December 15, 2009. 223.2--211.2

I have now been a Weight Watcher for 1 year and 2 days. While reflecting over these past 12 months, it occured to me that I somehow let 2 months slip by without updating this blog. Sadly, I do not have an updated picture to post but will add one soon.

Several things have happened since October that I'm eager to share. The first is that I reached Lifetime Status with Weight Watchers on Saturday, November 21st. This means that, over a six week period, I was able to show that I cannot only lose weight but maintain that loss as well. Lifetime members only have to weigh in once a month and can attend any meeting at any time for free so long as they are not over 2 pounds of their goal (227 is the limit for me).

I also dropped another pant size in the last two months--I am now wearing 32x32s--down from 50x30s a year ago--fulfilling my lifelong dream to be as big around as I am tall :P

As of last weekend, I am weighing in at 211.2 for a total weight loss of 182 lbs. I have decided to work toward weighing in at 193.2 for a couple of reasons. First of all, I think it would be pretty cool to be able to say that I've lost 200 lbs! The second reason is slightly more serious--at 211.2 I am still considered obese. Judging by the BMI scale, a 28 year old man of my height should weigh, at the most, 195 pounds. I'm interested to see how I both feel and look at "normal" weight. It'll also be pretty sweet to be a part of the "Onederland" community for a while.

I usually avoid making New Year's Resolutions but the one I hope to stick to this year is to keep this blog updated on a more consistent basis--I'd hate for any of you to think I fell off the wagon in between posts...

October 13, 2009 marks my 10-month anniversary as a Weight Watcher and I have reached a very important milestone! As of this past Saturday, I have officially reached my ultimate weight loss goal. That goal (which was set several months back) was 225 pounds. With Saturday's weigh-in, I am now down to 223.2 for a total weight loss of 170 pounds!!! And I feel GREAT!

Just for fun yesterday, I decided to try on some of my old clothes (second picture from the top). Those are 50x32 pants and a XXXXL shirt. Back in December, these would have been edging in on getting too tight to wear. The bottom picture is me in my new clothes: 34x32 pants and an XL shirt. Did I mention that I feel GREAT?

Notice that I am referring to this as a milestone. I do that on purpose because I am not finished being transformed. I am now beginning the process of maintenance--a period of time in which I try to find the sweet spot for my metabolism. I will spend the next 6 weeks trying to figure out how many calories my body requires to maintain this weight. The good news is that I get to eat a little more than I have been for the past couple of months! The stressful part is trying to pinpoint exactly how much extra is the right amount for my body.

If, at the end of this six week period, I am within two pounds of 225, I will become a lifetime member of Weight Watcher--no longer having to pay the monthly fee while maintaining all of the benefits of a member so long as I stay within range of 225 on a month-to-month basis. I am also pursuing part-time employment with Weight Watchers so that I can help others just as I have been helped along my journey.

Another important milestone this past month was reached on Friday, October 2nd. I set out early that morning to set a new personal record for myself. I was going to run 12 miles (previous best was 10.2 miles)! I reached that goal, which was great...but I decided that that day was going to be exceptional. So even though everything inside of me was done...ready to go to the house to rest up and get ready for work, I decided to push through an extra 2 miles. That's right, I ran 14 miles on Friday, October 2, 2009--more than a half-marathon!

I need to begin dreaming new dreams and setting new goals for myself as this journey continues. Many of you know that I abhor only focusing on short term goals. Short term goals lead to short term success. So my ultimate goal will always be to be healthy--ongoing and lifelong. There is so much that I'll be able to do that would have been impossible just 10 months ago.

I'm done being big...it's time to dream big.

September 14, 2009. 241.4--236.2

Another month has come and gone and I am still trucking al0ng on my way to never being the guy I had allowed myself to become ever again! 9 months and 157 pounds ago, I had become a settler. I was pretty sure I had allowed myself to go too far to ever turn things around. I felt that I needed my daily fix of fatty foods and that I simply could not function without them. I knew I couldn't exercise...I mean what's a 393.2 pounder going to do when the weight limit on the treadmill is only 275?!?!?!?!?!??!?

So I settled. I settled for the way things were, believing that I was powerless to overcome them. But then something clicked. All these months now, I've been trying to figure out what that "something" was but can't quite peg it down. It was something deep inside that changed my overall mindset--something that made me realize that I was worth way too much to just settle for the corner I'd painted myself into...something that made me desire so much more out of life than morbid obesity could ever offer...something that would not settle for anything less than exceptional change.

So I started my journey--one pound...one new experience...one victory at a time.

This month I do not have a dramatic weight loss to report--I've only dropped 5.2 pounds this month. I actually gained a little bit in late August/early September. I spent a rather lethargic week fighting a chest cold and didn't exercise much. But I am still right where I'd intended to be. And ANY loss is a good loss when it comes to the battle of the bulge!

I do have two "non-scale" victories to report this month. Many of you know that I've fallen in love with running. I love to push myself as far as I can and then go a little further...I've found that if you persistently go a little further than you ever thought possible, pretty soon that "little bit further" becomes "not quite far enough." So with that mindset, I woke up early a couple of Saturdays ago and actually ran 10.2 miles in a little over 2 hours!!!!!!!!!!!! As I continue to build off of that progress, I should have no trouble with the half-marathon I plan on entering in November. Stay tuned!

The second victory of the month actually came as a surprise. I had saved several pair 38" pants from around the time of our wedding. I was thrilled when they finally started fitting again just a few months ago. This past weekend, I threw on a pair of those jeans and was about to leave the house when I realized that they were terribly droopy...

So we hit the stores. I tried on the 36" pants and the same was true--they were too droopy as well! So, I am proud to say that I am now wearing a 34" waist!!! That's down from a 50" when I started this journey 9 months ago yesterday!!!! So I got new pants and (as you can tell from my current photo above, I need to go pick up a new belt as well).

5.2 Pound Weight Loss + New Running Record + Down 2 Pant Sizes This Month = Major Win!

Weight Loss Journey-August 2009

258.2-241.4

August 13th marked my 8 month anniversary as a Weight Watcher and several goals have been met.

First of all, I have my regular 6 month check-up with my doctor coming up this week. For years every visit to him ended in the same way--"Matt, you know your family's history as well as I do--if you don't get your weight under control, you're going to have terrible health for the rest of your life." I would generally scoff at his judgment and hit Mr. Ghatti's pizza buffet on my way home--you know, because I was on that side of town...

Well, last time I went in for my 6 month check up was after 2 months as a Weight Watcher. I had lost over 40 pounds and was (for the first time in a long time) finally weighable on his scale that only went up to 350 lbs. I was so proud of myself and that fool didn't say anything about it! He didn't even bring it up. Ugh...

I left fuming and set a goal to have lost 150 pounds by the time of my next visit. Well that visit is coming up on the 19th and as of this past Saturday, I have lost 151.8 pounds!!!! If he ignores 150 pounds lost, I may just have to throw him out of the window!

Another goal reached this month has to do with the last time I was on Weight Watchers. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I used Weight Watchers as a DIET to lose a bunch of weight before my wedding back in 2005. I lost 109 pounds and got down to 247 lbs. Then I got cocky--I remember thinking, "I don't need to pay these people to weigh me! I've lost 109 pounds!"

As always, short term goals lead to short term success. I started to gain weight back immediately after I quit Weight Watchers. And I know that at this point, some bozo is going to use that last statement as an excuse to not change their life for the better--"See, you can lose all of that weight on Weight Watchers, but as soon as you stop following the plan, you'll gain it all back!"

Weight Watchers does not work long term as a diet. The beautiful thing, though, is that it is not intended to be a diet. Diets end. Lifestyles are forever. I failed to grasp that the first time around, but now I know it and live it every day! But I digress...

I got down to 247 and started to gain weight back immediately. Why is that significant? Well, I graduated high school back in 1999 weighing in at or around 250. So, it's official, with a weigh in this past Saturday at 241.4, I am now the lightest I have been since I was a senior in high school! That feels pretty good!

And finally, I cannot stop running. I started out in December, only able to do 2 minutes on a treadmill at 2.5 mph. I recently ran 7.5 miles in 1-1/2 hours!

Only 16.4 lbs to go to goal!!!

Weight Loss Journey--July 2009

271.8-258.2

It's bloggin' time again! Today marks my 7-month anniversary as a Weight Watcher. As of this past Saturday, I have lost 135 pounds exactly--from 393.2 to 258.2 lbs.

Other victories this month include:

* Running the entire Firecracker 5k in 35 min, 37 sec. When I started Weight Watchers, I tried to walk on a treadmill and couldn't last a minute. Now I regularly run for 45 minutes!!!

* I now wear an XL shirt (down from a 3-4XL)

* I'm also wearing a 36 in. waist (down from a 50 in. waist 7 months ago)

Weight Loss Journey--June 2009

285.2-271.8

Well, it's the 13th again, which means that it's time for my monthly weight-loss blog. But this 13th is special. Today is my 6 month Weight Watchers anniversary.On December 13, 2008 I wandered in to my first Weight Watchers meeting thinking I'd better start turning my life around before it was too late. I had no idea that morning how close to too late I'd actually gotten!

I weighed in at 393.2 pounds and felt about as embarassed, frustrated, and sick as I'd ever been. This morning I weighed in at 271.8 pounds for a total weight loss of 121.4 pounds and a total percentage weight loss just under 31%. My goal for this date was 120 lbs lost...but I'll take the 121.4 I'm sitting here thinking about how thankful I am for the Weight Watchers lifestyle. This is not an unsustainable diet that will help me lose weight for a time but a way of life that, should I choose to live it (moment by moment, decision by decision, day by day) will be a part of who I am for the rest of my days.

A few more victories this past month include:

* Not having to pay the extra $2 for extended sizes

* Coming in 5th place at Shreveport First's Faith Promise 5K (last year, I came in dead last)

* Wearing a shirt that I received for Christmas years ago and have been unable to wear!

Weight Loss Journey--May 2009

298.8-285.2

It's time for my monthly weight-loss journey update and I have another milestone to report. I have now lost over 100 pounds (108 to be exact).That's right! In a little under 5 months, I have gone from 393.2 lbs to 285.2 lbs...from a 50" waist to a 38" waist (as of last night)...and from NO energy to A LOT of energy.I still have 60.2 lbs to lose before I reach my goal of 225 and I have a plan--I'm going to lose one at a time and NEVER come back again!!!!