Cut the fat

Howard Ballou called me out on WLBT last night. It’s time to cut the fat.

Well, to be honest, I signed up for this myself. I saw on Facebook yesterday where he was doing a series on losing weight in Mississippi.  And earlier that morning, I had decided to do something about my ever-increasing waistline.  A public challenge is exactly what I need.  I dropped Howard a note.

Flashback to October 31, 2010. I ran the Marine Corps Marathon and was in the best shape of my life. I had trained for several months, which included trips to the gym three times a week. My body was a machine and I was truly alive. I had energy to spare.

The next week the wheels came off.  The Clarion-Ledger cut me to part-time, completely altering my schedule. I turned to food to give me the emotional lift I needed as I tried to heal from the physical beating my body had taken during the marathon.  And I also turned to sweets to bring me out of the dumps from being demoted at work.  I stopped running.  I skipped the gym. And then when I did run a week later, I broke my toe.  It was off to the fat races from that point.

I took on a second job at SuperTalk FM (a blessing) and now work 12 to 15 hours a day.  Fatigue set in and I chose food to give me energy. The wrong foods.  I started eating on the fly and eating nothing but fast food.  The pounds kept piling on.  I became more fatigued.  I propped myself up with sugar and Diet Mountain Dew.

Today I weigh 222 lbs, up 22 from the marathon. My clothes don’t fit. I have reflux. And I have no energy.  I feel like crap.

Howard Ballou is the deep-voiced muse to inspire me to start making better choices.  I’m going to make my efforts very public.  I’ll have Howard on my radio show. And he called me out on TV.  I’ll keep you up-to-date on my progress. And let you know how I’m doing it.  My goal is 25 pounds. I could easily lose 40 and be happy.

My plan:

1. Start running again.  Slowly, of course. I’m running the Peachtree 10K Road Race on July 4. That’s my first goal.
2. I’m switching to Green Tea instead of diet drinks.
3. Start packing my own lunch and taking 20 minutes to sit down and enjoy my lunch. Pack small, healthy snacks to eat every two hours so my blood sugar doesn’t crash, making me want sweets.
4. I’m cutting my portions.
5. I’m not eating after 8 p.m.
6. I’m drinking more water.

I’ll sit down and make out a more thorough chart of what I’m going to do, but this is a start.  I would imagine if I can get back down to 190 or so, I’ll have much more energy to deal with my hectic life.  And if I get that thin, Howard won’t be calling me out on TV any more!

P.S. Howard has put his money (and not food) where his mouth is. He has lost several pounds already and looks great.