Real Life Update 17, Ho Hum (0 lbs. lost)...

237 lbs.

132 lbs. lost since 12/7/07

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Yep, it's officially boring to keep up with me :)

I don't know if I will hover around 240 forever but as for now in my current schedule and life this is where I have landed, and I am perfectly fine with that. If I ever find myself being able to work out in the mornings again I may lose a few more pounds (maybe 10-20) but that's a big if. It hasn't been as difficult to put in the effort and maintain instead of lose. I was worried that I would get down not losing weight, but it's actually kinda nice knowing that there is some consistency.

On another note, it looks like loseforthefuse is getting a new chapter. Johnny Big and Sara will be taking up the weight loss mantle starting very soon so keep checking in to see how their journey goes!

Real Life Update 16, Maintaining (0 lbs. lost)...

237 lbs.

132 lbs. lost since 12/7/07

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Heading into the fall and my lowest weigh in this month is the same as my lowest last month. The difference is that my 237 in July was at the beginning of the month and my 237 in August was yesterday. So basically, it's pretty likely that I gained a few pounds (up to 5ish) over the course of July and then lost them through August as I try to get back into some sort of work out schedule. There's something that's even more difficult about maintaining than losing. But it's so important that once the wieght stops coming off that I can continue to live life the way I have in losing it in the first place. I also keep going back and forth in my mind as to whether I want to push it up a notch and lose another 20 pounds. I like being in the 230s but there is something about 215 that is calling my name. I'll let you know what I decide, but the main thing is I must remain steadfast in not changing things that I will change back, otherwise it becomes a game and not a lifestyle.

Thanks for checking in and keeping me acountable!

Real Life Update 15, Roller Coaster (2 lbs. lost)...

237 lbs.

132 lbs. lost since 12/7/07

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Sorta.

These updates are actually based on my lowest weigh in for the month which was a couple weeks ago to be truthful. Since then, due to scheduling headaches and such and such I've only worked out a few times and have seen my weight fluctuate quite a bit (I think I'm right around 240 as I type this). The lesson, as always, is consistency. With family vacation looking in August, the September weigh in could be interesting. Until then.....

Real Life Update 14, Large T (2 lbs. lost)...

239 lbs.

130 lbs. lost since 12/7/07

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Happy 4th! This is the point where I say something inspiring like, "while we celebrate our independance as a country I celebrate my independance from back pain and exhaustion." But that's a little cheesy for my taste, so instead I'll just say still here, still going, another 2 pounds down and into the 230s. Oh, and I war a large T-shirt recently. Not as in the general adjective, but the men's actual shirt size.... no X preceding it. Now granted it was a little short (I am 6'6 after all) but it was not tight. Surreal... absolutely surreal.

Thanks for continuing to check in on the blog, I know it's pretty boring as I am slowing down and will start mainting sometime before the end of the year. But at the end of the day, it's really just for me, as a way to continue to stay accountable and keep record of my health.

Time to celebrate with some burgers and dogs!

Real Life Update 13, New License (2 lbs. lost)

241 lbs.

128 lbs. lost since 12/7/07

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Got a new license on my birthday and aside from the usual chuckle I get when I read that I should see the back of it for my anatomical gift I also got the privilege of seeing the shocking difference between now and then. Drastic, no? Just for fun I popped this photo into celebrity.myheritage.com (the website that tells which celebrity you look like) and apparently I've progressed from from Leonid Brezhnev to Jude Law, nice. Whatever the case May was a decent month as I lost 2 more pounds despite the food, folks, and fun that comes with a Birthday and Memorial Day. I hesitate to say for sure (cause the body will do what the body will do) but I'm thinking I will live in the high 220s low 230s when all is said and done.

Seeing the now and then pics is always interesting, but I feel like I'm different than most people who lose a lot of weight (at least the ones I see on Biggest Loser) in that I don't look at the old picture and say, "I don't even know that person" It's probably because I didn't have a lot of emotional or psychological baggage that I left behind with the weight, but I feel like that old picture is just as much me as the new one, just with more pounds and hair. Don't get me wrong, I like being healthy and would never chose to go back, but that Leonid Brezhnev lookin' dude is the same guy as the Jude Law lookin' dude (hey, a website said it, it must be true). To me it's much the same as seeing yourself in an old shirt or different style haircut. The difference is that changing your shirt or haircut doesn't get rid of your back pain, help you sleep better, and make your heart and lungs work better.

See you in July!

Real Life Update 12, Still Going (6 lbs. lost)

243 lbs.
126 lbs. lost since 12/7/07

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Checking in with my May update and it's a pretty encouraging one.  6 more pounds lost since the last time I checked in and skydiving weight in striking distance (235).  With about a month left til my birthday I'm thinking I may just crack that 240 barrier before I'm 34. Not much else going on, except the same ol' same ol', though I did run outside for the first time this year yesterday.   Let's just say I'll stick to the treadmill, the outdoors and I just aren't friends.  Catch ya' next with a birthday weigh in!

Real Life Update 11, Half Marathon? (0 lbs. lost)...

249 lbs.
120 lbs. lost since 12/7/07

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I think it's safe to say that my updates here will be much more sporadic.  I'll try to post around the first Saturday of every month, if for no other reason than to keep some online accountability.  I seem to have hit quite a wall the past month or so, but it may just be the stress (and eating) of our annual fundraiser cancelling out my increased running.  Of course the hard running could also have a stalling effect on my body as well.  One thing I've learned is that anytime you do something new, your body has a tendency to hit the brakes hard.   It's as if it needs to figure out what is going on before it can go back to normal.

I haven't really mentioned the running yet, but I've decided to train for a half marathon or maybe 25K.   I'm not sure I'll even run in a race, but I'm going to at least run a half marathon (13 miles) by my birthday.  I managed a 10 mile run yesterday without too much ill effect so I figure I'm on my way!

Thanks for keeping me accountable as I make this journey more than a one year adventure.

Real Life Update 10, Whole New Schedule (4 lbs. lost)

249 lbs.
120 lbs. lost since 12/7/07

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Wow.  It's been 3 weeks since checking in here.  Two Fridays I was on vacation and then last week I was getting used to going back to a morning schedule, which impacted my work out and weigh in schedule as well.  Because I drink soooo much water during the day, I typically weigh in about 3 or 4 pounds heavier during the day than in the morning.  So it became difficult to gauge where I really was.  I think I may have actually lost a pound or two over vacation (what, with all the Disney walking and such) and then maintained last week as I got used to my new schedule.  This week though, it appears as if my body is back in losing mode, as I likely dropped 3 pounds or so this week alone.  Whatever the case, I stand about 4 pounds lighter than I did 3 weeks ago, and heading into March closer to 200 than 300.  I've got almost exactly 3 months until my birthday, and if I can stay consistent I think I will land somewhere around 235.  Since I will be 34 this May, let's just predict 234 by 34.   Also, in case you are wondering, I will be doing the official weigh ins on Saturday mornings now for consistency sake.

Thanks for all your support and I'll check back next week with another update.

Real Life Update 9, Hmmmmm (0 lb. lost)

253 lbs.
116 lbs. lost since 12/7/07

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Nothing to see here, move along.  Seriously, not much to say this week.  Not sure if it's some added stress from the week of vacation prep, or just my body taking a week off, whatever the case, expect to see a gain next Friday as I plan on enjoying food and fellowship and a much needed rest.  Maybe I can catch the other side of the 250 by March.  We shall see.

Real Life Update 8, Slow But Steady (1 lb. lost)

253 lbs.
116 lbs. lost since 12/7/07

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I can feel it.  My body is starting to level off.  It may just be that for this amount of exercise and way of eating 240-250 may be where I land.  Again, it doesn't bother me wherever that might end up, I can just tell in my daily/weekly progress that my body is settling down.  Having said this, who knows, I could drop another fiver next week.  The body does what the body does, I'm just going to continue to live life this way and see what heppens.  Once I do level off (lets say within a pound either way for a 4 week stretch) I will probably be a little more sporadic with these updates.  I'll hop on whenever I feel there is something to talk about related to health/weight but will only do the official weight check maybe monthly.  I still want to do it periodically just to have that sense of accountability to you.  And if the program grows to include others (which I still hope it will) this will become the home for those efforts as well.   But as long as I'm losing one or two pounds a week, I'll keep checking in weekly to let you know how it is going!

Real Life Update 7, My Wife Says I'm Ripped (1 lb. lost)

254 lbs.
115 lbs. lost since 12/7/07

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There are very few people who get the privilege of seeing me shirtless (even after 115 pounds just know that phrase was dripping with sarcasm.), and my wife is one of those select few.  Last night, getting ready for bed, in a moment of Sawyeresque shirt shedding, my wife utters this sentence, "Wow, you're ripped!".  After my throat was too sore to laugh anymore, I realized what she meant to say was, "You remember how you used to resemble a gigantic collection of tube socks full of pudding?  Well, I don't see as much pudding, and when the light hits your arm just right I see what might be a muscle or two."  Even knowing the amazing benefit of the doubt my wife's assessment of my physical stature entails, it's still nice to know that this whole process is paying off.  If for no other reason than I am some sort of Adonis in my wife's eyes.

Back next week with more delusions of those who love me and hopefully another pound or two scampering away from my now chiseled exterior. 

Real Life Update 6, Losing Again (2 lbs. lost)

255 lbs.
114 lbs. lost since 12/7/07

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Here we go again!  It certainly feels great to be back on the downward slide as the holidays fade into the background.  I think a one or two pound loss should be pretty typical for me from here until I level off, wherever that might be.  I only have one more hump to get over before a long stretch of "normalcy" and that would be a week of vacation coming up in the next month or so.  I figure as long as a come out of that week around 250 or so I should be able to hit my skydiving weight by my birthday (hint, hint).  I recently rechecked my "bucket list" (of course it wasn't called that when I wrote it in college, but now Jack Nicholson insists that I refer to it as such) as I was thinking about jumping out of a plane since I knew I had written that on there.  What I didn't remember is that when I wrote that list (about 12 years ago) I had also put on there to weigh below 240 again.  I can knock off two "bucket list" items with about 20 more pounds!!  Still pretty sure that attending a Lion's playoff game will be the most difficult to achieve, cause I'm too cheap to pay the scalper prices especially when they include transportation to an alternate reality where the Detroit Lions make the playoffs.

Real Life Update 5, Thrilled with the 3 Week Stall (0 lbs. lost)

257 lbs.
112 lbs. lost since 12/7/07

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Three weeks ago I weighed in at 257, today I weigh in exactly the same.  This makes me happy, in fact, it makes me extremely happy.  If I can come out of these three weeks every year the same I go in I will consider that success.  Holiday is a time for celebration, travel, family, and fun, and more than anything else, lots and lots of food.  Late nights snacks, lots of seasonal desserts, being away from workout opportunities, and a desire to embrace the idea of the splurge all add to the difficulty.  To somehow come out even is a great encouragement to me and backs up something I've learned over the last year or so.  If 85% of the time you make wise choices, the 15% can't hurt you very much.  Now, if I allow these splurges to become habitual again, that is when it becomes a detriment.  It's likely that the first week I maintained, the second week I gained a pound or two, and this week I lost a pound or two, but at the end of the day if I can weigh on January 9th what I weighed on December 20th every year, staying healthy should be a piece of cake (or two, OK, fine, three.)

Real Life Update 4, Out of Town (? lbs. lost)

??? lbs.
112 lbs. lost since 12/7/07

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Just checkin' in to let you know that I do not have access to my scale this weekend.  Got some good time with old friends and ate lots of wonderful food, so next week could be interesting.  Stay tuned for the New Year's damage!