New home...

http://trappedinafatman.wordpress.com/

Much Like A Bad Penny...

High school Graduation Weight: 160 lbs
College Graduation Weight: 180 lbs
Starting Weight: 324.5 lbs
Weight When I Stopped Last July: 274lbs
Weight today: 310 lbs
Weight Lost This Week: 3 lbs
Weight Lost to Date: 14.5 lbs

OK...so it's been almost a year since I blogged. There is a reason for that. I spent the last year setting a Guinness world record for most weight lost and gained in a one year period. That's right, I had lost 56 lbs and gained almost all of it back. Who does that? What a nim-nut. Anyway, this time last year, I weighed 281 lbs. So I'm trying to get started again. I'm walking about 1.5 miles a day now and counting calories. I've been going for about three weeks.

I'm still trying to figure out what went wrong last time so I can avoid it happening again this time. The running thing hurt me. I injured my shins so I couldn't really even walk without pain for about a month. Also, I got into the whole summer cookout (drink out) thing. The bottom line is I got complacent and it killed me. When you have an unhealthy habit like over eating, I think you have to manage it like an addiction.

I'd like to check into a treatment center a la Tiger Woods for help. Talk about a crock (there's an "r" in there folks). Tiger is a sex addict? C'mon. Try being a Big Mac addict, or a whole pizza addict, or an eat peanut butter in the middle of the night addict!! I've got his sex addiction right here (insert gesture)--which coincidentally is where Tiger had it too. But I digress.

So I'm trying again. Sorry to let you all (my faithful readers) down. I'll try to do better this time.

I'm going to replace the "Today's Nasty Fat Side Effect" from last year's blog with a new feature called "Fat Guy Facts". Basically, it's the same premise but the title isn't as long which saves me some typing.

Fat Guy Fact
When you encounter someone that hasn't seen you since you since your rise to mythic proportions, they always have that same sympathetic/horrified look on their face (unless they are also a disgusting fat body, in which case you both just have a laugh and then go to dinner). You feel like telling them that you don't have cancer, you just like cheese...lots and lots of cheese...preferably deep fried with a side of anything covered in gravy.

Anyway, I'm going to try and rock this out again. I'm in a bit of a contest with some friends. Money is on the line.

Here I go again!

Peace and love.

Len

Starting Weight: 324.5 lbs
Weight Last Sunday: 275
Weight today: 274 lbs
Weight Lost This Week: 1 lb
Weight Lost to Date: 50.5 lbs (56.5 before the gain back)
Weeks Completed: 29
Weeks to go: 23

The re-losing continues. I only dropped a pound this week but considering I had bronchitis, I'll take it. Seriously, who gets bronchitis in July?

This weekend my city boy self will attempt some camping with some buddies. Looking forward to it. I'll let you know how it goes.

I can't wax poetic on one pound of re-loss so I'll cut it short.

Peace and love.

Len

http://trappedinafatman.blogspot.com

Let the Re-Losing Begin

Starting Weight: 324.5 lbs
Weight Last Sunday: 277
Weight today: 275 lbs
Weight Lost This Week: 2
Weight Lost to Date: 49.5 lbs (56.5 before the gain back)
Weeks Completed: 28
Weeks to go: 24

OK...so the weight is coming back off. Man I hate having to re-lose weight. I've wasted a lot of time. That said, I'm heading back down again which is cool. I went to the county 4-H fair yesterday. If I live to be 200 I will never enjoy walking thru barns of stinky animals. The fact that the food tents were right next to the barns seemed like an odd choice. I wonder how the hogs felt knowing their cousins were being sold on buns right next door.

My wife starts back to work tomorrow. For those just tuning in, she will be a part time secretary at Forest Hill Elementary (where our two older children are in school). This is happening a few years earlier than we had planned since Laina is still in preschool. The fact is, these jobs don't come up very often so Amy went for it. She really had no desire to go back to work in corporate America...especially Sallie Mae (from whence she came).

Last night my middle child (Erin) said as we were coming home from Walmart "We are on our way home from Idiotville." to which my son replied, "If that was true, we wouldn't have been able to take you home because you would have become their mayor." It's these heartfelt exchanges between my kids that warm me inside. My youngest was mucho grouchy yesterday. She slept 12 hours and is a new person. I, on the other hand, have a cold. How one gets a cold in July is beyond me. Perhaps it's going from 90 degrees to 70 degrees in one day. Perhaps it's the filthy animal barns at White Trash Expo (a.k.a. the Hamilton County 4-H Fair). Who knows.

Anywho, I'm back to my losing ways and hope to continue next week.

Peace and love to all.

Len

http://trappedinafatman.blogspot.com/

Weight Loss Do-Over

Starting Weight: 324.5 lbs
Weight Last Sunday: N/A
Weight today: 277 lbs
Weight Lost This Week: N/A...gained 9 lbs
Weight Lost to Date: 47.5 lbs
Weeks Completed: 27
Weeks to go: 25

OK...I'm starting again for real. Somehow (like I don't know how) my hovering within a few pounds of 268 has ballooned into a 9 pound gain. I also chewed up 8 weeks doing nothing...except heading in the other direction. So I now need to re-lose 9 lbs before I can even get started again. Nice job Len. One thing I have learned is that I still don't know how to maintain. When I tell myself I am off the diet (on a break) whatever, I go back to gorging on anything I feel like I've missed. Since I promised myself I would loose 100 lbs by 1/14/2010 and also promised myself I would keep it off, I need to work on this. Losing weight is doable, keeping it off is where I need help.

I think it is sad that over 19 weeks of eating right, exercising, and witnessing first hand the benefits of losing weight, that I would ever consider messing with the formula. This is what has happened to me dozens of times in my life: lose it, gain it, lose it, gain it. This time will be different. I caught it quickly and I'll bet this 9 lbs will be gone in a few weeks.

I'm starting right now!!

Peace and love.

Len

http://trappedinafatman.blogspot.com/

Fat Man on Hiatus

OK...so it's been two weeks since I blogged! It's been 7 weeks since I lost a pound. I'm not going to lie and say I've been trying really hard. What I have been doing is enjoying myself and maintaining my weight. I'll gain a few pounds, then lose it, and so on. Part of my problem has been summer festivities. It seems like there is a cookout or a night out after work lurking around every corner. The thing is, I'm not ready to just maintain. I have 44 more lbs to lose. That said, I can't really guarantee when this hiatus will end. I keep thinking it will end each week and then...something fun comes up. I'm going to lose the rest of this weight by Jan 14, 2010. I've been keeping active. I got my bike fixed and have ridden it a few times. Add to that to some walking, cutting my grass, and the occasional all day trek around an amusement park and I'm keeping in motion.

Things have been going well in my world. My company won a large government contract which means I should have a job for at least the next year or two. My wife just got a job at our kids' elementary school as a secretary. This was the kind of gig she was looking for. It's part-time, she gets the same days off as our kids do, and she'll be at the school with our kids. This is happening about two years sooner than we planned but these type of jobs don't come up often so she pounced.

On a weight-related note, I took my blood pressure at CVS and it was as low as it's been in 10 years (126/71). That is with medication; however, before I shed 56 pounds the lowest I could get it was 140/89. That is encouraging. Maybe in another 44 lbs I can get off this med all together.

So I'm not sure what my chances are of jump starting this thing this week. I have a golf outing this Friday where the food and beer will be free. We'll see. In the end, as long as I can stay around 268-270, I'll be in position to kick this thing off again. In the meantime, I'm enjoying my summer.

Peace and love.

Len

Fat Man: Beginnings

Starting Weight: 324.5 lbs
Weight Last Sunday: 268
Weight Today: 268 lbs
Weight Lost this week: 0 lbs
Weight Lost to Date: 56.5 lbs
Weeks Completed: 23
Weeks to go: 29

OK, another week stuck in the middle. I know the culprit and I'm going to come clean. For the past few weeks my night eating has returned. Peanut butter is the culprit. HOW!? I've never eaten spoonfuls of peanut butter from the jar. Maybe my body needs protein? Maybe I'm just a food-aholic that jumps from one type of extreme binge to another?

The good news is, I haven't gained any weight. The bad news, this is three weeks with no loss.

I am recommitting today!!!!!!

The exercise still goes well and the during the day eating is fine. To help with the motivation, I am going to remind myself of where I was and what I have gained (in my loss).

• When I was at 324 lbs, I would sit in my office, having to use the restroom but dreading the 50 foot walk to the men's room. I would sit there hour on end thinking, "What about my trash can? Man I wish these windows opened. Maybe I could get one of those astronaut diapers like that crazy b--- in Florida." SAD. Now I walk 3 miles a day.
• When I was 324 lbs, I couldn't cut my grass without a couple of breaks and without feeling like I was going to die for the rest of the day. Now I cut it without breaks, coach two soccer games, put down fertilizer, and have energy to play with my kids.
• When I was 324 lbs, I used to sweat while I was eating. Now....well I'm still a sweaty bastard...but only when I exercise.
• Having lost 56 lbs, I dropped two waist sizes (46 to 42) and 42s are getting loose! I have a whole group of new (old) shirts I can wear now!
• My jawline has reappeared.
• My blood pressure has dropped 25 points on top and 15 points on the bottom
• I no longer snore (much).

These are just a few of the things that have changed my life after losing 56 lbs. I still need to lose 44 more to make my goal and I have 29 weeks to go! I'm going to do this!

There will be progress next week.

Peace and love.

Len

http://trappedinafatman@blogsopt .com

Stuck in the mud

Starting Weight: 324.5 lbs
Weight Last Sunday: 268
Weight Today: 268 lbs
Weight Lost this week: 0 lbs
Weight Lost to Date: 56.5 lbs
Weeks Completed: 22
Weeks to go: 30

Sorry for not blogging on Sunday. My son and I hit the Indianapolis Air Show and I forgot.

After a week of eating pretty well and exercising, I lost exactly 0 lbs. This means my total May loss is 5 lbs...by far the weakest showing since I started in Jan. I'm going to keep pushing on. I have 43.5 lbs to loose and 6.5 months to do it in. I'm trying to push myself with more exercise to kick start some losing.

I have cut out chips. I was eating Baked Lay's and pretzels. While low in fat, they are high in sodium and, I think, were monkeying with my blood sugar. For the first time ever I didn't eat a donut on National Donut Day. What a waste. Come to think of it, I haven't had a donut in about 6 months. I drove by Hot Box Pizza yesterday and ordered no breadsticks! That's got to count for something!

What's a fattie to do?

Anyway, I'm going to knuckle down this week and see if something good happens.

Stay tuned...

Len

My Weight Loss Wagon Had A Flat Tire

Starting Weight: 324.5 lbs
Weight Last Sunday: 274.5
Weight today: 268 lbs
Weight Lost to Date: 56.5 lbs
Weeks Completed: 21
Weeks to go: 31

OK...so I totally chickened out and didn't blog last week. It's been a weird two weeks. I did fairly well the week leading up to race weekend. I then slid off the wagon for about three days. As a result, last Sunday morning I woke up 6.5 lbs heavier!! I spent the last week removing the aforementioned weight. I also learned two important lessons.

1. I am still a foodaholic. Without diligence, I could very easily slip back into my old habits. I forgot my own advice about planning to go off the wagon rather than binging. I am going to have to work on that because some day this project will be over and I'll have to work as hard (or harder) to keep this weight off.

2. I had been cheating a bit the four weeks leading up to Memorial Day weekend. I would come off the wagon a few times during the week and then compensate by not drinking much water after I walked. That was an especially key trick on Sunday mornings where I would weigh in after I walked but before I had any water. I have seen 1.5-2 lbs of water come off during a walk. The following day, I'd jump back up a few lbs and then spend the next week actually losing the weight I had reported lost (through dehydration) the week before. It was a weight loss Ponzi scheme.

SO...I'm back down to 268 lbs and ready to get on with this project the right way.

This week I began mixing in some jogging with my walking. I was able to get my three mile walk down to 15 minute miles. For me, that's fast. There are some hills in my neighborhood so it's not all flat. I bought a good pair of shoes from a running store that video tapes your feet while you walk to see what type of shoes you need. These shoes feel great! Still, I have a little pain in my shins now since I started jogging. I think I am still too heavy to jog much. I had a friend invite me to walk/jog the mini with her and another friend next year. Shelly, if you are reading, that sounds cool. I have a lot of training to do before then. I think (hope) another 20-30 lbs will do the trick on the shin splints. In the meantime, I will just try to walk as fast as I can.

Well, it feels good to come clean and be back on track. Some good lessons were learned.

See you all next week.

Pace and love (belated race pun),

Len

http://trappedninafatman.blogspot.com/

I Have Broken into the 260's

Starting Weight: 324.5 lbs
Weight Last Sunday: 270.5 lbs
Weight today: 268 lbs
Weight Lost This Week: 2.5 lbs
Weight Lost to Date: 56.5 lbs
Weeks Completed: 19
Weeks to go: 33

OK...the ship has been righted this week. This is a milestone for me as I am the lightest I've been in three years. So after a few weeks of coasting, I'm going to start hitting it hard again. I need to get below 250 so I can squeeze onto a roller coaster at King's Island later this summer. I honestly never thought I could get excited about weighing 268 lbs. There are linemen for the Colts who are 6'6" and weigh 268 lbs.

Today's Nasty Fat Side Effect: Sore Feet
When you start to exceed the manufacturer's suggest limit for fattiness, one of the first things that starts to ache is your feet. So I have these aching feet from time to time. One sure way to get relief is to have my wife rub my hoofs. Unfortunately, God blessed me with a wife who is majorly grossed out by feet. 5 seconds of rubbing per foot is about as much as I can usually beg out of her. To remedy this aversion she has, I decided to rock out the pedicure. I figured if I dressed up the offending peds, mayhaps she would execute some prolonged rubbing.

Side note: My wife is good at rubbing feet. She's got her "technique down and everything. She don't be ticklin' or nothin'." It's a cruel irony that she chooses to squander her rub-skills.

Anyway, back to the pedicure. I found a salon and walked up to the door. It turns out the salon is closing but would be happy to help me out. As I sit in the chair with the whole staff staring at me, this lovely Vietnamese chick begins to bust out some heavenly foot attention. She's rubbing and scraping, and trimming, and buffing. It was...cool. Then, towards the end of the session, she asked me a question. Her English being much less developed than her pedicure skills, I had no idea what she was saying. After about four attempts to clarify, I just said "Yes.". Next thing you know, out pops the cotton spacers and on goes the clear coat to my toenails. When she was done, she escorted me over to the toe dryer where I sat there, totally wondering what was going on. The staff all leaned against the opposite wall as I sat there trying to feign normalcy. When I was done, I shod up and hit the road. My well-groomed feet were loving life. I got home, whipped off my shoes, and said" Honey, rub these!". Thinking she would melt at the sight of my metro pods, I was ready for some serious foot action. Unfortunately, even clean, trimmed feet are still feet. These days, I can usually get about 25 seconds per foot out of my wife. I am also addicted to pedicures, though I pass on the nail polish.

Thanks to all of you for tuning in. See you next week.

Len

http://trappedinafatman.blogspot.com/

Starting Weight: 324.5 lbs
Weight Last Sunday: 271 lbs
Weight today: 270.5 lbs
Weight Lost This Week: .5 lbs
Weight Lost to Date: 54 lbs
Weeks Completed: 18
Weeks to go: 34

OK...for anyone who was around me this week, the fact that I didn't gain 5 lbs is a mother's day miracle. I did the movie thing, hit a bar with some co-workers, and then spent a day in a suite at the track where the beer, fried foods, and brownies were f-r-e-e. On top of that, I missed three days walking. I'm back in the swing of things though with 3.5 and 3 miles walked in the last two days.

Bottom line: I had a lot of fun this week and still didn't gain weight. This gives me hope for life after this project. It seems you can have fun AND maintain your weight.

So I saw the the new Star Trek at a sneak preview. Thanks to Mike T who always comes through with the hook up. It was a stellar flick...even if Nelson almost made us sit in the front row. The evening at RAM was cool. Kölsch is a tasty beer and light enough that I didn't feel like I was packing on the weight. It was tough resisting those delicious appetizers...but I did. The track was cool and the gang. That is the only way I will ever see a race at that track again (after 20 years in the "cheap" seats); however, no one is knocking my door down to hook me up for a suite on race day so I guess I'll settle for watching the replay on TV.

To all of you mothers, I say "Thanks for contributing to global overpopulation!" To all of you fathers, I say "Did you get a DNA test? That kid looks a lot like your neighbor."

I'm hoping for some 260's action next week. Wish me luck!

Peace and love.

Len

http://trappedinafatman.blogspot.com/

Yo fat there's a lot of rumors goin' around...

Starting Weight: 324.5 lbs
Weight Last Sunday: 273.5 lbs
Weight today: 271 lbs
Weight Lost This Week: 2.5 lbs
Weight Lost to Date: 53.5 lbs
Weeks Completed: 17
Weeks to go: 35

Yo fat there's a lot of rumors goin' around
It's so bad baby you might have to skip town.

O.K. nothing like busting out an LL Cool J lyric to kick off a blog. I lost 2.5 more lbs this week. I am very happy because I went to eat at Cancun yesterday. It was the first time I've had Mexican food in four months. Mmmm...Mexican. I also walked 3 miles this morning on a new route around my neighborhood. There are still parts of this hood through which I have not walked. Sad. You have to watch out in Noblesville. If you make a wrong turn, you could wind up getting jacked by some rich 10 year-olds in a custom golf cart. Worse, you might even find yourself face to face with a soccer mom 10 minutes late to her kids' games. Then it's 1-8-7 on a crazy soccer mom.

Seriously, there's not much to tell. Spring is here and I am kicking up the activity levels even higher. Man, this exercise thing is the bomb (keeping with the wanna be gangster theme in this week's blog). I wish someone would write a newspaper article or host a news special about exercise. Everybody's always like, "starvation and dangerous diet pills, that's the only true way to lose weight." Haters.

Well, I've got the rest of this Sunday to kick it with the fam and get outside. Thanks to all of you who cheer me on weekly. It means a lot.

Peace and Love,

Len

http://trappedinafatman.blogspot.com/

50 lbs lost and counting...

Starting Weight: 324.5 lbs
Weight Last Sunday: 275.5 lbs
Weight today: 273.5 lbs
Weight Lost This Week: 2.0 lbs
Weight Lost to Date: 51 lbs
Weeks Completed: 16 Weeks to go: 36

Well, I'm half way there. My goal was to lose 100 lbs in a year. This is also approaching the most weight I have ever lost. My personal record is 60 lbs when I tried Optifast about ten years ago. Optifast was cool. I drank nothing but nasty chocolate drinks every day for four months. In the end, I gained it all back PLUS 40 lbs. I know it's not Optifast's fault but it all seems sort of silly in retrospect. I truly believe that in most cases, extreme weight loss techniques are all short term-even gastric bypass. I've known three people who gained their weight back after having their stomachs stapled. It took them many years, but they still gained the weight back. Anything that does not require you to be disciplined won't last forever.

Time for another episode of Today's Nasty Fat Side Effect. Our topic for today is stretch marks. Most women who have been pregnant could probably describe stretch marks better than me. The difference is that once a woman gives birth, she can forget about her stretch marks, hoist her newborn to the air and scream, "I have created life!". The best a fat man can do is, take stock of his stretch marks, put down his bacon sandwich, and scream, "I have a map of the London Underground naturally stenciled in purple across my abdomen.

Stretch marks are strange and cruel. Even when you lose weight, they don't go away. They may stop being purple, but they mostly don't go away...they turn a nice shade of white. It's kind of like guidelines in a coloring book. I sleep without a shirt on (go ahead, visualize that). I'm afraid one of these days I'll wake up and my four year-old will have colored in my stretch marks. I can only imagine it will look like some unholy tie dye.

One friend of mine told me that when she was pregnant, her doctor told her to rub lotion on her skin twice a day to increase elasticity and avoid stretch marks. I could have lived in a vat of lotion and that wouldn't have saved me. I hope that as a lose weight, I don't end up with extra skin like that chick (er Kate) on John and Kate Plus 8. If so, I'll end up having to have that stuff hacked off and will have fodder for another Today's Nasty Fat Side Effect".

I look at it this way, I can use these stretch marks as a badge of courage. They can be a constant reminder of what 12 years of wanton gluttony can do for a guy, a daily warning that all pizza and no walking make Len a fat boy, a beacon of fat things to come!

It's all good. I'm fitting into older clothes and feeling better. I might even break out some paisley before it's all over.

Thanks for tuning in this week. It's been cool. See you in the 260s.

Len

http://trappedinafatman.blogspot.com/

I just missed the mark this week!!

Starting Weight: 324.5 lbs
Weight Last Sunday: 278 lbs
Weight today: 275.5 lbs
Weight Lost This Week: 2.5 lbs
Weight Lost to Date: 49 lbs
Weeks Completed: 15
Weeks to go: 37

One more pound and it would have been 50! As it is, I've lost one pound for each state in the union. That union would be the union before August 21, 1959 when there were only 49 states (sorry Hawaii).

I would like to say that there was an initial accounting error last week. I originally reported the total weight lost so far (last Sunday) as 47.5 lbs. That has since been corrected to 46.5 lbs. It seems we used the United States General Accounting Office to audit our math last week. We won't be doing that again.

I would also like to say that at my mom's 65th birthday party last night, I did not eat any of my wife's home made lasagna, none of that tasty salad with that one honey mustard dressing I like, none of that wonderful Italian bread that's crunchy on the outside but light and fluffy on the inside, and none of that kickin' birthday cake with all that butter cream icing deliciousness!!!!!!!!!!! I suppressed my inner gourmand so that I would end the week on a high note. I did it for you, my loyal following. I did it so you all could say, "Cool...he's still going in the right direction." Seriously, I abstained from the chow fest because I have given myself a lot of days off over the last two weeks. If I was smart, I wouldn't do that on a Tuesday work night and, instead, save up for a Saturday birthday party. No one ever accused me of being smart. Smart-a--ed maybe...

This was a really crazy week. Work was insane...for all the wrong reasons. There was a "Days of Our Lives" factor of about 10.5. It felt so school-like that I half expected a Judy Blume book to come flying out of some one's mouth. Typical Len would have tied on the feed bag. While I did eat a little more some days, my worst day wasn't as bad as I normally ate before this project.

I finished the week (er started the week?) this morning with a walk. The musical choice was Digital Underground from 1989. It was tres fun and extremely old school. That was back when rap was about drugs and sex and king-sized egos. Not like today where rap is about...wait...drugs and sex and king-sized egos. I guess it hasn't changed that much. As my friend reminded me, Digital Underground did create the nonsense word Looptid. Top that Kanye West!

I know several of my friends have kicked off weight loss efforts over the last few weeks. I just want to say hang in there and stay strong. Also, be accountable to someone (or some people). It really helps!

Until next week, when that barrier known as 50 lbs lost goes down, I wish you all peace and humptiness forever.

Len

http://trappedinafatman.blogspot.com

Welcome to the 270s Mr. Smith...it's been awhile.

Starting Weight: 324.5 lbs
Weight Last Sunday: 281 lbs
Weight today: 278 lbs
Weight Lost This Week: 3 lbs
Weight Lost to Date: 46.5 lbs
Weeks Completed: 14
Weeks to go: 38


It's an Easter miracle! After phoning in last week's performance, I made some progress this week. Considering I was off most of the week, that was no small feat. I said goodbye to the 280s (hopefully forever). Ah 280s, we barely knew ye!


I haven't been able to walk this week. Let me elaborate. I'm not paralyzed, I just didn't have time to walk the usual 2.5 miles per day that I normally do. I cut the grass once, but other than that it's been paint, paint, paint. We repainted our kitchen and painted all of our ugly oak cabinets, chair rails, and floor trim white. That kicked my butt. Sorry if you or someone you know is a fan of/made out of oak.


It's been a cool Easter morning. My son looked at his basket full of candy and new soccer ball and said, "I was kind of hoping for some slime." Evidently, slime is something you can buy in a can. We will be performing an exorcism on my little heathen son later.


I usually spend the end of my blog poking good natured fun at the pitfalls of being heavy. I'm finding less and less that I can write about that's not of a personal nature. Maybe I'll create a sister blog to this one called Diary of A Mad Fat Man - Adult Swim. That one could contain material of a more blue nature. Let's just say being really overweight is a self-induced handicap. The more weight I lose, the more I realize just how much mobility I had lost. Getting up off the floor, getting out of a chair, walking up to a buffet...all were major tasks.

Well, I have two more milestones approaching. 274.5 will be the 50 lbs mark and 266 is the lightest I've been in the last five years. Both will be good to hit.

Thanks to all of you who tune in week after week. I really believe this blog has made the difference for me in this diet. I love hearing from you all.

May the sweet winds of spring not blow too much of that fresh mulch smell upon you!

Len

http://trappedinafatman.blogspot.com/

Well dude, what did you expect?!

Starting Weight: 324.5 lbs
Weight Last Sunday: 281.5 lbs
Weight today: 281 lbs
Weight Lost This Week: .5 lbs
Weight Lost to Date: 43.5 lbs
Weeks Completed: 13
Weeks to go: 39

OK so on Thursday of this week I was down to 279.5. A pretty cool milestone. Then I decided to have a little Fun friday night. That fun resulted in three slices of pizza and a little too much Grey Goose. So instead of reporting 2-3 lbs lost this week, I get to say "hooray for .5 lbs".

My wife summed it up nicely this morning. She reminded me that when I choose to jump off the wagon a bit I can't then turn around and beat myself up about it. I'm really not that broken up, I'm sure this week will be good.

I'm not going to joke about fatness and side effects this week. That's easy to do when I've lost a respectable amount of weight. Instead, I'll regroup and hit it harder this week.

Sorry for the lameness of the post.

Peace and love to all.

Len

http://trappedinafatman.blogspot.com

Another Day on the Virtual Fat Farm

Starting Weight: 324.5 lbs
Weight Last Sunday: 284.5 lbs
Weight today: 281.5 lbs
Weight Lost This Week: 3 lbs
Weight Lost to Date: 43 lbs
Weeks Completed: 12
Weeks to go: 40

OK...another week of trying to undo ten years of unbridled gorging. I'm back on the program this week folks. 3 lbs of McDonald's/Taco Bell/sampler appetizers from RAM have been exorcised from "the temple". How is that for a fat-laden anecdote wrapped in a religious reference? Mea culpa. OK, I'll stop.

I would be lying if I said it was still really easy to keep doing this. Don't get me wrong, eating right and exercising is still pretty easy. What is tough is imbibing (or the lack thereof). Since spring is in the air there are all sorts of things happening. Trees are blooming, grass is getting green, birds are singing, and Len is getting almost nightly invites to:

Go to [insert bar] and sit outside and drink [insert drink of choice].

I really enjoy getting together with friends over a pint or six. The problem is drinking beer only helps you loose weight if you don't eat. In that instance cirrhosis is is good for weight loss but really bad for liver health and um living. The week of St. Patrick's day I was able to enjoy some nights out but it cut into my weight loss. Now that I think about it, I'm sounding an awful lot like an alcoholic. Stay tuned for my newest blogging endeavor called "Diary of Angry Lush".

The irritating yet quasi cool thing going on now is that I am in a transition weight. This means my clothes don't really fit but I'm not ready to drop a size in my clothes yet. Maybe I could just buy a Snuggie and wear it around for the next nine months. I could tell everyone it's a Tibetan monk thing. I could also easily reach for the remote while comfortably relaxing on the sofa (don't believe me...watch the infomercial).

I'm going to forgo the "Today's Nasty Fat Side Effect". I wish I could say the pain of self-deprecating humor has wounded me too deeply. The reality is that I haven't a thing humorous to report. Sufficed to say, being a disgusting fat body is a nasty fat side effect of being fat. 'Nuff said.

Until next week, peace and weightlessness...er weight loss...to all.

Len

http://trappedinafatman.blogspot.com/

I've Lost the Equivalent of a Bag of Rock Salt

Starting Weight: 324.5 lbs
Weight Last Saturday: 286 lbs
Weight today: 284.4 lbs
Weight Lost This Week: 1.5 lbs
Weight Lost to Date: 40 lbs
Weeks Completed: 11
Weeks to go: 41

It's not a terribly impressive report today but it is a significant milestone. Though I only lost a pound and a half, I have finally hit the 40 pound mark. To put that in perspective, a bag of Morton's rock salt weights 40 lbs as does a bag of top soil, Keira Knightley, and eight 5lb bags of flour.

My moderate loss this week can be attributed to one word: drinking. I had a few beers on St. Patrick's day, and went out Saturday night (a.k.a. last night). If you remember, I also started the week off 5.5 lbs bloated from a drink fest a week ago last Saturday. I did have fun this week and while I know that I have to cut the drinking back if I want to progress, I think it was a good time in the diet to cut lose. Now I want to push on to getting the rest of this weight off. According to my project goals, I have 60 lbs to go by Jan 14, 2010. In total, I have about 85 lbs more to lose.

Time for another edition of Today's Nasty Fat Side-Effect. This one may be a little more of the PG-13 rated variety but it's certainly relevant. Today we are going to talk about man breasts. These unfortunate visitors happen when men get heavy. You don't have to be a manatee-looking slob to have man boobies. Moderately overweight men can get them too. Regardless of your girth, they are embarrassing. There's nothing more sad than ripping off your shirt at the beach and having some woman retract in horror until she realizes you are not an older hairy woman flashing people. Seinfeld has a hilarious episode on bras for men. Suggested titles for said appliance include the "Bro" and the "Manssier". I really can't think of the equivalent side-effect for a woman. It's not like one day a woman will get fat enough to develop a large Adam's Apple. Maybe hair on a woman's upper lip might come close. The bottom line is that this side-effect adds insult to injury. Not only are you overweight, but you are developing female characteristics. Believe it or not, there is a scientific name for this: gynecomastia. And a word to the wise gents, I hear this condition is very hard to reverse as breast weight is the last to go. In any event, I look forward to one day replacing my man-ta ta's with pecks!

Well that does it for this week's post. I want to thank my readers for their words of encouragement. See you next week.

Peace and love,

Len

http://trappedinafatman.blogspot.com

Changing it up a bit

Starting Weight: 324.5 lbs
Weight Last Sunday: 289 lbs
Weight yesterday: 286 lbs
Weight Lost This Week: 3 lbs
Weight Lost to Date: 38.5 lbs
Weeks Completed: 10
Weeks to go: 42

OK...I'm changing things up a bit. This week I am taking my Saturday weight instead of my Sunday weight. The reason for this is that I gave myself the night off last night and ate/drank a little much. I'm sure the 5 1/2 lbs the scales said I gained since I weighed at 2:00p yesterday afternoon are mostly water weight. ;-)

Back on the wagon today though.

I would like to thank my wife and my mother and father-in-law for a very good time last night. It feels good to cut loose. That said, it makes me want to knuckle down and try even harder today since I don't feel as well this morning as I'm used to feeling.

Here is the testimony from last night:

- About 1/2 pound of this way cool Mexican dip my mother-in-law made (ground beef, corn, chilis, mexican seasoning)
- About 30 Baked Lays scoop chips to shovel the aforementioned tastiness into my mouth
- 10 Tag Along Girl Scout cookies
- 1 piece of cheese cake
- 8 shots of Crown Royal
- 2 DIET A & W cream sodas (a boy has to watch his figure you know)

We also toasted to many of our dead relatives. How Irish of us?

Anywho, my goal for this week is to break the 40lbs lost barrier. Wish me luck!

Peace and love,

Len

http://trappedinafatman.blogspot.com/

I Lost How Much Weight This Week?

Starting Weight: 324.5 lbs
Weight Last Sunday: 294 lbs
Weight Today: 289 lbs
Weight Lost This Week: 5 lbs
Weight Lost to Date: 35.5 lbs
Weeks Completed: 9
Weeks to go: 43

OK, I'm a little befuddled. I had a 5 lb drop this week. I didn't starve myself and I didn't walk any more than usual (2 miles/day). Don't get me wrong, I'm happy. I'll shed this gelatinous nastiness anyway I can. I just wasn't prepared for this big a loss. That's really a lie. I weigh myself twice a day. I knew exactly what I as going to weigh today. That said, considering the extreme stress between work and mom's health, I really don't know how this happened.

This week I rediscovered Morning Star Farms veggie burgers and veggie chicken patties. They are very tasty. I'm not trying to be a vegetarian...but the veggie stuff is just a little healthier than a hamburger or a real breaded chicken patty. Morning Star also makes veggie buffalo wings. They are like chicken nuggets (no meat obviously) with buffalo spices. They are delish! They provide me with more variety and QUICK ways to eat.

Time for another episode of Today's Nasty Fat Side Effect". Today, we are going to discuss extreme belly button depth, scientifically referred to as Cavernous Umbilicus. Most folks have a belly button for which they can see the bottom just by looking in a mirror. When you get laaaaarge, the depth of said belly button increases. When you are major pork product, you end up with this wishing well type thing on your stomach. Besides the obvious negativity of having what amounts to a hole in the middle of your stomach, there are the issues with making sure it stays clean and free of belly button lint. This can be an issue when you have a normal belly button. When you have a fat-induced crater, it can be challenging. I remember losing one of my kids in my belly button for a week. It all worked out well because when she finally climbed out, she had my TV's remote control, a jelly bean, and many coins that were evidently tossed in by hopefuls whist offering up wishes. I exaggerate. I don't eat jelly beans.

Anyway, this was a good week. They all are really. Clothes are getting more loose and I'm feeling better than I have in years. I can't imagine what it will be like to be down below 250 some day (dare I say it, 200?). It's been a really long time.

Until next week, thanks to all of my beloved friends and family who spur me on with good recipes and positive quips. All are very appreciated.

Peace and love,

Len

http://trappedinafatman.blogspot.com