By day an Associate Professor in Physical Therapy at Marymount University. By night a husband to my beautiful wife Julie, a dad to my wonderful daughters Cara and Emma. A servant of Christ trying to build the kingdom.
So a little update for the faithful 210 in 2010 followers. Today I ventured out into the anticipated snow storm to engage in a new activity - a spin class, or more appropriately an R.P.M class devised by Les Mills.
Dear Lord, why are these things not illegal? I mean, really, there must be a law against strapping fat people onto bicycles that have only two purposes:
to suck the very life force and will to live out of your body through your legs and,
to wedge a very narrow bicycle seat into places where only liberal applications of cooking grease allow for easy extraction.
If you have not participated in such an endeavor let me describe the scene to you. Imagine a dimly lit 30'x40' room with more bicycles per square foot than the streets of Beijing at dinner time. All the bikes are positioned to face forward - into the back or should I say, the backside of the rider 5 inches in front of you. My sincerest apologies to the lady behind me - what a sight she must have had!! Once you have identified your 'ride' (official lingo for your static bicycle which doesn't go anywhere and therefore is not really a ride, but I digress) - adjusted seat, handlebars, pedals and foot-straps and began the process of eternally losing the aforementioned knife like seat, the music begins and the perky group leader begins the process of herding the cats before him to somehow become a collective mass of sweat producing, pedal-pushing maniacs.
The music starts, the beat begins to dictate your pedaling rhythm and the seat reaches your colon on its incredible journey ever northward. The next 45 minutes becomes a blur of sweat, pain, driving music (which up until this point was reserved for the car and much more relaxing), vocal encouragements from the group leader, thoughts of "Does my bum look big in this?" and yet more energy draining, leg pumping exhaustion. There were hills, even though we never altered our gradient and one failed attempt (by me) at standing on the pedals to apparently reach the top of the hill we were climbing even faster than we were getting there. As I stood up and pushed down on my right foot it slipped out of the pedal stirrup and off the pedal. I just pushed my 'ride' to the top of that hill and prepared to freewheel down the other side, but learned there are no free gears and if you stop pedaling then your wheels stop spinning. It was then I realized that I was atop a new fangled big wheel - without the big wheel.
A number of songs later, my shirt had changed in both color and weight as stuff that was formerly inside me now was absorbed by cotton. There was a lump in my throat which I realized was the previously mentioned narrow seat, which had completed its journey through my digestive system and was waiting for a small cough from me to release it to the fresh air once more. By this stage my legs were burning, my heart was considering moving to another state until October and my clothing was carrying pounds of sweat, but I also had a strangely satisfying feeling of being able to walk out of the class having not fallen off the bike (at least not completely), having given everything I could of, but also very proud of my friend who was leading the class for the way he has taken to this new passion and has made such a difference to the regulars in his class. It was easy to see the way that the participants engaged with him that he was inspiring them - and he inspired me too.
So, this was not the last Rapidly Pedaling Maniacs session for me. Just my first - thanks Brad.
So we are well on our way with our challenge and I have some very important news to announce - I am working with Compassion International to identify a country and a region where we can sponsor all our children from. Why is this big news? Well, if we sponsor a number of children from one region then we could potentially plan and take a trip to help serve these children in a real practical way.
Now that would be awesome!!
Can you imagine the joy that we could bring to just one child by sponsoring them? Now let's magnify that to sponsoring that one child, and their best friend who lives next door? Now add the little girl they play with who lives down the street. Pretty quickly as a group, we could sponsor a lot of children from the same village or town, or even region. Now, keep that imagination going and come with me on a mission trip in a summer or two when we go to that region to visit our sponsored children and build them a new church or well, or whatever they need. Now that is a vision I can give towards.
So, I want everyone who reads this to seriously consider sponsoring a child, but dont do anything about it yet. I am working to set up a Compassion International Sunday event in April and by that stage we will have a region identified, a group of children in need of sponsorship and we can collectively take the plunge to serve and reach out to those who need our help.
O yeah, I almost forgot. The milestone reached today was I now weigh 299lbs - I am under 300 and steaming ahead.
I want to begin this post with a government health warning. There are pictures at the end of this post which will seriously make you ill. Please be advised, if you are eating, or have a queezy stomach, better leave this one and come back to it another day.
Anyhoo, for the brave of heart and strong of constitution, this week has seen an increase in the aches in the old body - I knew exercise was bad for me - but also a steeling of the determination to try to inspire as many people as possible to reach out and help children who are living in poverty.
The earthquake in Haiti has heightened the world's awareness of how those living in poverty truly live. The images from the devastation have shown the reality of life for so many children. There have been heart warming stories of rescue and survival, but the overwhelming heartache has been the thought that hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives - and hundreds of thousands of families have been affected, and an already incredible orphan issue has been magnified multiple times.
Derek Torsani, a gifted young man from Mt Oak designed a t-shirt with the simple, but inspirational message of "MY DESIRE IS TO INSPIRE" emblazoned across the front. I bought two of these shirts from Derek. One that fits me now, and one that will fit me in a few months time. I am struck this week by the longevity of the challenge I have set myself, and the determination it will take to achieve it. But, with the images I have witnessed on the tv this week, I am reminded of the fact that for me, there is an end point, a goal, a finish line. For those living in poverty, there is no end in sight.
Well, for a small number of children, we can give them an end point to their suffering. We can give them a brighter future, where their needs are taken care of. We can be the difference in their lives.
Are you ready for some horrifying images? I show you these as a sign of my dedication to this challenge. I have posted these pictures as a humbling declaration that I have lived my life for me, and now it is truly time to make a difference. The British band Delirious? have a some which contains the line, "I'm going to be a history maker in this land..." and this week the cold reality of my challenge has struck me that I want to live out that lyric. I want to be a history maker in this land, and by doing so create a new future for hundreds of children in other lands.
Will you join me? Will you give what you can to end poverty in the life of a child?
The following pictures were taken on Saturday January 16th 2010. I post these as a reminder of my excess and as an inspiration to the change that can occur in one life, and the change that can multiply in hundreds of lives, because of that one change.
So, our week of prayer and fasting is complete, there is food in my body again and my weight rose a little from my fasted weigh-in last Friday. One thing that I have noticed over the past week or so with this challenge of mine is that while I am not focused on my weight, never a healthy thing, I have become more aware of any sort of exercise that I am involved in, and more importantly how it affects me. I have become more conscious of things like heart rate, not just to make sure I have one, but how quickly the old ticker is ticking. I haven't put the title of this post to the test by the way, in case anyone calls child protective services. But I have noticed that I have become more careful with my food intake, with my exercise activities and with scheduling my week to try to include some form of exercise - all good things.
What has been eye opening to me is that while I set myself this challenge and wasn't sure how I was really going to attempt it, I have made choices. Choices that will ultimately over time help me achieve it, or choices that will ultimately help me fail in my quest.
Why does everything in life come down to choices? Why does everything that we say, do, achieve, fail at come down to the choices that we make? Why do we not understand that simple fact? If we make better choices then we put ourselves in a better position to succeed. Now I know that things outside of our control can occur, and we cannot choose for them, but here is the kicker, when the unexpected happens, the important thing is how we choose to react to the unexpected.
I chose to exercise this morning. I chose how hard to push myself. I chose when to stop. I chose what to eat and drink when I returned home. Did I choose wisely?
My 210 in 2010 challenge is not ultimately about my weight loss, that is the vehicle I have chosen to try to inspire people. My challenge is about inspiring people to help those who, by no choice of their own, are unable to support themselves or their families.
You have a choice too. You can choose to help me reach my goal and choose a new path for a child somewhere by going to Compassion International and following the process of sponsoring a child. Or if that is too big a choice at this time then you can join my 210 in 2010 Cause and DONATE to Compassion International by clicking the DONATE button and following the information there.
While I would love for you all to choose option A, or even Option B, there is a third option which is equally as valid. Option C is that you choose to tell one of your co-workers this week about my Cause and about the work that groups like Compassion International are doing.
What do you choose?
P.S. if you really want to count beating your kids as cardio you need to do it for at least 30 minutes - and that is wrong, isn't it?
Greetings FAT man followers. We have reached the second week of my challenge and things are progressing pretty nicely. This week however has been an upside down food week as our church has been fasting all week and I have been drinking water since Saturday night. I have had a little honey in hot water, cos lets face it, hot water is nasty on its own.
When you restrict your calorie intake the body searches for sources of fuel and you burn fat, when you obliterate your calorie intake your body goes into starvation mode and actually stores fat. However, spending the week fasting and praying was much more important that worrying what fuel source my body would choose to burn.
This phase of 210 in 2010 is all about publicity - at least all about reaching out to as many people as possible to try to inspire them to either sign up to sponsor a child or to pledge $100. I have been blessed by the numbers that have joined the cause at 210 in 2010 Cause and even more blessed by the $225 that have been donated already. I know it is early days yet but I am urging all of my friends to inspire their friends to not just join the cause but to participate in it.
Next week begins a lot of very hard work for me as I begin to drop the pounds and hopefully a little work for all of you as you recruit more people to join the cause. You can add the link to this blog and the link to the cause at the bottom of your e-mails as part of your signature. So every time you send an e-mail the people you write to have a link to see how they can make a difference.
So today began with a 9am gym session. Started on the treadmill, moved to the machines, finished with the recumbent bike and then sat back and waited for the delayed muscle soreness to begin. It didn't take long before it began, and I am really not looking forward to tomorrow, but the presence of this type of pain is actually a beneficial thing. My PhD used exercise to exhaust people's biceps muscles and then measured them every day to see what happened. Typically people had pain from 24-72hours following exhaustive exercise. We also had a few who lost 1/3 of their range of motion of their elbow for a few days and approximately 3% of people we tested ended up with swollen arms - up to a 4cm diameter increase.
So you see, I know what is to come with this whole exercise thing. However I also know that if you persevere through the discomfort that you will have these symptoms less and less. Knowing what is coming doesn't inspire me much, but at least it does prepare me.
As I was thinking about my quest I contemplated alternate ways to lose 100lbs. The quickest way would be to amputate one arm and one leg - never use that expression, it'll cost you an arm and a leg - other ways would be drastic dietary supplements - i.e. poo it away. The potential for leg numbness and toilet induced lower limb palsy doesn't inspire.
I did find this infomercial that certainly looks promising - for home liposuction. Now there is an idea. Get the Dyson out and lets get skinny.
I guess I will just do it the old fashioned way - sweat it out all over gym equipment.
Tomorrow morning I have an appointment with a personal trainer. I do not know who it is, haven't met him, have no idea what his qualifications or experience are, but I am already skeptical of him. It is an odd thing that having been a PT for nearly 17 years now and having worked with athletes of all abilities (weekend warriors to Olympians) I have gained a certain amount of knowledge of the human body and how it works. I understand exercise, the pros and the cons, and I have met my fair share of personal trainers along the way.
It is a bizarre thing about the healthcare profession (regardless of which branch), we may understand the best way to do things an the benefits of certain behaviors, but we don't always follow our own advice. Have you ever noticed how many doctors and nurses smoke? I rest my case. Knowing what to do is only half of the battle - and actually the easy half.
Doing what you know you should do is the most difficult part.
Tomorrow morning when I meet my personal trainer, I have a choice to make. I can choose to be Dr JAson A Craig, PhD, MCSP with a PhD in muscle physiology and a long career teaching orthopedic physical therapy who knows what he should do and doesn't feel that he needs the help, or I can set my resume aside and submit to him and seek his help and assistance. I feel the outcome of clinging to my credentials and resume will ultimately result in a fail in the challenge I have set. Following the second option, submission and acceptance of help from wherever it comes, will not guarantee success, but it will certainly help.
So here we go. My FAT in his hands - literally, as we take all the measurements. I think I will take some 'before' photos to remind me of the FAT man who ate the skinny guy inside.
So this weekend we launched "210 in 2010" - there is no going back now. The response has been great. From supportive friends and family wishing me all the best, to generous friends donating hard cash already - you can do so at the 210 in 2010 Cause location on Facebook (click here) - to promises of over $1250 if I reach my target of 210lbs by October 20th 2010.
Now the realization sets in that there is no turning back, there is no 'mulligan', there is no do-over. And to be honest, that is the way I wanted to set up this challenge. How often do we set ourselves challenges in life only to build in such a safety net that failure is an option. In fact, how often do we set ourselves a challenge and plan things in such a way that failure is actually a goal!!
As I thought about this challenge I fought between my academic head, and the passion in my heart. I can show you through research that exercise is bad for you and the potential pit-falls of exercise. I can also show you the research that tells me how long my muscles will hurt for as soon as I begin to exercise - my entire PhD covered that marvelous subject. as I look ahead at the next 287 days and see the finish line, I can see all of the mountains, all of the set backs, all of the problems that potentially will de-rail this challenge.
BUT (thats a big but - however it too will get smaller :))
When I see the response that this challenge has already brought to people - the awareness of hurting children who need loved and cared for, the promise of financial donations, the encouragement that others might be able to achieve their goals then all I can do is smile. I will endure the pain, the denial of donuts - as I write this I am in Panera bread smelling the fresh bagels, thankfully there is no calorie intake through smell - I will endure the low points and the difficult times and press on towards the end goal. As I do so I know I will be encouraged all along the way, but more importantly, I will be joined in this cause by many wonderful people.
So here we go, big me becoming less, great God becoming more and children of the world being cared for. What a year this will be. Food intake is under control, just need to persevere until the adaptation becomes normal. Today we head to the gym - haven't been in one of those outside of a professional capacity in a long, long time.
I am a fat man. I am fat in the physical sense of the word. I am fat in the spiritual sense of the word. I am fat in the economic sense of the world (especially when you look at global economics). There is no getting around it, I am a FAT man.
So what can I do about that?
In early December I was consumed with a thought, a thought that to be honest I really didn’t like the thought of. I have been struck by how FAT I am – in all senses of the word and how much of a difference I could make by becoming a little less FAT. I thought about how many people I may be able to influence to join me in decreasing their FAT-ness too. That is when 210 in 2010 was conceived.
Recently my wife and I have been reading through Compassion International’s web-site and considering sponsoring a child who is most definitely not FAT, by any definition of the word. I have been struck by the thought that me decreasing my morning coffee and donuts would be sufficient to provide care, education, health and really a new life for a little child somewhere on this earth. If I were to become a little less FAT, I could actually make a difference in the life of a child, who would grow into an adult and bring their own children into the world. I could affect a generation or more of one family, by simply becoming less FAT.
So sponsoring a child as a family was step one, but step one was not the only step. Step two was a challenge – a personal challenge that I am undertaking but hopefully an inspiring challenge that will grip your heart so much that you will join with me and make a difference too.
THE CHALLENGE
The first part "210 in 2010" is my personal part of the challenge – the second and/or third parts are your parts, should you be inspired to join me:
Part 1: By 20-10-2010 (20th October 2010) I aim to weigh 210lbs (which will be a drop in weight of approximately 100lbs).
Part 2: If 210 people promised to donate $100 (essentially $1 per pound of me lost) to help the work of Compassion International that would be a gift to them of $21,000.
Part 3: If 210 people promised to sponsor a child from Compassion International then that would be 210 lives that would be transformed, 210 families that would be rescued, 210 new generations of people who would be lifted from abstract poverty and provided the basic essentials of health care, education, food and shelter.
If we collectively sponsored 210 children and donated $100 by 20th October 2010 then what a tremendous impact we could have globally.
So, there are 291 days until 20th October 2010.
Are you up for the challenge?
Here is a video of a child who was sponsored for a number of years getting the chance to meet his sponsor recently at a conference in Atlanta Georgia. There were 10,000 people witnessing this event that day and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. What a gift this would be for someone.
Here is the Compassion International web site. Please go through and review their policies and practices and make sure you are comfortable with their work before committing. Once you are ready to commit then the process for sponsoring a child is easy.Will you make a difference today?
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