Weigh in day.

Drum roll please...

OK...I lost 8 lbs this week. I think that is roughly the weight of a gallon of milk. I'm pretty thrilled. When you're a biggin, you can drop a lot of weight very quickly at the beginning of a diet. I'll take it though. It hasn't been a bad week. I have never really been hungry (except the first couple of nights when I would wake up starving.) Since then, I have not been eating at night.

Tonight, I had a ham and cheese omelet for dinner. It was very tasty. I made it with no butter, about a tablespoon full of shredded cheddar cheese, and about 3 oz of lean ham. I took it all and rolled it in a piece of whole-wheat flat bread. Lunch was another grilled chicken and pepper wrap. I'm trying to use up the peppers before they go bad. I found that yellow and red bell peppers get sweet when you stir fry them in a little light vegetable oil. Breakfast was mini wheat again. I snacked on some baked Doritos this afternoon when I felt the need to chew.

OK...it's been a few days since the last "Today's Nasty Fat Side Effect" so here it goes. Those of us on the portlier side of life discover that at some point our thighs begin to rub together. The really big amongst us notice that the two thighs eventually become one! It's a marriage of fat and cellulose. The result can be unnatural wear and tear on the inner thighs of pants. Even better is some serious chafing at the pool or beach. There's no way around it. I suppose you could slather on some lotion to ease the friction or maybe wear chaps...but then you go from being a sad fat person with thigh chafing to a sad fat person with thigh chafing who is also a freak. Really, losing weight seems to be the best way to go. I'd like to be able to sit with my knees together again without pulling a groin muscle in the process.

In the final analysis, I know that this is just the first week. It's going to take many before I undo the damage I have done to my body over the last ten years. I am encouraged. I haven't been too hungry, I have eaten a decent variety of food, and I am feeling better. Being accountable to my friends and family through this blog is motivational. Each of you adding comments, sending e-mails, and posting Facebook messages, encourages me to go on. Thank you for that!

51 weeks to go on this project...then the rest of my life.

Getting Started

Ok...how cliche is it to start a new diet at the beginning of a new year. Couple that with the fact that this is a blog, the last thing the world needs another one of, and you have my project.

The last ten years of my life have been wonderful for me. I got married and I have three beautiful children. The downside is, I gained the weight equivalent of a set of four car tires. That's 100lbs to those of you playing along at home. I won't bore you with all of the unpleasant side effects of being this overweight. There are many and they suck. I will tell you that shopping at a big and tall store when you aren't tall is like browsing for movies behind "that curtain" at a video store. It's a little sad and you don't want anyone to see you doing it.

I have tried many diets and have spent a lot of money trying to reverse my unpleasant expansion...all to no avail. So here is my plan: I am going to try and eat better and exercise. What a concept! The twist this time around is that I am going to take you all (my family and friends) along with me on this ride. My goal is to be in better shape at 40 than I was at 30.

I turn 40 on January 14, 2010. That is a little over a year from today. I weighed about 225 in 2000...so there's the bar. I am not just going to use weight as my measuring stick. Stamina, blood pressure, fat %, etc. will be considered as well. Right now, I'm 100% fat, so there is nowhere to go but up (er down!).

For many, sharing their weight and struggle could be humiliating. I intend to try and make it fun. Feel free to comment on my posts. Teasing and poking fun are encouraged. I ask that you keep it PG-13 since there will be some younger folks paying attention.

Off to the races...