2012 - Week Thirteen: Still Going, Going, Going ...

I should try getting more sleep! I haven't reported in several weeks. Bad Jamie! Here's the current deal.

252.0 lb.

Weekly Loss: –2.0 lb.

Total 2012 Loss: 11.2 lb.

I'm starting to look in the mirror and see what I was seeing last year at my best weight, which I'm rapidly approaching. Maybe yardwork this week will help!

I'm also planning on joining the gym in the very near future and add a weight and cardio routine to bump up the physical fitness side of the equation. Thanks all!

2012 - Week Ten: Ten Pounds (ironic!)

Whattayaknow? Ten weeks into the year and I've lost ten pounds! Easy enough to figure out. I'm still about three pounds over where I wanted to be at this point, but that's my own damn fault.

253.2 lb.

Weekly Loss: 1.4 lb.

Yearly Net Total Loss: 10.0 lb.

Today is the 100th birthday of the Oreo, apparently. I better NOT grab a box to celebrate ...

2012 - Week Nine: Need Coffee ...

Forgot to weigh in on Monday. Oops! Catching up now. I've done okay this week! Can't talk ... need coffee ...

254.6

Weekly Loss: 2.2 lb.

Total 2012 Loss: 8.6 lb.

I'm only half a pound higher than the milestone goals I set. I hope to catch up and be on-track or ahead by this time next week!

2012 - Week Eight: Post-Convention Win

The Monday morning after a convention is always one in which I stagger around, growing incoherently, and craving human brains. It's also one in which I usually pay for the sins of the weekend on a morning weigh-in. But I did okay in Tennessee, and even tried to balance out the HUGE meal that my friends and I shared at City Cafe in Chattanooga. So I did okay -- more than okay! This morning the scale said:

256.8 lb.

Weekly Loss: 3.2 lb.

Net 2012 Weight Loss: 6.4 lb.

I'm less than a pound away from being back on track (according to the progress goals I've set for myself). Hmm ... I may even get ahead of the curve next week!

2012 - Week Seven: Gold Star

Sweet! Despite my mother stuffing me with pasta and Mississippi Mud Cake last night, I still managed to make a good showing for the week. If I gain a little ground this week I'll be matching the expected progress I've set for myself.

275.2

Weekly Loss: 2.8 lb.

Net Weight Loss This Year: 6.0 lb.

Only twenty-seven more pounds to go ...

Week Six: Grr!!!

I often do "unofficial" weigh-ins during the week but they don't count. But if they did, I would have been down a few more pounds. But I managed to gain it back just in time for weigh-in day.

260.0

Weekly Loss: 0.2 lb.

2012 So Far: 3.2 lb.

We'll see how the week goes!

2012 - Week Five: Oh yeah, I'm doing this!

Forgive me, Internet, for I have sinned. It has been four weeks since my last weight update. I could tell you that my birthday gave me an excuse to ignore sensible eating and drinking, or that I've been distracted by all kinds of crazy-exciting professional things going on my life. But that's no excuse and we both know. I mean to do this, dammit, and I'm going to do it.

Here I am. Back to weekly updates and back to my naked-on-the-scale Monday morning weigh-ins. (And you're welcome for that image.) Here is where we are:

260.2 lb.

Since Last Weigh-In: 3.0 lb.

So that's good! I'm at least moving in the right direction in the past month, even if it's not nearly as far as I should be after this many weeks into the new year. Keep me going, people. My goal weight is 225 lb. and I mean to get there by mid-summer. Thanks for your friendship and support!

2012 - Week One: Day One

It's a new year. I'm starting over. I did good last year, though I slipped a bit once I got to the holidays. I'm ignoring it all. Today is Day One. I'm starting weekly tracking and watching my intake and activity all as if this were brand new. Long-term, I want to get down to 225 lb. My first short-term milestone is to lose the first five pounds.

Here's what the scale reported this morning:

263.2 lb.

Happy New Year, folks! See you next week.

Week B8: Sick & Thinner

I've been nasty-sick for several days -- which may or may not have helped me lose a couple of extra pounds. Either way, I'm back on track! Just a couple of pounds down from my lowest weight on this whole journey ... just in time for the holidays. *GULP*

248.0 lb.

Weekly Loss: 4.4 lb.

Total Net Loss Since March 1, 2011: 45.6 lb.

See you next week! Hopefully down closer to where I want to be.

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 ...

Week B7: WTH?!

Ugh!! Some of you know that the last few weeks have had two conventions and ridiculous amounts of stress -- including stuff related to my ex, money worries, and the death of our family dog of almost ten years. I let myself fall into the trap of stress-eating, fueled by the generosity of friends and family who've treated me to big meals. Add in a few special occasions that included tasty dessert and (un)healthy amounts of drinking, and, well ...

255.0 lb.

Weight GAINED since last weigh-in: 8.6 lb.

Total Net Weight Loss Since March 1st: 38. 6 lb.

OUCH. Holy crap what three weeks can do to a guy. Well I'm back, thinking about what I'm doing, and focusing. Hopefully I'll be able to shed most of the short-term gain right away. I can't let myself slide in the wrong direction.

Week B4: Blazing Ahead!

I'm in a hurry this morning, so I'll just cut to the chase. I'm at my lowest weight in more than thirteen years! I've done GREAT this week.

246.4

Weekly Loss: 4.4 lb.

Total Net Loss: 47.2 lb.

I'm within spitting distance of the 50 lb. milestone ... and to say that's exciting is an understatement!

Week B3: Almost Caught Up With Myself

This is my third week back on the ol' diet after falling off the wagon for a while. I managed to lose over a pound and a half, and I'm less than two pounds from reaching the lowest point I was before I started to let myself go. I want to keep the momentum I've built up and get down toward my goal.

250.8 lb.

Weekly Loss: 1.6 lb.

Total Net Loss: 42.8 lb.

My goal, by the way, is just as much psychological as anything else. Back in 2004, before I started treatment for sleep apnea, I had reached a huge 327 lb. and was considered morbidly obese. I want to get down to 225 lb. so can honestly say that I'm over a hundred pounds lighter than my heaviest weight. I will feel like I've really achieved something at that point!

Thanks, everyone, for your encouragement and support!

Week B2: Back on Track!

I'm doing good again! I'm hoping to be under 250 next week.

252.4 lb.

Weekly Loss: 2.6 lb.

Total Net Loss: 41.2 lb.

Thanks!

Week B1: Once More Into My Breeches

Without necessarily planning it, I took a little time off from my weightloss. I gained some back during the summer con season, not to mention a little unhealthy stress-eating. So I'm re-focused and trying to do better. Once I again I'm logging my food and watching my activity. I want to get down another 20 pounds from where I am now. Now I'm back to reporting to you fine folks.

So as of today ...

255.0 lb.

Net Loss Since March 1, 2011: 38.6 lb.

I'm hopeful that I'll be back over 40 lb. (where I was before I fell off the wagon) by next week. Thanks for your support, all!

Week Twenty-Five: Haven't Given Up, and Gaining Ground

Okay, so travel and LIFE (all capital letters for emphasis) caused me to fall off the wagon (a bit) and gain a little weight (about seven pounds), and those were unofficial weighings. But I worked last week to get my eating to back the way it's supposed to be and I'm back to logging my food and all that jazz. Weight Watchers billed me again, so I might as well use its tools, right?

I did my first official weigh-in for several weeks and I'm happy to say that I'm back on the right track:

249.2

Weekly Loss: 1.2 lb.

Net Total Loss: 44.4 lb.

So I'm about half a pound away from being able to say that I've lost 45 pounds since day one. That ain't too shabby, and I'm not planning on stopping. I think (I hope!) life is about to get more predictable and that we'll be eating less takeout.

Thanks all! I appreciate the support of my friends and family. I don't think I look half bad these days, but I still haven't reached my health goals.

Week Twenty-One: Yay, Almost On Track!

Busybusybusy ... but ...

251.8 lb.

Weekly Loss: 2.2 lb.

Total Net Loss: 41.8 lb.

Week Nineteen: HOLY CRAP I'VE LOST FORTY POUNDS!!

Boy the difference one week makes! Now that I'm home and not hitting the buffet at the Drury Inn & Suites every morning and evening, not drinking every night at the Big Bar on 2, and failing my Will check against gaming snacks, the weight I gained on the road has just vanished! (I love you so very dearly, Origins, but you are BAD FOR MY DIET!) But I've been doing better and the scale had some great news for me ...

252.4

Weekly Loss: 5.6 lb.

Total Net Weight Loss: 41.2 lb.

When I did the math it hit me. In four months I've lost over forty pounds. Woohoo!!!! I will cheerfully assume that all the celebrations and fireworks today is the entire nation is happy for me. Have a great Fourth, everyone! In the words of my friend Tommy Cage, salute the flag ... and then thank a soldier.

Week Eighteen: Damn You Jeni, Whoever You Are

I was at the Origins Game Fair this week and the combination of free Breakfast Buffet, the North Market, the Big Bar on 2, and Jeni's Ice Cream (ohmygod Bourbon Butter Pecan is soooo good!) and I managed to gain a pound. D'oh! I'll do better now that I'm home ... promise!

258.0 lb.

Weekly GAIN: 0.8 lb.

Total Net Loss: 35.6 lb.

Week Thirteen: Aiiieee!

Only a week left in the über-stressful month of May. Fortunately, even with my mother's wedding (and accompanying cake, rehearsal dinner, etc.) I managed to lose nearly two pounds! Here's this morning's weigh-in:

258.6 lb.

Weekly Loss: 1.8 lb.

Net Total Loss: 35 lb.

It's hard to believe that in three months I've lost a full thirty-five pounds. I'm still eleven pounds ahead of where I had hoped to be at this point on the journey.