At first I didn’t believe the numbers.
296.
Can’t be. My diet has been slacking, even when I was eating “right” I was playing the teeter-totter game with the scale and no matter what I tried – eating too little, eating only lots of good things, drinking a lot of water, not drinking enough – I hovered around the 315 pound mark.
Now life has thrown me some curve balls lately, so the gym hasn’t exactly been a priority. I go when I can. I run when I can. But I’ve been busier than normal so my diet has consisted of the best choices I can get at a drive thru and the occasional soda when it’s convenient.
I’m human, right?
So when I stepped up onto that scale I was sure that I would going to get something that would make my heart sink. I knew that my cheating and my lack of dedication would completely surface – the numbers, as they say, don’t lie.
But when I saw the numbers dip below 300 for the first time, I had to pause and stare. This couldn’t be correct. There’s no way that I’ve hit that mark yet. It can’t be possible.
I stepped off, and stepped back on to see if I was just doing something strange with how my weight was shifted.
296.
I wanted to jump up and down right there but was afraid I’d break the scale.
Now, for a lot of people, this would be a red-alert. But I’ve tried for so hard to get to beneath 300 points that I was starting to think I was never going to get there.
Sure, had I committed myself to a torturous boot camp I could have been there months ago. But I don’t really the money for that, and I don’t really have a schedule that allows me the time to do just that.
And even my way – because we all think we can do it better – didn’t seem to be working.
Until it did on Friday.
There are even better aspects to this part of the story. I was wearing heavy New Balance shoes, a Columbia pullover, and a pair of size 38 jeans that I never thought I’d fit into again. All told I guess that was another, four pounds? Maybe.
The two bottles of water and breakfast I ate didn’t help either.
But I made it – I hit the mark below 300 pounds.
Does that mean I’m out of the woods?
Not hardly. I’ve already been to the gym once this week and plan on making it a priority this summer. Running and hiking will be a part of regiment. And I’m working to swear off fast food altogether – packing a lunch I can eat rather than rely on the things that are necessary when you’re constantly on the go.
And then there’s the bike.
I visited a store in Modesto that fitted me for a guy my size and gave me a bunch of routes that will be good at building the sort of cardio and stamina necessary to take the next step in training that will actually benefit me. Leg workouts. Arm workouts. Heart workouts.
In only four moths Dylan Grey Campbell will be here, and I’m going to have a constant daily reminder of what my existence revolves around – not the video games or the movies or the cheeseburgers, but him – and I’m no good to him if I’m teetering the scales at 300 pounds every single time I work up the courage to step onto it.
So far today I’ve eaten three honey crisp apples and a batch of cooked Brussels sprouts. Chicken and broccoli will be for dinner. Egg whites for breakfast.
They say you need to walk before you can run, but I think I’m getting to the point that my running legs are finally beneath me.
Just don’t expect me to run very far at first. I might not have to rock to get up off the couch anymore, but a scary movie will leave me winded so – now I have something else to work on.
The journey is real.
And the journey, as much as I want to be the fit, decent-looking guy, is all about him.
It’s all about perspective.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell emailjcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.