No dog brag time

It's time that I finally brag on something that R and I have been doing since the first of the year. I had just about reached maximum density, and R wasn't real happy with where her body was headed. We decided that we both would work together and try to become not just lighter but healthier. Four and a half months later, we've both made huge strides towards our goals. Actually, R has reached and passed hers already. I've reached and passed my short-term goal of losing 25 lbs while lifting weights. So, I've lost a couple of inches in my waist (damn, I wish I had taken some measurements other than weight at the beginning). I've worn 38" waist pants for many years and haven't seen the south side of 36's since, oh, the late 80's. Now, my jeans and shorts are literally falling off (walking through the Mart of Wals) and my shirts are pretty baggy. Everything has gotten leaner, from my neck all the way to my legs. I've gone from a personal high of 250 down to 220 lbs! This is very close to my post-divorce-diet weight!

I haven't been under 200 since I put on the Freshman forty in 1985/86. My long-term goal is to get below 200 lbs for at least a little while and then hold around 205'ish. I figure if I can do that, I'll have restored at least a few days on to my life expectancy!

I've been on a pretty serious exercise regimen as well. I hit the gym for weight lifting at least 3 days a week, usually four. I'm not quite benching my all-time high, but I'm getting there. I'm doing cardio usually three times a week, right now I'm up to running between 17 and 21 minutes.

The hardest part about losing weight has been changing my eating habits. I love to eat, love good, rich food. I never really thought I ate too much, I didn't snack all the time or eat huge portions. R went on-line and signed up for Weight Watchers. She did a damn good job keeping up with the points while I rode her coattails. We figured out what we needed to cut out (mostly anything white) and what we needed to keep/increase (!). We've pretty much gone whole grain when we have to go "grain" at all, we've increased our veggie/fruit portions and we're maintaining a healthy balance of proteins (fish, chicken, some pork and some beef). The hardest part for me is limiting beer. I love me some good beer, but good beer packs on the lbs. So, I try hard to keep the consumption of said treat to a minimum. Mostly I succeed, but with Summer around the corner, it'll get harder and harder to resist!

Where does the next six months lead? Hopefully fulfilling my goal of getting below 200 lbs. I know that I'm going to keep up with my running since I feel so damn good when I finish (although it's hard as hell to get going). I plan on running the Peachtree Road Race again in 2008 (last time was 26 years ago). I better work on getting some side jobs so that I can buy a new wardrobe.

What I'm really looking forward to is having people not recognize me! Oh, and hopefully you won't ask if I'm sick!