I'm a cheater, cheater, pumpkin (pie) eater......

2009 is upon us, and I am grateful mostly for surviving through the holiday season without imploding. While I certainly haven't been diligent about keeping on the basic program, I am fortunate that I had built good habits from when I had been very serious. My meals have still been very K balanced, I have been working out 5-6 days per week, and the only regular miss has been being very careful about eating 6 times per day. And believe me that makes a difference, because my body sure gives me feedback about when I am not giving it regular, balanced fuel by flaming out in a spectacular fashion.

I have been bad because I have been trying to enjoy the end of the year. I had a great Thanksgiving week including a trip to Disneyland with my brother and his family. My 5 year old niece slept in my suite during the trip, and when they were getting ready to continue the trip on to San Diego and Legoland, I had to go home and back to school and work. My niece's exact quote when she heard she had to go back to her parents' room was, "Oh, man......." I do love being Uncle Chris, getting to see my now 10 month old nephew growing up so quickly. He is starting to crawl and pull himself up, it is a great thing to be a part of. My other brother became a father of baby Sean Patrick on December 28. Sean showed up 9 days late, which made Christmas a little interesting. Our family was expecting a new baby, and instead we were just waiting around. But Sean is now home (with my parents visiting and taking lots of pictures of the new grandson) and I am going to visit my new nephew next week. All of these were definitely not helpful with me trying to eat right. And while I didn't really eat any pumpkin pie, I did partake in more than my fair share of free targets.

But the holidays are over now, so my 2009 started a few days early, on Monday December 29. I started back up on the basic program ready to jump into the new year in a very forceful manner. 2008 was a watershed year for me. Thanks to Kinetix I lost 79 pounds in about 7 months. I am hovering at just over 250 pounds, and while I have lost 3 pounds in the last 6 weeks, I had lost 76 pounds in the 25 weeks prior to that. So I am serious about 'getting back on the horse' and really working the program to lose the rest of the weight that I know I need to lose.

So with a tribute to all those before me who have blogged their 2009 wishes, here is my top 10 things to do for 2009:
1. Lose 52 pounds on the basic program. 52 is a wonderful number, 1 pound per week would get me below 200 pounds for the first time in what will be almost 25 years!
2. Start the endurance program and start training to compete in masters' swimming. Swimming is something I have done and loved doing since I was a small child. I always have enjoyed the solitude of the training. I want to start competing in meets again by the end of the year.
3. Use my Kinetix Challenge award. This is a no brainer. But I really want to try something that I wouldn't have done in my 'old' life. I want to try something new and exciting, so any ideas are welcome!
4. Compete in the next Kinetix Challenge. Even though I am the reigning Men's winner, I still have lots of work to do and lots to learn from others going through their own Kinetix journey. Which brings me to number
5. Blog at least once per week on the Kinetix Community. I have never thought of myself as a writer, and I have gotten so much out of putting down my deepest thoughts in writing, as well as the feedback from my posts. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read what I have written. It is funny that I have actually missed blogging regularly over the past few weeks.
6. Spend lots of time with my family. Thanks to the changes I have made, I can finally outlast my 5 year old niece when we play outside. And with two nephews born in 2008 I need to be in great shape to be ready to run around with them as well in a few years, and I can say with confidence that I will be ready!
7. Inspire someone with my Kinetix story. I have been fairly private about what I have been doing in getting into shape. I have answered questions when asked, but I haven't been really vocal about my success. There are a few people close to me (I am not going to name names) who would benefit from getting into shape, and I am going to sell at least one of them on Kinetix.
8. Live simply. I am really trying to cut down on my consumption of everything. I am not going to buy anything unless I really need it. Wanting something isn't good enough, I have enough to get by.
9. Volunteer more time. Even though there is less of me physically, I feel like there is more of me emotionally and spiritually, and so I should be able to spread myself around and make a difference in my community.
10. Visit Seattle (and specifically the K-Gym). Somehow, some way, I am going to get to Seattle and thank a lot of people in person. Jamie, Meagan, Coach Lisa, and many others (both Kinetix workers and clients) provided me the tools and inspiration to turn my life around. I at least owe them a visit in person so that I can try to express my gratitude in a way that will not be the slightest bit worthy of the thanks I really owe them all.
But most of all I owe it to myself to try to do all of these things, because while 2008 was the best year in my life that I can remember in a long time, I am ready for 2009 to be even better.

Good luck everyone, and Happy New Year!

p.s. I'm back!