Originally Posted by
The Historian
I'm leery of opening a discussion of goals, since last time the subject came up people were throwing coffee at each other, but we agree goals should be specific.
First and foremost, congratulations on your accomplishments.
Glad Historian and I can at least agree that goals should be specific. Looking at Sayre's list of goals and hearing him recount his past year it's pretty obviousl why he was successful; his individual goals all continued to lead him towards one larger goal which was ultimately getting back to a healthy lifestyle for both himself and his family. Many people say "I want to get in shape" Sayre is a man who said, my marriage is getting strained, I'm not going to be able to be the father I want to be. I need to get in shape AND THIS IS HOW I'M GOING TO START. A few modifications along the way and support from a few good people around him and Voila! success!
Regarding goals for the next year, I think you may want to review your goal weight goal. I belive you are either 6'3 or 6'4, I'm pretty muscular guy from years of playing baseball, football etc as well as extensive years of weight training and I'm 6'3" 235 and could stand to lose 10 or 15lbs. I'm willing to guess you can probably get yourself down between 200-220. When you were 400+ a goal of 240 probably seemed outrageous to an extent, now it's almost a reality.
Other than that, I think your mindset has been great so just continue setting goals that keep you motivated and excited about the bike and don't hesitate to look for fitness goals off the bike such as the triathlons that you mentioned because it will help keep the bike fresh and excited.
Lastly, Historian mentioned you are out of work, who knows you could potentially start a business as a health counselor/trainer. You have a great story to tell that people can relate to and there is a distinct value in that, it's just up to you to figure out how to make $ off of it. You seem to be personable and as I tell anyone looking to get into personal training the business is 80% personal 20% training and it's especially true when dealing with the morbidly obese. You don't need to know 500 different exercises to train someone effectively, you have to be able to motivate and get them off their butt and give them tools to start the process.