August 29 - Just Keep Climbing
29th August 2019
January: 104.5 lb
Early August: 86.5 lb
Late August: 86.6 lb
Total weight lost: 17.9 lb
Percentage of body weight lost: 17%
Original goal weight: 85 lb
New goal weight: 75 lb
Pounds to go: 10.6 lb
Anyone who's done their best to set and achieve a fitness or health-related goal knows the feeling. You stay focused, relentless, and diligent as you work as hard as you know how to cross the finish line. And yet, when it comes time to measure progress, despite all that effort, you realize you've hit a bit of a wall.
If you're a human (OK, if you're me), you punch something soft and inanimate, like a bag of dog food (silly, I know, but it's all I could find that wouldn't hurt my hand), feel sorry for yourself for maybe an hour, then just get back to work.
If you're a dog, you step off the scale, then look up and smile as if asking, "Why the long face? I feel great." Reason number 952 to remember that we can learn a lot from a dog.
While Blue’s weight has reached a plateau, his progress cannot be underestimated. As those of us who do all we can to reach a personal weight-loss goal realize, the closer you get to the mountaintop, the harder each step becomes. Nature seems to guard that last 5 to 10 pounds with special ferocity. The only solution? Just keep climbing.
This Sunday, Blue and I are going to do our best to finish off the northern part of our Buckeye Trail Summit County thru-hike. This will take us from Jaite Trailhead to the Cuyahoga County line and back. Our fellow hikers might recognize that section as especially challenging. It goes up. It goes down. It crosses creeks. It goes through a bog or two. It's beautiful. It's remote.
Blue's response to all that? "Think you can keep up, silly human?" We'll know soon enough, I guess.
Way back in January, when this all started, we set a 2019 Pound of Cure goal to raise $5000. As of today, we're $25 short of reaching $1000. Blue and I thank everyone who has helped us get so close to our first big milestone.
It's a long way until December 31, and we're confident we'll get there, but it's pretty obvious we need to pick up the pace a bit from here on. And we need your help!
We don't know exactly how many people are following along on Blue's journey. What we do know is that there's a lot of brainpower out there. If you have ideas on how to help Blue raise money for better canine health and to find his forever home, head on over to this week's link to this post on Facebook and give us your best. No idea is a bad one, every suggestion will be considered seriously, and we'll respond on Facebook to every thought you have.
Thank you all in advance for your creativity and ingenuity.
Thanks again to all of you who are following Blue's adventures, donating to the Pound of Cure fundraiser, and, most important of all, thinking about Blue as your next companion, encouraging people you know to give him a look, engaging with our Facebook posts, or otherwise helping this dog find his forever home before he hits 1000 days at the shelter.
Check back here and on Facebook on Wednesday, September 18 for our next update. In the meantime, see you on the trails!
Ted
