I have set a goal to lose 40 pounds by June 30th, 2011. With my starting weight today being a regrettable 304, that puts the target at 264, a level that I saw a few years ago when I first started my weight loss journey - in fact, looking back I see that I weighed that in January, 2008 - about 5 months after I started to get serious. That’s the nice sloping part of my status graph way to the left-hand side of the graph. So, this seems like a perfectly reasonable goal given that I have done it within the last few years. Clearly it’s not the final goal, but it will represent a huge start.
Why do I think I can accomplish it given the major struggles I have had since actually hit this weight the last time? Well, I think I have figured out the right motivation. Apparently it isn’t enough to be motivated by worsening blood tests, decreased stamina, the real possibility of not have an active retirement with my wife or seeing my children and eventual grandchildren grow up. No, those would all be very motivating things for someone else but apparently not for me. I would think they would be enough, but clearly they haven’t been. I am not in denial, I have a good feeling for where I am at health-wise and the ramifications of that. And yet I have chosen to ignore these motivating factors.
So what’s my motivation now? Well, this is probably going to show that I am a bad person, particularly if I am actually successful at leveraging this motivation, but the fact is I like to play poker. Playing poker in Vegas. I’ve been going to Vegas one or two times a year for maybe 20 years or so, and since 2003 I’ve been going during the World Series of Poker, not always playing in the series, but usually taking a trip during that period of time. This year I cashed in a non-bracelet event that they have introduced to ward off competition from other casinos that have introduced what are called “Deep Stack” poker tournaments, which I really like because they allow a lot of play for the money. So this year I had already started to plan for next years trip.
Next year’s trip to the WSOP in Vegas, which takes place roughly between the middle of May to the middle of July, is my motivation. I have told my wife that I am not booking that trip until I lose 40 pounds. Once I lose the 40 pounds I am free to go ahead and plan for it, so if I lose it before the June 30th date then I am fine. The June 30th date is about the latest I would want to plan for the travel so that’s why I set that date but really the date is the latest date that I could still plan to go to the 2011 WSOP.
So I told my wife about this goal and I have told all of you. I also told my kids I am starting a diet today (although I didn’t mention the motivation), and my daughter offered to slap me whenever I tried to eat something inappropriate. Wasn’t that nice of her!
I don’t like it that this is the kind of motivation I have to use but if it works, I’ll be happy. And if it doesn’t work and I can’t go to the WSOP next year? Well then I will be mad.
Sounds like a good motivator.
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