How the Journey Starts!

So far I am on track, I am trying to keep myself focused on the weekly and monthly goals. I have twice weighed in under my 10 pound goal for January... unfortunately, I have also regressed back a few pounds. I am within striking distance and need to push hard this last week of January to hit the goal strong for the month of January.

Victories -

I sent a text to Margaret just a last week and said "you would be proud of me... I am at Carl's Jr." you can only imagine how her heart sank to read those last two words! It was the next text that made her proud... "I ordered a salad!" That is a victory, a small one, but a victory none the less.

So far this month, I have made it to the pool twice, and started walking again at work. Although this has not been as consistent as I would like, they are victories.

I have made a conscious effort to eat healthier, I also have Margaret (my loving wife) to thank for this as she has continued to encourage and help me by making sure I eat more vegetables.

Losses -

I am still eating out WAY too much! This is a double edged sword, because even though I have seen some victories in some of the choices I have made at these restaurants this month, it is also putting me in an environment that is riddled with risk of bad choices for me.

I am not working out as consistent as I need to be... I need to get some patterns going and stick with them.

I need to find some other outlets for "stress-relief" this will help tremendously since food tends to be my crutch, or drug.

Overall, it has not been a bad start. I feel upbeat and encouraged. I am once again below the 300 pound threshold, which is nice... but several times this month as I thought about the goal for the year of 10 pounds a month and realized that was 120 pounds for the year... I caught myself doubting my ability to achieve that. I honestly cannot remember the last time I weighed less than 200 pounds! I think it was early high school at best... that has been a long, long time. I have to be careful not to get caught up on that... it can make the goal seem "unreachable" it shouldn't be... but psychologically that is how it effects me. I know at this point that 2 and a half pounds a week is reachable... that is what I have to drive for. Whatever happens at the end of the year will be what it is... for now I am going to focus on...

2-1/2 pounds a week...

Need to eat more salads this week!

Bear

I was watching the latest season of the "Biggest Loser" on NBC and I realized that there was a lot of wisdom to what Bob and Jillian were recommending...

EMBARASS YOURSELF!!!!

They kept preaching during the first couple of weeks that you need to weigh-in, in front of all your friends and family. I never really thought of doing this, but it makes sense... once you put yourself out there, you realize exactly how the camera makes you feel... it motivates you to GET UP and start doing something, instead of just talking about it!

I have struggled with weight my entire adult life... I cannot recall a time when I didn't have a "gut" - This is something that I am realizing that I HAVE to change. I am watching my little boy's grow up so fast... and I want to be there for them, I want to be a good husband and Dad to them. But in order to do that, in order to love them to the fullest extent, I have to love myself first. I have used food as a comfort "drug" for a long time, and I have a serious food addiction. I love conveince food... fast food... finger foods... fatty foods... you name it... I love it, I love food. But what I have come to realize is that this "love" of food is going to kill me... literally, and it will take me away from the ones I love the most.

Every day I carry around this extra weight, I am shortening my life span... I am wearing out my body at an alarming rate. I do not have any obesity diseases... but I am borderline on just about everything... If I do not get this under control and keep this in check, my boy's will not have a Dad to run and play with.

Recently we have a close family friend that has begun a fight against Cancer in his life... this has made me ponder how precious every moment is with our family. I do not have any major diseases, but I am pledging $2.00 for every pound I lose this year to Cancer research. I know my struggle is nothing compared to his, but I am doing this because he has inspired me to cherish every moment of life we have... for we never know when our time is up.

I weighed in on January 1st at 306 pounds... Holy crap... I am one big fella!

My goal for the year is to break this weight loss campaign down into manageable chunks... so I am shooting for 10 pounds a month, which equates to approximately 2.5 pounds a week. I hope that this blog will give me an opportunity to share my efforts with others and be a format for me to inspire and help others on their same journey towards weight loss. It is not easy to do it alone, and I hope to develop a network of friends to help support me and give me an opportunity to share, support and help them as well.

Let the competition begin...