Assessment

Today being the first day of the new year, I performed one of my usual annual rituals: the first day weigh-in.

January 1st is always an important day for a weigh-in. It is a natural marker that helps me assess where I am in my (never ending process) of getting myself into better shape. Whereas taking my weight throughout the year is inherently variable, the yearly milestone weigh-in provides a true measure of how things are going for me.

So, here's the scoop. Today's reading, 302.5 lbs.

Now the assessment. I've known for some time that my new year's weight would not be under 300 lbs. Sad, but true. My goal this year was to get my weight down around 290. I wanted to get some distance between the 300 lb. mark and my current self, an accomplishment that would have given me some real sense of achievement and momentum for the next year of the project. While I did on a few occasions touch numbers below 300 this year, I am finishing on the unhappy side of the dreaded register. Given that, I am tempted to label this year as a failure. Not an abject failure; I knew going into today that I have overall reduced my weight over the course of the year--just not as much as I had hoped.

However, looking back on my records, I find that on this same day last year, I weighed in at 317.5. Knowing that my weight had been less than that fairly late in 2009, I had forgotten that my January 1, 2010 weigh-in had been that high. (This is partly the product of the holidays and the accompanying bounce in weight that always comes this time of year.) So given last year's weigh-in, the tally for 2010 is 15 pounds lost overall. That's not tremendous, but overall I think it has to be considered a success. Certainly more successful than gaining weight over the year.

The overall trend is positive. With good fortune and solid effort this year, I believe further success is very achievable. Now I just have to make it happen.