Weigh In Number 13

Not as good as I thought this week. I worked my butt off this week, yet most of my butt still remains. Yet, I's hard to complain, I'm still going in the right direction.

Measurables:

196.5 lbs, 1.5 lbs lost this week, 24.5 lbs lost since first weigh in, best guess of overall weight loss: 28.5 lbs.

The coming weeks will be a real test. There is great tumult going on at my company; I've discovered that cutbacks may be more widespread than I thought. I'll really be put to the test not to go off the plan with stress eating. In fact, it would be wise to ramp up the exercise to help get rid of the extra stress.

Before, it was vanity; now, my family's very survival may be at stake. If I am looking for work in the coming months, whether is is right or wrong, my experience tells me that I have a better chance of landing a job if I meet society's standards of attractiveness.

I know you don't like this; I don't like it either. But I have a family to feed. So, it's more important than ever that I get down to about 175 (my wife says this is the weight I'm most attractive), and then pay particular attention to grooming. (The long hair may have to go). It was rather easy to reach standards of attractiveness when I was 30. It's going to be much, much harder at 42.

And that's just physical appearance. I have to catch up with technical trends in my profession as well.

Hold on, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Weigh In Number 12

It's kind of weird. When I'm home all day with the kids (as I was this week for spring break), I have a hard time motivating myself to exercise. It's much easier to get motivated at work, it seems. I have no problem with the diet, just the exercise.

Nevertheless, it was a pretty good week. I've been on a pretty steady trajectory for a few months now. Slow and steady, about 2 lbs a week. Here are the measurables:

198 lbs, 2 lbs lost this week, 23 lbs lost since first weigh in, best guess of overall weight loss: 27 lbs!

The hair: it's getting a little unmanageable. I'm going to have to make the jump to a mullet soon. It's very difficult because so many people are begging me not to do it. Co-workers, family, friends. The last couple of times I've had it trimmed, I got a "near mullet", leaving the top and sides long (if not trimmed). Maybe this week I'll go ahead with it. Might be worth a half a pound, anyway!

Weigh In Number 11

Yipee!

I hit the milestone I've been working so hard to reach! 200! Actually, the very first time I weighed it came up 198.5! But went to get my camera to post a picture at Shoot The Moose, and from then on it came up 200 even. And ther's no camera on eath that weight 1 1/2 lbs. I even tried without the camera. I have a rule that if I have to weigh multiple times, the weight that comes up the most consistently wins. So there you have it.

Measurables:

200 lbs, 2.5 lbs lost this week, 21 lbs lost since first weigh in, best guess of overall weight loss 25 lbs!

Why get excited about still being 25 lbs overweight? For me, the number '200' is a big emotional thing. Its a dividing line between the wheezing, blubbery old man I had become and the all-around in shape dude I want to be. Getting there makes me want to try all that much harder.

My hair is also starting to look good (only a mini-mullet right now). I was actually mistaken for a woman TWICE last week!

Weigh In Number 10

At least the news this week is a little better. Didn't quite reach 200 like I was hoping, but it's now firmly in sight:

202.5 lbs, 2 lbs lost this week, 18.5 lbs lost since first weigh in, best guess of overall weigh loss 22.5 lbs .

Gotta bear down this week. I want 200 so bad, I can taste it.

It's not like I'm going to slack off or anything once I reach it; to the contrary, it SHOULD inspire me to try a little harder. After all, I'm not even halfway to where I want to be. Stay tuned.

Weigh in Number 9

I didn't post this last week because I was so danged mad at myself I couldn;t see straight. It was one os those weeks where I thought I did everything right. In fact, I ratcheted everything up a notch, trying to get to that elusive 200 lbs. It was so close, I could smell it.

The result? I gained half a pound. Bleh.

204.5 lbs, 16 lbs lost since first weigh in, best guess of overall loss - 20 lbs.

Yuck.