When you look in the mirror do you see who you are, who you were, or someone else? This is a fundamental question that you should really take seriously. Self image is an increasingly difficult concept today. We are inundated with the rhetoric of the be this way or you suck or be fat and happy.

Elsie commented on my Ironman post that I shouldn’t hold myself to that standard. To some extent, she was right on target. We should be realistic about who we are and what we can accomplish. I’ve been giving that a lot of thought. What should a healthy 42 year old man look like? Do I fit that mold?

Here is a picture of me when I was 29.

Women noticed me. Men respected me for my strength and ability. I was smart, strong and sober. I had single digit fat percentage. I could run a marathon on Saturday and a 5K the next day. I could leg press 800 lbs for reps. I miss that part of me.

So, here is the target. I want to get closer to that, without losing who am today. Exactly where that journey takes me is anybody’s guess. I thank you for joining me on this journey! Your comments mean the world to me, even when I don’t respond. Please keep ‘em coming.

My Wii Fit was here when I returned from Ecuador.  I was pretty excited about trying it out, so I got it set up this morning.  Set up was fairly easy and I was using it within a few minutes of getting it out of the box.

When you start using the Wii Fit, it lets you pick your Mii and then runs through a few basic tests (that include inputing your date of birth and height).  That is when the Wii Fit got mean.  In a cute little voice it told me that my posture sucks and that I’m obese.  Yes, it is true, but it still could have found a nicer way to say it.  My first assessment has me at a Wii Age of 48 (as compared to my actual age of 42).

My girlfriend, FancyPants, faired much better on the BMI, falling in the normal range.  Her posture was also criticized and she was assessed a Wii Age of 58.  Not a problem, I’ve dated older women before.

I’m going to use the Wii Fit primarily for balance exercises.  So, I went on and performed a few.  They range in difficulty, but I can see how they will work over time to improve my performance.

The Wii Fit also has what is called a Fit Bank.  Each time you do an exercise you Fit Points.  I was earning these at about 1 point per minute.  After ten minutes I opened a new exercise (five were available to me at the start).  I’m going to make a point of using the Wii Fit at least three times a week (when I’m in town).  It might take me a while to open the other exercises, but the ones that are available now are enough to keep me engaged for a while.

I love the Wii Fit even though it is mean to me.  Yes, honesty is hard to hear some times.  Maybe I need some tough love.  I upped my cardio time, and am looking forward to my weigh in tomorrow.  The gloves are off!

I was struck by this article 308 - Pound Inmate Sues County Over Jail Fare but not for the initial title, but the subtitle, “Murder Suspect Unhappy After Losing More Than 100 Pounds In Ark. Facility. I mean, this is a joke, right? He couldn’t possibly be unhappy losing over 100 pounds (people actually pay money to do just that).

But maybe he is.

I remember when I was in the Army. At 22 years old, my metabolism was screaming! I was muscular and fit. And I ate over 6,000 calories a day just to maintain my weight of 185 pounds.

Every time we would go out in the field for training exercises, I would shed at least a pound a day. Why? Because we received about 3,000 calories a day and I was burning far more than that. But that was the Army, so what is a guy to do?

This is not dissimilar. Mr. Laswell is not in a position to choose what foods he eats or how much he eats. Where these stories are different has to do with general health. It is in his best interest health-wise for him to lose weight, it was not for me.

Which leads me to my initial question, “Is body weight a right?”

The Constitution of the United States says that everyone has the inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. What about when they conflict? And does the pursuit of happiness include self destruction?

I don’t think so. In Butchers’ Union Co. v. Crescent City Co., 111 U.S. 746 (1884), Associate Justice Samuel Freeman Miller wrote:

Among these inalienable rights, as proclaimed in that great document, is the right of men to pursue their happiness, by which is meant the right to pursue any lawful business or vocation, in any manner not inconsistent with the equal rights of others, which may increase their prosperity or develop their faculties, so as to give to them their highest enjoyment.

So, while I agree that Mr. Laswell should be provided adequate meals, I don’t think allowing him to remain unhealthy is appropriate under the law (or human decency).

When I saw that Robert Downey Jr. was playing the lead role in the movie Ironman I was dumbfounded. How is that possible? What I knew of him prior to this was his role on Ally McBeal and the very public drug arrests.

I figured that he was close to my age. Actually, he was born on April 4, 1965. So he is older than I am.

Yes, having watched the movie I can say, Robert Downey Jr. is Ironman. He looks awesome and is extremely fit for 42.

I am not Ironman. At least not yet. I am using this movie as motivation. By the time Ironman 2 comes out in 2010, I will be!

When I go to the gym now there are days when I feel like I’m invisible. It wasn’t always that way. I remember when I would get a look, if not a second look and a smile.

Now, I know that I’m older. And that has a lot to do with it. But it really is more than that. Being seen as attractive comes from more than the physical attributes, it comes from confidence. When you’re out of shape and feel bad about it, the confidence is gone. That only emphasizes the negatives. As a result, you become invisible.

I’m enjoying my trips to the gym because I know my effort is building something. Eventually, I’ll begin to see those changes. And with that will come the confidence. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very happy in my relationship with nothingfits, but it is still nice to be noticed now and then.

But not like this guy…

Per the USA Today Article, Illinois Man Designs Beer Can Coffin, Bill Bramanti had a coffin designed to look like a beer can (and painted to resemble his favorite brand, Papst Blue Ribbon). At 67 years old, the 5′9″, 280 pound man held a party to show off his coffin. Until he needs it for its intended purpose, he’ll be using it as a cooler.

We always read the health benefits of having one or two drinks a day. I don’t think this is what those studies had in mind.

I found this design idea while surfing the net:

Now that is accountability! I want one of these, because I know my waist size is going to go down. I currently wear 38 inch waist sized pants (yes, my stomach protrudes over that). I want to get down to a 32 without as much overhang (none if I can help it).

Is it doable?

Yes! When I was down to about 205lbs (I’ve tried losing but have always bounced back up), I was able to get into 34s. And this time, I’m holding myself accountable. I will get down to 195lbs by April 2009.

Now if I can just figure out who is going to sell these belts, I’ll be in line to buy one.

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This Weird Al video is a pure classic! For the kids in the audience, this was a spoof off Michael Jackson’s Bad video. Both were excellent for their time. Boy those were the days!

For one, I was fit. I was strong. And this video was funny.

Now I see it differently. If you watch the video carefully, it is about peer pressure. He had stopped hanging out with his “fat” friends, who obviously had food issues. He then felt compelled to show them he was still a part of the group. Bizarre in its presentation, but remember, it is a spoof and therefore had to follow Michael’s video structure.

They tell recovering alcoholics to avoid bars and scenes where drinking is prevalent. Smokers, much the same, don’t put yourself in a situation where you’re likely to smoke. I believe this is somewhat the same for dieters. I won’t go into a fast food restaurant now. Yes, I know they have healthier selections today. But I know the smells and the images in the restaurant will weaken my resolve (at least right now).

Am I saying that you should dump the friends that aren’t fit? Of course not. But you should take the time to understand what influences your behavior. And yes, if there are certain friends, or certain events that cause you trouble, you should try to avoid them. At the same time, if you can find positive influences, such as a workout buddy, that push you in a positive direction. It’s all about understanding yourself.

Over time, you should be able to train yourself how to better deal with negative influences. Be it friends or family, fast food, or other things. I have to. I travel a lot for work. Unless I figure out how to eat better on the road, I’m not going to make my goal. Between “grab something and go” meals and hotel bars, I’m going to have many challenges in the coming year.

Yes, “I’m Fat.” But I don’t intend to stay that way.

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Time to do something besides chat!

Business pages are always abuzz about the various market bubbles. There was the Tech Bubble of the late 1990’s, then the Telecom Bubble of the early 2000’s, and now the Credit and Housing Bubbles. Business writers often speculate about what the next bubble will be (current consensus seems to point toward currency trading). But that got me to thinking…

The bubble is round, my stomach is round…

Could the next bubble actually just be us? Maybe we will continue to gorge ourselves as a society and without us really noticing, BAM! We start popping. At first it would be just one or two of us. So we could say, “That can’t happen to me. I don’t weigh that much.” We keep eating the way we do. Then more of us pop. Soon there are popping fat people everywhere.

As horrific or silly as this might seem, I’m really afraid it isn’t much off the mark. And you can say you heard it here first. Foreign currency trading might pop first, but American’s are not far behind.