Contest results and what really matters

So I'm finally sitting down to post the final results of the gym contest, and I can't find my record! Since I last posted I have bought a condo and moved. My contest booklet is around here somewhere...and if I ever find it I'll let you know the specifics.

But the contest ended pretty much where I was last time I posted about it. I had a big weight loss in the first four weeks (15 pounds), then I stalled. Food-wise, that is. I never stopped working out, although I had to cut my sessions with the trainer down to once a week due to budget constraints (the condo purchase mentioned above). There are reasons for what happened, but none of them rise to the level of excuses (remind me to write about the difference).

The good news is that I haven't given up, and I never will. Right now I'm at a decades-low weight of 245, am back up to two training sessions a week plus two or three workouts on my own, and most days the food part (still low carb) is going well. Oh, and as a result of participating and winning my category at my gym branch, they added three free months to my membership!

My next big goal is the wall. I'm going to climb the wall at the gym. My trainer says we can start that attempt after I get below 200 pounds. And although I want to reach that goal before my 50th birthday, it doesn't really matter when it happens, as long as I keep going.

The thing about climbing is that you plan your route as best you can with the knowledge you have, but rarely (if ever) do you get to the top without changing course. You make progress by moving upward, and then maybe to this side or other other, and often by going backwards before moving forward again.

Just like life.