9 months later

I've lost about 15lbs now.  At this rate I'll lose 20 by Christmas.  So not bad.  With any luck I will have accomplished half of my goal, the rest in 2015.

Veegee.

8 months later...

I've lost 10 pounds.  Ordinarily, this would be great news.  But the goal is 40 and I'm less than 2.5 months away.  At this point I'm shooting for 15, and hope to lose the rest during my 40th year.

It’s about the narrator, dummy.

We have all heard them before: the stories our parents tell us about ourselves when we were younger. The same stories over and over again.  Moments we remember through memories other than our own.

“You used to cry when you saw the mountains.  You said the trees were tall and scary.”

“You would open all the cabinet doors.  You would close all the cabinet doors.  You were the cabinet Nazi.”

I would always wonder why they would laugh each time they recalled the silliness.  What is so nostalgic about a kid who fixates over cabinets?

35 years later I figured it out.

The stories were never about me. They were about themselves, as they saw the world a lifetime ago.

“You were adorable.”

Two Weeks In

So I've been at this lifestyle-change of a diet for a couple of weeks now.  And I've lost about two and a half pounds.  By lifestyle-change I mean:

• No alcohol 4-5 days a week
• Walking more
• Salads for lunch
• Stretching before I sleep

I guess you would say "I am on track" two weeks into this experiment. 

Day 3: By the numbers

I just did the math.  If I have 330 days (well 328 now) to lose 40 pounds, I need to lose 1 pound every 8.25 days.  That's one 1 pound a week.

I can do that.

Day 2: The Weigh In

I figure a weigh in is the first step of any self-respecting weight loss program.  So I bought an electronic bathroom scale for that purpose.  I know, I didn't have to, but I am nothing if not an overachiever (more on that later).

I weighed in at XXX.  No, I'm not being coy -- it doesn't matter what my actual weight is.  Not to you, at least.  What matters is the delta I'm shooting for.  And that number is 40. 

To recap:

Current weight: XXX
Goal: XXX - 40

Day 1

Everyone has to start somewhere.  This time around, I'm starting here.  Today.  In approximately 11 months, that's 330 days, give or take a few, I will be turning 40.  Before that time, I want to lose some weight.  More specifically, I want to lose 40 pounds. 

Lose 40 before turning 40.  I know, I need to think of a better tag line.  Also, I doubt if I'll lose close to that.  The point is, everyone has to start somewhere.

I'm starting here, today.