Happy New Year

Weight: 214.0
Change: -75.8 lbs
Total Weight Lost: -108.0 lbs
Mood: Needing a soapbox
Short Term Goal: 14 lbs to go 
Long Term Goal: 14 lbs to go

So...I am sure you all thought I had given up.  I am just REALLY bad at blogging.

As you may have noticed from my last post I have met my goals and went beyond...but that is what new goals are made for.  

I want you all to look at something.

This picture was 2003... 473 Pounds.  I felt like I was happy...but I was alone and damaging my body on a daily basis.

NOW...

260 pounds Lighter and MUCH healthier.  

I have really wanted to post this for a while...but I figure why not tonight...when everyone is making resolutions that they will make, but thinking they will never keep them.  I get it...I used to be of that mindset.   

My wife and I started 2012 with the goal of getting healthy for our son.  I knew that I had made at least 20+ New Year resolutions that never made it past New Years Week...sometimes not even New Year's Day.  

My life is exponentially better...I feel better about myself, I can play with my son for long periods and keep up with him (ok, so this may be an exaggeration...but I hold my own), and I can actually buy clothes that fit me - without going to a specialty store.  

SOOOO...enough about me.

(Warning this next section is going to be a bit preachy, and guilt-trippy).

THIS IS YOUR YEAR.  Pick 1 thing about yourself that will improve your life.  Think about something that will make you feel better about yourself or extend your time here with your family and friends.  (I would really love to have all of you here with me longer...you make things fun and shiny).  If you have a habit or something that will shorten that time with us...change it.   Drugs, Smoking, excessive drinking, excessive eating are all things that can easily be conquered in a year.   Take it day by day...It will get easier the longer you go. If you do not do it for yourself...do it for the people that love you.   (Yes, you should be loved for who you are, but they don't have love the things you do that will take you from them).  One of the harshest truths anyone ever told me..."The man standing in front of me will never make it to 25....much less 35...I want you here till you are at least 45".   Every drop of sweat...every hunger pain I felt made that thought more and more of a joke.  Let me state this...You are not alone..and the people around you want  you to succeed.  If you do not have someone in your life that wants you to be the best you and succeed...send me an email.

Maybe you are the healthiest person in  your circle...pick something else.  Maybe it is a relationship that needs strengthening. Or your finances.  You have 365 days of opportunities to make a difference and change your life for the better.  

I encourage you...nay...I PLEAD with you... Spend the next year making yourself better.  

I totally feel like "That guy" but I just want you all to know that if "Mr. Apathy" can do it....you can too.

Now bring on the cheap party favors and Auld Lang Syne.

3/14/12

Weight: 284.6
Change: -5.2 lbs
Total Weight Lost: -37.4 lbs
Mood: Tired (sleepy, not drag face across pillow kind)
Short Term Goal: 4.6 lbs to go by 3/17/12 (3 Days to go)
Long Term Goal: 44.6 lbs to go

MY OH MY I have missed you all!  

With just a couple days till our venture to NYC, I am within striking distance of my short term goal.  Last weekend was my son's 2nd birthday and with all the craziness / bad decisions that were made that weekend, I gained 5 pounds (DEAR SWEET MOMMA CHOCOLATE that is a chihuahua).  I made up for it by doubling the zombie experience and had it all dropped by today.  


My best friend thorough this whole experience has been my ellipitical, whom I have named "Elle".  Elle and I have had the most amazing time together.  We watched reality TV, pretended to run from zombies, we even got down to a little LMFAO.  Last night....in a moment of pure weakness...Elle had an injury.  Let me rephrase...Elle broke a leg...not like a sprain...LIKE HER FREAKIN LEG BROKE OFF!  Luckily there was a warranty on it and they are sending emergency medical care for her.  


So while I am in striking distance of the goal...I do not have my best friend to help me reach my goal.  Kevin in the past would have said..."Well I got close enough...It wasn't meant to be...Fat people can be cool...just look at Danny Devito!"  This time...I did the unthinkable.  Drastic measures were to be had.... 


I.....ran.....outside.   (I know...take a moment to let that sink in...)


Just in case you missed it: I....RAN....OUTSIDE.


Now let me just say...it wasn't as bad as I was thinking it was going to be.  (At least not for me...more on that in a minute.)  I took the stance that I would run as much as I could..and then reduce back to a jog/walk when I needed a break.  I really impressed myself.  It also helped that I had the sound of someone yelling "OMG RUN THERE ARE ZMOBIES ON YOUR TAIL".  


Now for the losers of me running outside.....*drum roll* my neighbors!    I may have forgotten to mention an important detail earlier....I decided I was going to start running at 10pm.  Children are in bed dreaming of lunchbox legends, elderly are watching late-night talk shows...and dogs kept in backyards BECOME EXTREMELY ANNOYING.   EVERY SINGLE TIME I came around this 1 corner these 3 dogs would start barking like I was wearing a bacon suit covered in gravy cologne.  I figured after the first lap (or 4) they would get bored of the dork running around....but no...EVERY SINGLE TIME they would freak out.   I finally turned my headphones up louder than their barks... I doubt my neighbors could do the same.


3 days...4 pounds....bring it on.

3/3/2012

Weight: 289.8
Change: -1.4 lbs
Total Weight Lost: -32.2 lbs
Mood: Lazy
Short Term Goal: 9.8 lbs to go by 3/17/12 (17 Days to go)
Long Term Goal: 49.8 lbs to go

More days have passed...more weight has been lost!


Everyone loves the weekend.  Weekends are the time of the week people can get errands done, spend time with family and just overall relax.  It is also the hardest time of the week for me to stay on track.  When I am work, food is not just in the other room  (except my secretary's stash of goodies).  I headed into this weekend dreading the decisions I was going to have to make.  We ate out twice today (Cue the sad panda!).   I could feel the calories sneaking into my body with a vengeful rage for being kept out of Club Kev for the past few weeks.   I came out victorious.  I was able to keep my calorie count in check and I feel satiated.  (SCOREBOARD KEVIN).

There is a lot to be said about support networks.  I have been blessed beyond measure to be surrounded by amazing people in my life. This weekend has been filled with calls and messages from family and friends just to say "Hey I was thinking about you".  This just reaffirms that instead of the selfish apathetic mustard head I used to be when I didn't care about myself, I need to keep moving forward.  THAT IS RIGHT I AM GOING TO OUTLIVE YOU ALL!

Speaking of outliving everything....what would exercise (heck..what would life be) without zombies?!?  I recently came across an app that will help you keep motivated by sending flesh and brain eating zombies to chase you!  I know that would make me move my butt. (just remember...I don't have to out run all the zombies...I just have to out run you!)

Zombies, run! looks like a great app.  The premise is pretty simple..as you run (outside, on a treadmill, in quicksand), you will be instructed to whereabouts of zombies in your area via your headphones.  You will also be instructed of supplies and/or weapons that your community will need in order to survive the zombie invasion.

When you complete your run, you distribute the goods you collected to your community.  It is like Farmville for undead fighting crazy people.

Zombies, exercise, virtual worlds in which I get to play all-mighty controller...WHERE DO I SIGN UP?!

https://www.zombiesrungame.com/
(credit loseit! forums)

3/1/2012

Weight: 291.2
Change: -0.4 lbs
Total Weight Lost: -30.8 lbs
Mood: Good!
Short Term Goal: 11.2 lbs to go by 3/17/12 (17 Days to go)
Long Term Goal: 51 lbs to go

Little loss, but much noticed.

I was a little bummed this morning when I saw I had only lost .4 lbs, but then I reminded myself that this is a life change..not just a whim diet.  Thinking positively, I put my big girl panties on and went on with my day.  Little did I know that my day would be filled with affirmation.  Twice today people commented on how different I look.  (Queue the cameras, this guy has a following!)

2/29/2012 LEAP DAY!

Weight: 291.6
Change: -1.6 lbs
Total Weight Lost: -30.6 lbs
Mood: Tired, but in a good way
Short Term Goal: 11.6 lbs to go by 3/17/12 (17 Days to go)
Long Term Goal: 51.4 lbs to go

Leap day...One of the most insignificant days of the year (unless your birthday happens to be today, in which case HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEAPERS!!) **Note it said LEAPERS not LEPERS, you weirdos**

So a couple things about today...

First, I had a feeling that I don't think I have ever experienced before I started this adventure.    Some may call it self-control, I call it being stingy with my calories.  Leap day is a day in which fast food restaurants have an excuse to be completely and totally evil.  McEvilClown's had 2 of their burgers "Buy one get one for 29 cents", and I was extremely tempted.  I decided I was going to take the high road and go eat at Subway....LO AND BEHOLD...Free cookie with every purchase.  Now people who know me..know that if there is something I love more than food...its a good deal.  Food + Free Stuff...I am totally there.  I grabbed a healthy sandwich, grabbed a cookie..and headed out the door.  The entire ride back to the office the cookie was singing sweet melodies and comforting promises of deliciousness.   I have developed a habit of logging my calories before I eat anything I am not sure of.  SWEET CALORIE SPIRITS YOU BETRAYED ME!  The single cookie was 220 calories!  That was almost the entire caloric composition of my sandwich.  Needless to say, my secretary enjoyed a cookie while I enjoyed the feeling of passing on something I really didn't need.

Second notable event of the day reaffirmed my earlier decision.  Since dropping 30 pounds I have noticed my wife making more comments about how much my workout shorts are falling off.  Now normally I like to walk around with a bit of "gangsta swag", but shorts that fall off  + elliptical make for a dangerous (and sometimes entertaining / interesting) workout.  I headed out to the store to grab some groceries and decided that I would just peek into the guys clothes section.  They had the type of shorts that I love, so I decided I would go try some on.  Normally I would just grab my standby size (which could also be used to describe movies of the adult persuasion), head to the register and then worry that the cashier would try to see what size I was buying.  I grabbed two different sizes, one for the size I figured I would fit into, and one that I figured would be a goal to reach toward.  Amazingly the goal shorts fit like a glove.  This was the first time in a LONG time that I didn't have to pay extra for "Big Man" sizes.

Needless to say...I am quickly learning patience and hard work are making all of this worth it.

2/28/2012

Weight: 293.2
Change: -2lbs
Total Weight Lost: -29lbs
Mood: Meh!
Short Term Goal: 13.2lbs to go by 3/17/12
Long Term Goal: 53lbs to go

So I decided to start a blog to catalog the progress of my weight loss. This should be a fun ride. I know this blog will probably never be seen by anyone else, and I am okay with that.

We will start with a little adventure down story lane.

I remember being a pretty active little monster when I was young. I did Karate, soccer, swimming, baseball, basketball, etc. If the YMCA offered it...my mom made sure we were there for our participation ribbons and plastic trophies. When I was about 5 my parents divorced and we spent a year or 2 with my grandmother. An amazing cook, but I always had a sneaking suspicion she was just trying to plump us up to eat us (a la Hansel and Gretel). I don't know if it was just a downward spiral from that point on, but for next 18 years I just ate to eat. When I turned 23 I had enough of my self-indulged apathy.

I worked out, I went on diets, ran with wolves late at night (kidding, but it would make excellent cardio). When all else failed, including back vertebrae and knees, I decided to to make a permanent life change and have gastric bypass surgery. This was an amazing experience and I wish I had done it earlier in my life, but it left me feeling like I had taken the easy way out. The bariatric surgeon instructed me to walk for two hours everyday, or in his words "You will die". Now I am all about extreme diagnosis as much as the next guy, but his words did not encourage me to go outside (The sun is a dangerous foe after all). Needless to say...with no effort and complete laziness I dropped about 200 lbs. To this day it still amazes me that one of the most impressive things that has ever happened in my life was the product of me doing absolutely nothing.

Let's fast forward...this is getting long and you are probably sleeping by now.

Some of the weight came back..and I am still 120 lbs above my "ideal body weight". (Note on "ideal body weight": WHO CAME UP WITH THESE NUMBERS?!? I think some scientist stuck in a lab with some anorexic mice extrapolated their weight:height ratio and applied it to people. Scientists you are on watch. Be warned.).

I met the woman of my dreams, and she has given me the child of my dreams. Epically long story short: I want to be here for a long time for both of them. My dream is to have wheel-chair races with both of them in whatever nursing home my son puts me in.

The race continues...it will be long and slow...but the finish line is the only prize.