Gandalf in Bree. Before the quest to Mount Doom in Mordor to destroy the One Ring. Well, hold that thought for a few paragraphs.
Whoever said you stop growing as an adult is absolutely right but not one hundred percent correct. Yes, we stop getting taller in our teen years, but what about our waistlines that tend to expand during adulthood (at least in my experience). Some empirical data supports that statement. I’ve remained the same 5′ 11″ since probably late high school/early college, and I’ve had waistlines equal to my 34th, 36th, and 38th birthdays but in inches instead of years. Both are true.
On a side note, did you know that the average man’s height is 5′ 9″? I always thought my stature was average, but I’ve always been above average in tallness. Right on.
My back-and-forth waistlines were always the result of my past levels of physical activity and food choices. For a while now, I’ve been in one of those recurring periods where my clothes have become a little too snug for my liking. Because of this, I’m trying to turn around the months of poor diet and physical inactivity that got me here with a beginner’s fitness and nutrition plan.
Some might chalk this up as the ebb and flow of a healthy life. I’m trying to turn those couch ebbs into greenway walks and quarter-pounder flows into healthy burrito bowls. The fitness course I set into motion has me wrestling a Balrogs and running with wargs.
Okay, all that is false. My actual plan is a very rudimentary one-two-three-four action plan to tackle exercise first and then foodstuff. Here’s my more honest and less awesome plan:
- Joined a gym in September and established a weekly weight-strengthening routine of three days. I’ve done well with the gym. Been going several times a week to work out with dumbbells and cables.
- Get at least 7,500 steps each day.
- Quit having a Second Breakfast of Combos Pizzeria Pretzel Baked Snacks, quit fast food for lunch, and drink less Cherry-Lemon Sundrop.
- Jump on a scale and set a weight loss goal.
Now go back to The Shire. I’ve joined one of those virtual fitness challenges to have a little fun with getting 7,500 steps a day. I’m doing The Shire 145-mile challenge, which starts from a virtual Hobbiton to the village of Bree. I’ll enter our (Frodo, Sam, and myself) daily distance activity to move us (Frodo, Sam, and myself) down the path drawn on my Middle-Earth map. About two weeks ago, I registered a 56-day time goal to completely walk The Shire. I’ve completed around 53 miles (36%) out of the 145 miles. We (Frodo, Sam, and myself) should reach the Brandywine River this weekend.
Now out of The Shire and onto the scale. When I stepped onto the weight scale, the digital red numbers read 221 pounds. Dang it! That puts me in the obese Body Mass Index (BMI) range and ten pounds over the overweight range. I have 42 days left to travel through The Shire. This also seems like enough time to lose weight to drop into the Overweight BMI range.
So I’ll see where I’m at in 42 days with the gym visits, The Shire virtual challenge, and my BMI. I’ll reassess my fitness routine and diet and readjust where needed. Wish me luck until then. If you need me, I’ll be walking my butt through the Shire with the Lord of the Rings.
Instagram: @stormstrouper