2 years ago, I was just getting out of the fire academy. A lot of guys in my class were probably in the best shape of their lives, and I only wasn't because I had spent a year on the track team at BYU working out 4 hours a day and 4 years in lots of different sports in high school. For age 33, I was in pretty excellent shape though. I ran my final mile and a half time in just over 9 minutes, was able to do tons of pushups and situps before getting tired, and was about as light as I'd been since after my mission. I guess I could say I was in the best shape of my adult life.
Once I got out in the field, and especially in a permanent spot, it got really easy to not maintain my shape. I still worked out occasionally, but nothing like I had been doing during the academy and probation. Illnesses played a small part, but mostly I just got comfortable not working out. Also, food at the firestation is generally pretty tasty, pretty plentiful, and pretty unhealthy. I've also got a really bad habit of feeling guilty seeing food go to waste, probably from my days of being a human garbage disposal, so I eat a lot more of it than I need to. Ask anyone I work with what a Fox-sized helping is and they'll tell you.
I've put on pretty much all the weight I lost getting ready for this job. It's kind of depressing. Jenn and I have started working out together. Jenn is doing a couch to 5k program with the goal being able to run a 5k non-stop in the next few months. I'm trying to get back to being able to run a 6 minute mile again. We've also got an app that we're using to do crossfit style workouts together. The cool thing about them is that you get out of them whatever you can put into them, so it is something that we can do together. I might end up doing more reps, but we're both getting a good workout. It's nice to actually be able to exercise with Jenn.
I'm also working on portion control. I still fail at it occasionally, but it is something I'm at least actively thinking about.
I started really trying to get back in shape right before Christmas when I tipped the scale at 259 pounds. I've decided not to make this new diet/exercise routine about losing weight, but about hitting that 6 minute mile. I figure when I get there, my body should at least resemble someone who should be able to run a mile that fast. I'll also figure out where to go from there when I hit that goal.
