Page 10 | Michael T. Miyoshi

Ideal Weight · 2 August 2013

I am done losing weight.

When I started my healthy journey, I never dreamed that I needed to lose twenty-something pounds. I would have been happy to lose the five pounds that I had lost on just about every fad diet out there. Then again, losing five pounds is easy. The problem is that I always found it again (usually with some new friends) when I gave up the fad and went back to my normal way of eating.

The weird thing is that when I started eating this whole food, plant-based diet, I went right by those five pounds and kept losing weight. It was strange because it took no effort or will power.

Then, the weirder thing was that after I had lost over twenty pounds, I had a notion that I ought to keep losing weight until I had lost thirty pounds. Just so it would be a nice round figure to report. (I never thought about the fact that it would mean losing eighteen percent of my body weight instead of just fifteen.)

I do not think I can lose those last four or five pounds without starving myself.

I do not know that my current weight is my ideal weight, but if not, it is close enough. After all, I can fluctuate three to five pound without having any concerns. I know I can gain five pounds or more with a few days of sugary treats, but I can lose it just as fast by keeping away from those dastardly foods. I just cannot go back to eating unhealthy all the time. (Which is okay, because I do not want to do so.)

I never set out to lose as much weight as I have, but eating right (remember, plant-based, whole food) and exercising has done wonders. And, since I am not dieting, I am not hungry. So I have no reason to go back to a way of eating that will start packing on the pounds again like I used to do after dieting.

I am not sure whether I am at my ideal weight or not. But when all is said and done, I am done losing (and gaining) weight.

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Who Is Going to Read It? · 1 August 2013

As I wind down my yearlong journey toward health, I have organized my blog posts into a book format with logical sections and subsections. But I keep asking myself, “Who is going to read it?”

I know it sounds crazy, but I fantasize that everything I write ought to go into a book. Preferably my current best seller. Then, one of those best sellers ought to become my next great blockbuster movie. I know these are crazy dreams, but I also know they will not come true if I do not have them.

I also know that regardless of how much I write or even how well I write (if indeed I write well at all), it is crazy to think that anything I have written so far could become part of a successful book. Especially, the online stuff. After all, it is already online and anybody with access to the internet can read it at any time. So why would they need a book?

Still, as I write and post, I keep things organized offline. In doing so, I have found there are certain key topics that crop up. And within these topics are subtopics. People who read online see my daily progress and know the things I have been thinking and feeling as I have gone through this yearlong metamorphosis. But if I organized things properly and edited well, perhaps I do have a book that people could use to change their own health.

Maybe.

The problem is the original question that I keep asking myself. Who is going to read my book?

There are many books about health. I have mentioned my own favorites about running and eating. I have even added to and subtracted from that list of favorites along the way. But I am afraid that my book would not make other people’s favorite lists. I am afraid it would not make much of a splash in the sea that is bookselling.

Now before my brother or any of my online fans chime in to say I am just getting down on myself, let me assure you all that I am not. I am just being logical. If I made my blog into a book, nobody would care. After all, who wants to read a book by Joe Schmoe? Michael T. Miyoshi, a.k.a. MediocreMan, is no superhero. He is certainly not a celebrity who could sell his own book just because he is a celebrity. And he is no health expert. He really is just Joe Schmoe. The guy down the street who everybody knows.

I suppose that is my shtick. If a nobody like me can change his life from somewhat overweight and moderately active to healthy and full of vitality, anybody can do it. You do not need hours and hours to shape your body. You do not need lots of money to buy the right gym equipment or eat healthy food. Anybody and everybody can truly be healthy. Just by choosing to be.

I know it is not much of a marketing plan. I do not have lots of fans. I do not any testimonies of people telling me they have made many of the same changes I have made with similar results. I do not have any celebrities endorsing me. I just have a blog and a year of writing.

More importantly though, I have my health. Which is all I set out to get in the first place.

I might sound like a sadsack bemoaning my status in life, but I am not. After all, I may just be MediocreMan, but I have reported comprehensively about my journey toward health. I have written pages and pages of my thoughts, feelings, and actions on this journey. I have categorized and organized those pages. So whether or not I sell any copies, I will still write my book. Even if I keep asking myself, “Who is going to read it?”

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Writing Is a Distance Race · 31 July 2013

Writing is a distance race.

When I first started this journey toward and blog about health, I was in the warm-up portion of the race. I was excited and went out too fast. It seems I got much of my best stuff out there right away.

As the race went on, I settled into a nice routine. I wrote each day and if I had time, even fleshed out new stuff for later. I was still learning many things about health, eating, running, and writing so I was still fresh and writing strong. I had settled into a comfortable pace.

As the year of writing started coming to a close, I knew the end was near. Unfortunately, I had hit the wall several times. I felt the ideas start to wane. I even revisited some ideas. Some without realizing it until I had already posted again. I have even had a heaviness to the thought of writing. It has not been a drudgery, but there have been times when I have had to work hard to get something worthy of my own standards. Still, I kept moving. I kept plodding along.

Now, I am getting a second wind. I may not always have fresh ideas, but I see the finish line. I know I will never be through with health or writing, but this particular race will end. I feel the second wind. I know I will hit the tape running strong.

I have thought of writing as a race before, but until now, until I could almost see the finish line, I never realized what a strong metaphor running is to writing. I never truly realized writing is a distance race.