It Begins…

Tomorrow, January 1, 2007 is the start of the adventures of Phil – an overweight, over forty male with high blood pressure – and his journey back to health. I will begin the year between 235 and 240 pounds, depending on how New Year’s Eve goes. My goal is to get under 200 pounds. In the unlikely event that my ideal weight is over 200, then I will choose 10% bodyfat as my alternate goal.

A little about myself. I am an accountant by trade – with a degree in accounting from the University of Washington and a CPA that’s long since become inactive. Since the year 2000, I have been a Finance Executive in a high tech start up company. It’s lots of hours,  going 100 miles an hour with your hair on fire - but I personally like it better than life in a large corporation (I worked in banks for 13 years).

I am married (for 21 years), and have two teenagers, a boy and a girl. Both my kids are great, but it was definately easier on me when they were younger. The whole giving them more freedom is nerve racking. Oh, I also have a dog – a mostly golden retriever named Bo. He has agreed to help me by taking me for walks as much as possible.

I’m not completely new to working out. I grew up playing basketball and lifting weights. I finally gave up basketball when I was 38 – I saw one too many people my age pop their achilles heel or knee ligaments and I thougth I’d quit while I was still relatively in one piece. I also lifted heavily for about 15 years, but that was 8 years ago. I loved doing both of these, but it didn’t stop me from always ending the year weighing more than when I started.

Six years ago I took up cycling. I traded in Arnold Schwarzeneggar for Lance Armstrong as my hero. I have done many century rides and other interesting rides over the last six years. Cycling has definately helped with my weight. I weighed 255 pounds when I began cycling, and I now bounce between 225 and 240. But I struggle with consistency.  I cycle a lot in the summer, then I can go a month or sometimes more without working out in the winter. At my age, that ain’t going to cut it anymore.

This summer I had a physical and my doctor put me on high blood pressure meds. My blood pressure ranges between 160/100 on the high end and 140/85 on the low end. Surprisingly (NOT!), it tends to be much lower when I weigh less. My goal is to get it down to 120/80 and no meds. This blog is about this journey.

See you all down the road,

Phil