Before I get into the subject that the title of this post eludes to, I need to say a word about what my incredible wife has accomplished. In just under 14 months, she has managed to inspire me to lose all of the weight I have lost and, oh by the way, toss aside 77+ pounds of her own for good measure. She reached her goal weight tonight, losing 5.2 lbs in the last two weeks to get there.
What makes this more special is that she, because of some physical problems, did this without the benefit of any of the extreme exercise I have availed myself of. She did this without being able to use any artificial sweeteners, which her body cannot tolerate. She did this with true grit and determination. Can you tell that I'm not just a little proud of this amazing woman God has blessed me with?
And to boot, she did this on the very same night which I finished my 6-week maintenance period with Weight Watchers.
For those who may not know, when you attain your goal weight with Weight Watchers, you begin a 6-week period during which you need to strictly maintain your weight within 2 lbs of your goal. Once those 6 weeks are over, you receive "Lifetime" status with Weight Watchers, granting you a free seat at any meeting for life, with the stipulation of weighing in at least monthly at or no more than 5 lbs above your goal weight.
So, tonight was my 6th weigh-in for my maintenance period, and I was granted "Lifetime" status. I really like this title. I think it is incredibly appropriate, really. Some weight-loss plans consider what I have done as being "completed" or "finished." Some would say that I'm on my own now. Some might say that my journey to my goal weight is complete in and of itself.
But instead, I like the "lifetime" status much better. To me, this has so many meanings. Sure, it means that I can now attend meetings free for life, and I certainly won't sneeze at that. But there's more, at least to me.
There's a whole LIFETIME ahead of me. Far more LIFETIME than I would have had any right to expect at nearly 300 lbs. There's a whole LIFETIME with my wife and daughter. There's a whole LIFETIME with family and friends.
There's the fact that there's more LIFE in my TIME as well. I can now do things that before were merely wishes and wants. I can run. I can run far and fast. I can ride a bicycle. I can roller-blade. I can fit on Stormrunner in Hershey Park. There's just so much more LIFE in my TIME now!
And lastly, my journey is not complete. It will never be complete. It is a journey for a LIFETIME. It is a journey that has no destination. The journey IS the destination.
LIFETIME. Yeah, I like the sound of that!
