note: this particular post will be far less self-deprecating than you or I may be normally accustomed to. this will have the additional effect of this entry being far less humorous and perhaps even overly self-indulgent. fair warning. sorry.
I started this interwebular log in February… frustrated and embarrassed by how out-of-shape I had become. The hope was to use this as a public forum for embarrassment, motivation, humor (and no small amount of surreptitious self-promotion), and accountability. I had weighed myself at our not-oft used health club, and it was somewhere in the mid 240’s. That’s a lot. My first “official” weigh-in (on my scale, for continuity) was 239.6 lbs on February 22nd.
The goal was to “get healthy”. Eat healthier, work out regularly, begin running, etc. I didn’t have a hard and fast weight number I was shooting for, but I thought that somewhere in the 200’s (ie below 210) would be a good target… and was honestly really hoping to crack that 200 number and get back in “the 1’s”, but I didn’t know if that was realistic.
Well… I’m 23 weeks into this thing, and I did it. Today’s “Fat Friday” weigh-in was…
198.8 lbs
I've been checking this scale for six months. Finally, I got that first digit down to a 1...
199! I feel pretty good about that. Officially, more than 40 pounds lost. Unofficially, probably closer to 45 pounds. I mean, if you walk into a weight room and pick up a 45 lbs plate… and think that’s how much weight used to be a part of me… and now just doesn’t exist. It’s almost a bit strange.
I’ve greatly reduced my gravitational pull over the last 6 months. And I accomplished it with better eating and hard work… losing a healthy and gradual amount of weight… about 1% of my body weight per week (that’s what’s advised as “healthy” anyway). 45 pounds over 23 weeks. Yahoo.
This doesn’t mean I’m done. I still have some weight to lose. Getting into the 180’s is not out of the question. But, my focus will shift slightly. I can move from “Phase 1” to “Phase 2″… which will focus on keeping the weight off during the busy beginnings of a new school year, and then maybe a bit more redistribution (socialism!) of the weight I’m currently carrying.
Regarding the redistribution, I’ve obviously reduced mass from my gut, face, neck, etc… you know, places you *want* to lose weight. But since most of my efforts have been cycling and running, I’ve also lost relatively substantial mass from my upper body, and arms specifically. I didn’t have much muscle mass there to begin with, but at this point I’m getting closer to becoming a real-life example of one of those stick people that you draw with an oval and twig arms.
I don’t have too many goals at this point in regards to strength… but it would be nice, for instance, to be able to do more than 4 consecutive granny push-ups. We’ll see.
Anyway, despite this being a space where I normally embarrass myself (see previous sentence), I am actually feeling relatively proud and accomplished today. I hit a goal that I hadn’t even fully made because I wasn’t even sure if it was realistic. It’s been a pretty drastic change in lifestyle and I’m hoping it becomes a pretty drastic change in appearance & overall health as well.
Hopefully I can keep the trend continuing in that direction. I’m excited to see where this ends up…
dan vs fat 
This is quite impressive, Dan. My parents did a similar thing last year. In their case losing 50 and 70 lbs respectively. I started at 220, but like you, would like to get into the 1s. You’ve done good work.