The Big Loser

Well, I've been losing weight since Christmas Eve, when my tooth pain flared up and I could barely eat for two weeks. After the tooth was taken care of, I started watching carefully what I eat and exercising each day (except Sunday). So far, I've dropped about 20 pounds or so. I'm down to just over 300, which seems like more than it is until you realize that I'm 6'4" tall. It's not just weight that I've lost, though. It's inches too. I can no longer wear the jeans I've been wearing for the past year. They literally fell off me on Friday when I dressed for casual day at school. Today while shopping, I had to keep pulling them up, and when I tried to tighten my belt, I discovered that I was already on the tightest notch. Inspired by this and my wife's comment that my shirt looked empty, I went upstairs and tried on some older clothes that hadn't fit in a long time. I'm proud to say that I have lost an entire shirt size!

This is exciting to me on several levels. First of all, I feel healthier, with more energy than I've had in some time. Second, I know it's sustainable. It really isn't that hard to get on my bike in the morning and watch DVR-recorded shows from the night before. I've also learned enough about cooking over the past 20 years that I know how to prepare food that I both like and are not bad for me. Third, if I can get down to a 2XL shirt size, which I haven't worn since around 1993, I can save all kinds of money on clothes, not to mention the fact that it opens a world of possibilities because more types of clothes are available in that size. I'd really like to be able to wear a comic book t-shirt to a convention or a Tigers jersey that doesn't look like a hot air balloon to Comerica Park. It's also going to be easier to get camping gear, because 300 pounds seems to be the magic number as far as capacity for camp chairs, loungers, and bed frames.

I'm not sure what my ultimate goal will be. I've seen several sources that say that 210 pounds is the ideal weight for a large-framed man at my height. I've got bad news for these sources. I was 210 pounds when I graduated from high school and I was rail-thin. I think I'll just stick to the 2XL shirt size as my goal, no matter what the scale says.