Rebuilding Myself

In one month I will be 31 years old. I was watching the Sixers play the Pistons on Sunday and saw Allen Iverson running around like he was 18 years old again. I couldn't help but think how sad it was that we are the same age. He played 53 minutes of basketball and was barely sweating. I can't run for five minutes without almost passing out. There was a time when I really took good care of myself. My arms, legs, shoulders were all tight. Somewhere between the ages of 18 and 30, I totally let myself go. Now, I don't want anyone to think that I am trying to be A.I. I'm not that foolish. I would however like to be in better condition and at least get down to my weight of five years ago. It's pretty upsetting when you tell some of your newer friends that ten years ago, you used to be atheletic and they all laugh. My pride almost makes me want to head to the nearest ball court and show them. The only problem with that is that I can't run for more than a few minutes so even the ones with no game would beat me and piss me off.
I got to get myself together. My sisters Michelle and Jennifer, who were my quality control staff for years may be the only person that really knows deep down I am one of the most vain and self conscious people in the world when it comes to how I look. I was always asking, "Shell, how does my beard look? or "Jenny does this haircut make me look old?" I do the same thing now, only I ask myself the questions instead of bothering them.

I am now announcing the official Cliff rebuilding project. My goal is to lose 20lbs or to be able to fit into all the XXL shirts that I have that are too tight. I am not going to kill myself trying to be skinny or anything. This is for no one other than me. I'm just tired of feeling sluggish and miserable. I have too many headaches, and pains in my body for no reason at all. Plus, I miss being competitive physically. I wasn't made to feel like a slob or a wimp. The way I look at it, there are only a few things I need to do to accomplish this.

1. No Drinking on Weekdays : I am not an alcoholic, but I live close to their neighborhood. Water and juice during the week will help me.
2. No Rallys, McDonalds, Burger King, etc : It's amazing you can eat a Big n Tasty at 12:00 PM and still feel miserable at 12:00 AM
3. Physical activity : The bottomline is that the last 7 years of office work has made me lazy. I used to actually have to use my body to earn a living. Now, I just punch on keyboards all day. There has to be some time spent outside, or on a treadmill, or something like that.

I think I can handle this. I will keep you posted.