Wendy and I have recently had friends asking questions about my weight so I thought I’d address them here and just get it out in the open. Yes, I have intentionally lost weight over the last seven or eight months. I’m perfectly healthy and within what is the normal weight range for a man my age and height. I’m feeling great.
For the record, while I’ve never considered myself tremendously overweight, this is the second time in my life that I’ve dropped a significant amount of weight. In both cases, it was seeing myself in photographs that motivated me to act. The first instance came somewhere around 1997. While going through a bunch of photographs it was a young Madison (never one for mincing words) who pointed to a picture of me and said, “Look, it’s FAT DADDY!” She was right. For the first time in my life the scale was reading above 200 pounds and heading upwards.
It was just about this time that the Atkins low-carb diet was all the rage. I can’t say that I ever followed it or any other kind of strict diet plan. I just cut my carbs to the bone, ate smaller portions of high protein foods and started moving. Over the next couple of years I dropped from around 205 lbs down to just under 160. My weight moderated around 160 for several years as I transitioned into maintaining a moderate diet.
It’s amazing how easy it is for life changes to affect your habits. Over the past few years I slowly began eating bigger portions, snacking more and exercising less. I never felt tremendously unhealthy or fat, but at the beginning of 2012 I saw some pictures of myself. I didn’t like what I saw and I heard in my head a five-year-old Madison’s voice saying “Look, it’s FAT DADDY!” I realized that something once more had to change. Without saying much to Wendy, I began to quietly change my eating habits and dropped a few pounds.
As this past winter began giving way to spring, Wendy and I had a meeting with one of our co-workers whom we had not seen in some time. When he walked into the meeting we were both shocked to see how much weight he’d lost and how good he looked. He shared with us that he’d joined Weight Watchers On-line and it had worked for him. Wendy began investigating the program and encouraged me to join with her and work together on getting healthy.
My first reaction to Wendy’s suggestion was: “No way! I’ve lost weight before on my own and I don’t need to spend money on some program that’s going to tell me what I can and can’t eat.” It took me about a day to be thoroughly convicted that I was acting like a stubborn, hard-headed ass when I needed to partner with my wife in getting healthy together. In March we signed-up for Weight Watchers On-line and began working together on changing our eating habits.
What can I say? It worked. This post is not intended to be an advertisement or endorsement for Weight Watchers, but the thing we’ve liked about Weight Watchers On-line is that there are no special meals to buy. The process simply helped us realize what foods were good for us, which foods were actually bad for us, and how to modify our portions to appropriate sizes. As a result, Wendy and I are eating healthier and eating appropriate portions. Over six months I dropped just over 35 pounds. I’ve started exercising to build strength and muscle tone. I’m now wearing clothing sizes I’ve not worn since high school and college. For anyone who may have been worried, I’m done losing and feeling like I’m at the right place. Now it’s time to maintain and stay healthy!
