Funny. Ha. Ha.

Today the whole fam went to the gym to swim in the summer sun for a little while.  The pool was pleasantly deserted when we arrived, so my lovely wife suggested that I let my torso see the light of day.  I haven't gone shirtless since 1997, when I was (temporarily) completely unashamed of a physique I worked very hard to obtain...and that didn't last very long.  After anguishing for several minutes, and I'm sure looking like a pathetic little boy, I acquiesced...hey, I lost 36 pounds...

I was SO SELF CONSCIOUS!!!  I kept looking all around me and being so afraid of anyone daring to come into the pool area...it was still completely deserted except for lesbourgeoisie.  Adrienne got tired of it, though: "NO ONE'S GONNA SEE YOU, BRAD!  We're the only ones here!  Stop worrying about it, no one's looking at you! "

Suddenly I hear, "Hey, Brad!"  I didn't see Adrienne's lips moving.  I whipped around to see a former co-worker.  My wonderful wife started laughing and I carried on my conversation with my co-worker while half naked.  Hooray for summer fun.

In OTHER NEWS!!! {*delightful squeals*} My  new favorite person Paul Newman has created a line of healthy (sort of) Oreos!!!!!!!!!!! (if that wasn't enough gratuitous exclamation points, here are some more: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ).  Newman-O's are made with no hydrogenated oils - only expeller pressed ones, and use organic evaporated cane juice as sugar.  Still have the calories and fat, but the fat is in the least poisonous form.  I'd sworn off Oreos late last year because they're just full of "sugared Crisco."  NO MORE!   Thanks to Paul Newman!  The fact that this feat is possible makes me mad at Nabisco for continuing to sell the Nasteos with all the trans-fats!

So we bought a bag today...they're super-good, but you know what?  After going so long without...they're just too sweet for me.  Kind of a bummer, but in a good way

Good stuff...

Good reports:

I currently weigh 235 lbs, down from 270 on January 1, 2006.  A 35 lb loss, and the most I've ever shed (unfortunately, I weighed the most I ever had to start).

I'm enjoying little things, like being faced with resizing my wedding band because it's too big and falls off a lot.  Like having only one li'l hole left in my black dress belt, so I'll have to take an ice pick to it eventually, or buy a SMALLER ONE!

I'm currently ON VACATION, and wearing brand new and SMALLER clothes...wish our digital camera hadn't died, or I could post how different I look from the picture on the left!

I'm LOVING physical activity, and feel like I'm in a funk if I miss a day of working out.

I love the healthy stuff I'm eating, and even when I have some kind of craving for the bad stuff I used to be in the habit of eating, I'm always disappointed in how it actually tastes and feels.

I think I'm on a roll!  Rejoice with me!   Thanks so much for your encouragements!

EDIT:  Oh, and I climbed a 1,011 foot mountain last weekend...TWICE!! 

Finally, an update

From January 1 through April 30 I've shed 30 lbs!  I'm feeling great, especially now that I'm really back on the wagon.  It's been so long since I posted anything because I've been crazy busy at work.

Bottom line - I'm back to weighing what I weighed when I got married, and now that I'm back on the wagon (my eating and exercise, while still taking place over the past month, was not nearly as strict as Jan-March were), I should be shedding even more.  I'm training right now to climb Mt. Pinnacle in Little Rock on May 20, which is approaching way too quickly.  I climbed it last year and thought I'd never see my daughter be born because I'd have been a tasty snack for some vultures on the mountain.  So this year I don't want the same thing to happen.

I'm fitting into clothes I haven't worn since I got married, and my pants are becoming bigger and bigger.  I want to post a pic of me wearing a shirt it's been a goal of mine to wear, but I can't find the picture...dunno.

Thanks for your prayers and support!

Go me! Go me!

I'm down 22 pounds since January 1! 

I was getting a little frustrated and down on myself because the last couple of weeks I'd seen very little change (one week I even gained 0.5 lb...big whoop, I know, but it wasn't the direction I was aiming for).  I was trying to be really strict with my eating, but I wasn't exercising...I had a bad cold for a week, then for the following week-and-a-half I didn't exercise either...very busy at work - about to be derailed, though in the back of my mind I knew I wasn't off the wagon.  I noticed that I actually felt more fatigued and less energetic since I'd stopped working out.  The kinds of foods I was eating were giving me bursts of energy until I had to work out   I started back up this week and the weight started coming back off.

So I started at 270 and now I'm at 248 - in a little over 2 months.  I'm feeling better and better.  I'm thinking after losing 10 more pounds I'll be able to fit in a brand new 4-year-old Brooks Brothers suit hanging in my closet with the tags still on it.  I bought it on our honeymoon and it remains ever unworn.  April 15 we'll be in a Katrina-afflicted municipality for a certain event that I'm not sure I can discuss lest someone connected to it randomly stumbles upon this, but it involves a suit and tie...think I can make it?  (Nevermind, a beautiful bird over my shoulder just said it wasn't a surprise - Adrienne's grandparents' 50th anniversary party in New Orleans).

Oh, and I finished Eat to Live.  It was so hard core at cutting animal products out of the diet and pro-vegetarian that it was somewhat intimidating.  I've followed it as much as possible and as much as is practical, and I really like the results and the foods I'm eating.  The author, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, also has a website - www.drfuhrman.com - that's really helpful. 

Currently Reading Eat to Live : The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss By Joel Fuhrman see related

Yuck!

I'm dreading the scale in the morning.  I've been pretty strict with my eating all along, with any "cheats" being very insignificant and quite moderate...no bingeing (which is an appropriate form of the word "binge") on high calorie, low nutrient stuff...mainly existing on salads, fresh fruits and vegetables, and whole grains, with a taste here and there of something "bad" (maybe one meal in 10 instead of 8-10 meals in 10 like it used to be)  I'm still dreading my weekly weigh-in tomorrow just because I feel fat...I know I've lost a good bit of weight for only 7 weeks having passed, but I guess I thought I'd fit better into some older shirts - though I did get into my nice black suit Sunday - couldn't button the jacket, but could easily fit into the slacks.  Sunday I woke up with a nasty cold, though, and felt like I needed rest more than exercise...so I'm on day two of no exercise...I was really strict with my eating on both days, I'm just afraid of falling off the wagon when I have so far to go.  We'll see, I guess...hope to get back to at least a little calorie-burning tomorrow...sorry for the rambling.