Packing on the pounds

I gained 45 pounds in a matter of about a year, I guess. The gaining began in late 2009 and continued through early 2011. Before gaining, I was at about 180 lbs (I am 5'6") and I was in pretty good shape. I had some muscle definition in my quads, calves, even my arms. I had a nicely defined waist and even a little bit of definition in my abs.

My joints were good and used to anything I gave them - lateral movement, jogging, push-ups, etc. Oh, and I could do 33 (!) push-ups - 11 "real" and 22 more on my knees - without stopping. Pretty amazing for me.

When I gained the weight I did NOTHING for that entire time. Being at my highest weight ever, I was surprised at how much different my body was than before I had gotten in good shape. For example, this is a photo of me at about 205 pounds (my current weight) BEFORE the 2009 shape-up:

I don't have similar photo of myself now, but I do not look this big now. I know it's because some of my muscles have hung around and are smaller than, but weigh more, than similarly sized fat. I know they have hung around because I am stronger still now than I was before 2009, even after all this inactivity. The muscle tone is returning quicker than it took to build it in 2009, too.

The body is resilient. What this teaches me is that even after a few "bad" days, or even weeks, one can jump back into pursuing a healthy, fit body without it completely derailing the effort. I know that in the past I have often had a "I-had-a-bad-meal-might-as-well-give-up-completely" attitude (frustrated perfectionist?) but I am learning that this is a marathon, not a sprint. Not to be cliche', but this is truly a lifestyle change and I need to be diligent not to enforce upon myself any rules or routines that I cannot live with forever.

Most importantly, I have to treat myself with the same kind of love and forgiveness that I am commanded to treat others with.