Three Month Circus - A Retrospective

Welcome back to the center ring.  On January 30th I weighed in for the first time.  On that day I weighed a touch over 440 pounds.  I had decided on a whim, if a whim can last two weeks, to finally get serious about my weight and as a carrot towards my success I would publicly post my weight and my struggles.  Today, three months later, my success has pleasantly surprised me.  Not that I did not hope for the kind of results I have achieved, but that I always doubted that I could get them.  Past experience has shown me to be a bit lazy and prone to self-sabotage.  Part of the reason I started the blog was to counterbalance those tendencies.  I am much more reluctant to let my friends down than myself, and I was banking on my self importance to outweigh the rest.  Whatever psychological motivations I can ascribe to the process it has worked.  As of today I am down a touch over 65 pounds, sitting exactly at 375.  I am as light, or close to as light, as I have been since high school.  In January I was wearing size 58 pants and 4XL shirts, which were a bit snug.  In the picture you will see from today I am wearing a well fitting 3XL shirt and slacks at a 54 waist, although they are already a touch roomy and my jeans are 52s.

Beyond the physical results I have made some really positive discoveries and changes in my everyday life.  I always knew that I enjoyed cooking, but being forced to cook more to achieve the weight loss results I want has allowed me to really expand my kitchen skills (and selection of tools).  Though I have not exercised as much as I think I should, and it still proves to be the hardest part of my overall health life, what I have done has shown me that with a little imagination it does not have to be unbearable.  I have decorated my apartment with some of the gorgeous lake vistas I have seen while out on my walks and each time I see one of the photos it is a pleasant reminder of the need to get out of my apartment and take a walk.  Taking control of one section of my life has pushed me to be proactive in many more aspects of my life.  I have been much more proactive in sending out headshots and searching for auditions.  I have kept my living space cleaner (for the most part, I am still a messy guy).

I still have a long way to go, and in truth this is a lifelong journey, and likely struggle, that I will have with my weight and health, but it has been a truly excellent beginning.  My thanks go to every single person who has read this blog, and especially to those of you who have left words of encouragement.  This weekend I will be searching for a couple more recipes in the recipe book I received from some of my friends, so tune back in to see whose gets chosen and how they turn out.

Here is a look back in pictures at how my weight loss has gone:

 Directing in August '09.  I was a bit lighter then than in January, but not much.

My siblings and me at Christmas '09.

Cooking in late March.  This one has been posted previously.

Today.  Sorry for the large section of wall, but I have few flat surfaces in my apartment high enough to get a good picture.  This is on top of my bookcase.

It is a good start. Onward.