Progress In Pictures

If you want to see where I am on this long haul toward being healthy and feeling good about the way I look, here's some perspective.

At the beginning of 2004, I had not yet begun treatment for sleep apnea--and I ate all the time simply as a way to stay awake. Over the years I slowly crawled my way up to borderline morbid obesity. I seriously considered having my stomach stapled. I topped out at 327 pounds.

After I began treatment for my sleep disorder, I dropped about 30 pounds virtually overnight without even trying -- just because I didn't need to eat all the time simply to stay awake. But bad habits -- snacking, nightly dessert, drinking Cokes all the time, low activity, etc. -- caused my body to settle at about 295 lb. and stay there for years. This is what I looked like all the way until early 2011:

I decided at the end of 2010 that I was going to make some changes, and that this was the year I would get a lot healthier. I wanted to look in the mirror and not hate what I see. I wanted to feel better, be more active, and have more fun. The first change I made was to give up soda. The only time I allow myself a Coke is once in a while when I'm watching a movie and eating popcorn. (I believe in treats, definitely!) I drink water, and get my caffeine fix through coffee and tea. On March 1st I began a diet on Weight Watchers, and since then have dropped it but used the habits, food, and portions I learned to keep me on the right road.

The following pictures were taken with my webcam, in my office, this morning. As of this morning I'm at 255 pounds.

Got more ground to cover. I'm not done, and even after gaining a little back in the last few weeks, I'm gonna keep working at it. If I'm not healthy, I won't be around to do all the things on my list ...