Week 15 Weigh-in

Week 15: 256 lbs. down 2.5 lbs for the week, down 46 lbs overall.

Been super busy chasing two little girls around the house, so I haven't had much time to pontificate here. Getting ready for a weeks vacation at Hilton Head. This will be the real test of my weight loss adventure.

In the meantime, here's a story about weight loss and hypnotism.

Week 12 Weigh-in

Week 12: 263 lbs. down 1 lb for the week, down 39 lbs overall.

On Turning 35

I turned 35 on July 3rd. I'm now closer to 50 than I am to 20. When I was in my 20s, I used to joke that I'd be dead by 50. Based on my lifestyle then, it probably wasn't too far from the truth. I even joked about it with my wife and she was less than pleased when I did so. Now that I've got two little ones I'm responsible for I think I'd like to stick around past 50. If I keep the weight loss going, and maintain it once I hit bottom, I think I've got a better than average shot in doing so.

Week 11 Weigh-in

Week 11: 264 lbs. down 3 lb for the week, down 38 lbs overall.

First Hiccup - Week 8: 275 lbs. up 1.5 lb for the week, down 27 lbs overall

So I had my first setback as it were. The Mrs. & I joined some friends of ours for a brewfest at Stoudt's brewery in Adamstown, PA this past weekend. Drank my face off. Strike one. Overall lots of good beer, but too many pale ales and IPAs for my taste. If I wanted to drink perfume, my wife's got plenty. As part of the brewfest they had an all you can eat "Best of the Wurst" buffet that had various sausages, red cabbage, sauerkraut, etc. Strike Two. Finally, Sunday morning, we had breakfast at the Park Place Diner. Strike Three. And that is how I put 1.5 lbs back on. I'm not beating myself up about it...I knew going in that I was going to gain for the week. Only 1.5lbs? I'll take it.

(fixed: Week 8 not Week 7 -ed.)

Been a long time since I rock 'n rolled

So I've slacked on the blog here recently. My two excuses were a) my daughter's first birthday / Memorial Day and b) a week of travel for work immediately following. So here's the tally for the last two weeks: Week 6: 277.5 down 2.5 for the week, 24.5 lbs overall. Week 7: 273.5 down 4 for the week, 28.5 lbs overall. As penance for my slacking off, here's my first attempt at videoblogging: me getting to run the M240 Bravo

Week 5 Weigh-in

Official weigh-in for Week 2: 280 lbs. Down 3 lbs for the week. 22 lbs. overall. BP was 112/84 (medicated) when I gave blood last Friday. Gotta get that bottom number down. That might take an additional lifestyle change (read: cut back on coffee). I'm within spitting distance of the 270's....a sight I haven't seen in about a decade. And a shout out to my fellow big'un Jay Looney for joining the struggle, too.

Why I'm Anti-Bariatric Surgery

First of all, these are MY feelings on why I don't think bariatric surgery is for ME. It's not to pass judgement on those who have taken that course of action. This past Monday put an exclamation point on why I'm against pursuing a surgical option for my weight loss. My wonderful wife (who DID have gastric bypass) was hospitalized with severe abdominal pain. We're home resting now, but were given several possibilities -- all of which were common side effects of the surgery (gallstones, paralytic ileus among others).

Between her and one of my bosses, who also had the procedure, I've seen other side effects that are ever present: items high in fat or high in sugar (read: good) result in them getting violently ill. Or having their blood sugar crash and passing out. And don't forget the inability to absorb vitamins and minerals. I'd sooner die than never be able to each chicken wings or real ice cream ever again without puking my guts out.

Look it. It took hundreds of thousands of years to get a GI tract right. And now a doctor thinks he can do it better? Thank you, no.

Week 4 Weigh-in

283 lbs. Down 1 lb for the week, 19 lbs overall. Late with the update because of a minor medical emergency at home, ironically, related to gastric bypass surgery. The weight is a Monday number though. Given our emergency, I'll have more to say soon that outlines my opposition to a surgical solution to my weight loss. This is also my first mobile post so forgive the formatting discrepancy. I'm still figuring this out.

The Problem with BMI

This is consistent with what other folks have said about BMI as a measurement of obesity. It's imprecise at best. It'd be like only looking at a your cholesterol number to measure your cardiac health.

Losing the Belly

I already know the benefits of cherries. They're instrumental in knocking out the gout when I get a flare up (yeah, I get the gout. It's awesome). Apparently, the anti-inflammatory properties are also good for getting rid of belly fat. So, I suppose I'll be working the fresh fruit or juice into the rotation.

And yes, this picture is what gout feels like. In fact, it may not fully articulate how ungodly painful gout is.

Week 3 Weigh-in

Official weigh-in for Week 3: 286 lbs. Down 2 lbs for the week. 16 lbs. overall. This was expected. I was in training most of last week. Mind-numbing acquisition training + danishes & donuts = bad combo. Ate out for lunch several times. Took the family out for Mothers Day dinner. All that and I STILL lost 2 lbs. I can accept that.

What I can't accept is that Blogger got blocked at work. That puts a serious dent in my volume of posts. When I get home, I'm Daddy. Not some tubby bitch sharing my weight loss story with the world. Also, getting up at 4:45 AM every day means I tend to turn into a pumpkin by 10:00 PM. I'll try and keep up, but I'm not making any promises.

A visual...

Here's me this week (at 288 lbs). So remember, I was an even sloppier bitch two weeks ago:

and here's why I could have a long hard slog ahead:



The first are sugar cookie pops w/ royal icing. The second are red velevet cake balls. That would be red velvet cake mashed up and mixed with icing and rolled into balls. Then they're dipped in white chocolate (colored red). These are for my oldest daughter's teachers for "Teacher Appreciation Week" My wife is crazy....but it just may be a lunatic I'm lookin' for.

Week 2 Weigh-in

Official weigh-in for Week 2: 288 lbs. Down 6.5 lbs for the week. 14 lbs. overall. Looking for a tracking widget to put on the side if anyone knows of any to suggest.

You are not in control

That seems to be the message in banning toys in kid's meals. Mickey D's, BK, et al. are the pusher man. You can't resist that sweet, sweet burger and fries. And the toy? That's the icing on top. It practically turns a kid's meal into sherm. Parents have no culpability here, right?

Parents have a duty to say "No" (unlike three year olds that enjoy saying it just to frustrate Mommy & Daddy). That's what makes us parents. Yes, advertising works. But to suggest that we as human beings are helpless against it's powers is both sad and wrong. At what point are we in charge of our own lives? Responsible for our decisions? Increasingly less, it seems.

Thanks for the Shout Out

A big thank you to Steven Spruiell for the shout out on NRO. The more folks that find this piddling little blog, the more motivation / support I've got. That and the the big F-you I want to be able to have for Mr. Ambinder and one of my docs.

I had my checkup with the general surgeon who removed the cyst on my head and he said, "Everything looks good. I won't need to see you again until you're ready to have the bariatric surgery." I can't decide whether he's being arrogant doctor, a pushy used-car salesman, or just a dick. Either way, it just adds fuel to the fire.

I'll soon be adding the Mrs. as a contributor here because a) she thinks adding what & how I'm eating will provide some more depth to this endeavor and b) I think she'll have an interesting point of view to bring to this discussion.

Week 1 Weigh-in

Official weigh-in for Week 1: 294.5 lbs. Down 7.5 lbs. For those of you at a more normal weight this might seem like a big drop. For me, not so much. When you're this heavy just minor adjustments have pretty dramatic effects. If past is prologue, this sort of week-to-week loss will be typical until I get to about 275, then things will level off. From there to 250 will be a longer slog. Anything under 250 is uncharted territory. I may have to find Jimmy Tango and "ride the snake."

What Now?

I'm still working out my approach to this. That is, both the blog AND the weight loss. I'm shooting for weigh-ins on Mondays but after that we'll see where it goes. I'm not sure I want to go all "Julie & Julia" since I've taken a rather antagonistic position against my muse.

As for shedding the pounds, my first big step is going to be portion control. Some folks eat to live while other live to eat. I've spent my life solidly in the camp of the latter. My wife is an amazing cook and has the best chance to control what and how much I eat. I've eaten more healthily since we've been together than I ever did in my bachelor days. Problem being I still eat too damned much. The Mrs. has suggested following the good old, American Heart Association, Weight Watcher-style diet. It may morph into the "point system" variety. She's offered to pack my lunches to ensure portion sizes (and mostly it'll be leftovers from last night's dinner). Dinners, I'll get my what's on my plate. Good news is, she prepares very little from a box. Most of our grocery shopping is done from the "outer ring" of the store - fresh / less processed stuff - so I feel like I'm already on the right track. Also, if any of you out there are reading this. I'm all ears. Send me your success stories (or even things you tried that didn't work).

Why?

Why am I doing this? Mostly because I'm 35, married, with two little girls. I'm morbidly obese and hypertensive. What got this started? Two things. I recently had a cyst removed from my head (another story for another day, but I've got great pictures) and the surgeon who removed it is also a bariatric surgeon. He took one look at me and told his medical assistant to run a BMI calculation on me. I'm 6'2", 302 lbs. so the BMI came back as "GRAVY", err....38.8. Morbidly Obese. The guy was very nice, very professional and a bit pushy as to my need for bariatric surgery. You see, he cures diabetes. He cures hypertension. You can't do it without him. The statistic he quoted was that, long term, only 5% are successful at weigh loss w/o surgery. Secondly, I stumbled upon Marc Ambinder's piece on The Moral Urgency of Obesity and his follow-up on 10 Ways to Solve the Problem of Obesity. I also found out that Mr. Ambinder himself had bariatric surgery. I don't remember how I found the first article. Twitter, probably. Regardless, I disagree with what he writes and have now set about proving him wrong. There's only one way to solve obesity. Fewer calories must be consumed than are used. It's a pretty simple equation. Ambinder discounts self-will. I do not.

I got to thinking about how I've ever really achieved things in life. I've needed three things: motivation, support, and a nemesis. Motivation: that's pretty easy. My family. Support: Also pretty easy. Also my family, but I'm hoping to add to this support with (hopefully) readers and commenters here. Lastly a nemesis. Nemesis, thy name is Ambinder. I’ve never met the man, and until recently had never read his work. I only recognized the name through my reading of others. I’m sure he’s a pleasant fellow. Just wrong.

What are my goals? The above surgeon suggested 220 lbs. as a goal which would still put me at a BMI in the "overweight" category. But I also haven’t seen 220 lbs. since I was a sophomore in high school and 4” shorter than I am currently. In getting there I hope to normalize my BP and take some of the stress off of my arthritis riddled knees. I also hope to prove that “fat” is a choice. And today I’m choosing to no longer be that guy.