Excuse #1-These guys are all younger than me. That was a weak excuse, because it turned out not to be true. Excuse #2-My job does not entail knocking doors down or crawling through weed infested lots in the heat of the summer. Now the excuses are getting better! Excuse #3-When athletic ability was being distributed; the Lord took a break when I was being created. I really like that excuse. Blaming someone else for not being physically fit takes the monkey off my back. My comfort level with those and a host of other equally creative excuses was short lived.

Last week I served on an oral board that interviewed a group of police officers. These officers will be a part of a tactical (SWAT) team for our county. Each of them underwent a rigorous fitness test. And of course each officer did exceedingly well on every single component of the physical fitness exam. One of them did more pushups in a minute that I have done in my life. My role on that board proved to be the event to get me off high center.

Last December I took some actions to prompt weight loss and a greater degree of fitness. Even during the holidays I managed to drop a whopping 5 pounds. Since the first of the year I have done extensive research on what exactly comprises a healthy lifestyle of good eating habits and exercise. The bottom line is: there are no gimmicks.

Here is what I learned:

• Diets fail. Diets have a beginning and an end. The key is committing to a permanent change in lifestyle
• Exercise is imperative.
• Junk food is just what the name suggests…Enough said.
• Accountability is important.

In regard to this matter of accountability, I read a news article this week online about a group of individuals that blogged about their weight loss. One lady lost 167 pounds! Her “before” and “after” pictures were unreal. After reading that article, I squirmed for three days. A little internal voice told me: You can blog about your fitness journey once a week. And another very loud voice told me: Keep this thing to yourself. It is a very private matter. But is that true? The first voice won out, because I hope that my journey back to fitness and a healthy weight will be a source of inspiration to someone else.

I am committed. The lifestyle change has begun. The intensity of my commitment has been notched up significantly since my experience on the interview board. I am journaling about the process everyday, but no excuses are allowed….I am excited about the upcoming days. Who knows what I will have to share next Thursday?