Waist not want not

One thing about riding a bicycle for any extended period of time - your pants fit better. Much better.

Since last summer, when the bicycle became a more significant part of my life, I weighed in at a healthy 230 lbs. It wasn't fat so much as it was just lack of maintenance. My heaviest was 240 lbs., when I left Germany and the Air Force in 1988. Lots of late nights with beer and deep-fried schnitzel, wurst and pommes-frites mit mayo.

Back in 2000 I was working day shift for a global IT conglomerate, having begged to get off of night shift for months. Be careful what you wish for - I missed graves like crazy. Not wishing to appear too fickle, I traded shifts with someone on nights and the change began to happen. I quit eating bacon, eggs, cheese and generally yummy breakfast foods. The weight melted off of me. Dinner (which was taken at 3:00 am) was always something healthy, like tuna and salsa, or salad, and before work each night, I'd lift my weights while watching Friends reruns.

I then was offered a job I never expected to have a shot at, which brought me back to days and back to an unhealthy lifestyle (by choice - I'm no cop-out). This is when all of my 36-inch pants became permanaent fixtures in my closet. My body climbed the ladder back to 230 lbs.

There was a time when I flirted with purchasing a size 40 pant. Trust me, it would've fit, but there's something about graduating from your 30's to your 40's, be it in age or waist size in inches. Denial? Perhaps. Admitting you're lazy and unmotivated? Absolutely. This is why at the age of 40, wearing your pant size is not cool. Three pairs of 36's sat in my closet, draped over hangers for three years, collecting dust. A 38 may fit better, but was still tight, and this is the size at which the cuff of the pant gets wider in circumference, making the pants look big anyway. There truly is no winning.

I'm now at 207 pounds, the lightest I've been since basic training (1984 - a scale-busting 160 lbs.), and a 35-inch waist. Doc says I'd be healthier at 190, and I told him if I ever do hit that weight, I'm bouncing back to 200 like cold water hitting a hot skillet. Fortune has smiled upon me when it blessed me with health, even after all that 'growing up' does to a body. Without my health, I would not be able to set out on this endeavor to raise money to fight the disease which affects so many people in such a brutal manner.

Eat your tuna and moderate those fatty foods, people. Ride a bike if you have one. Proudly wear those used-to-be-too-small-pants. If you're reading this, thank your maker that you've lived this long.