battle of the bulge: the beginning

Ok, so like many Americans these days, I need to lose some weight, I’d say about 15 or 20 pounds, though I’d be happy with 10 to start. I’ve been kinda sorta half-heartedly “dieting” for a few months now, surprisingly with little success. That’s a joke. I know I haven’t been committed to the effort, so I’ve really only maintained my current weight, which isn’t a bad thing, just not what I was going for. Now with our beach vacation coming up at the end of June, I realize it’s time to get serious if I’m going to take my shirt off in front of people other than my wife (I can’t do anything about my albino-like skin tone, but if I can look more like a slightly flubby vampire instead of a bloated nightmare creature from the deep, I’ll be happy). Don’t get me wrong – I’m not obese by any means, but like many men my age, I have an ever-growing problem in the gut area.

I’ve always relied on Weight Watchers (not the meetings, etc., just the tools and methodology) for my dieting phases (my typical modus operandi is lose the weight then do ok on my own until I realize that the previously shed pounds have insidiously crept back onto my torso, rinse and repeat). What I realized from this past “effort” (I use that term in the loosest possible way – I’m not trying to kid myself) is that dieting alone, which worked well for me in the past (towards the end of college I lost 25 pounds doing WW with no real exercise) no longer holds up against the ever-increasing inefficiency of my body (i.e. I’m getting old). So now I have to diet and get serious about exercising on a regular basis as well, which I know I need to do anyway, which I am, you don’t have to tell me, so get off my back!

Sorry. Anyway, I will be posting my progress (no pics though, I will spare you that much at least) as we go. Again, my bottom-rung goal is to lose 10 pounds, which should be feasible in a month (I honestly don’t know what the potential weight-loss cap during a month is, but I can tell you that I won’t be wearing one of those shiny sweat suits or sleeping in a sauna, so 10 pounds sounds ok). If I can lose more than that without going to extreme measures, that’s cool. Hopefully knowing that I will be posting the info here will keep my focused, though I can tell you that I can already feel that I am truly determined this time. Of course, my wife will say “that’s what you said last time” which is true, but I mean it this time, just like I did last time. But it really is for real this time. But I said that last time too, so you’ll just have to take my word for it I guess. Either way, I’m gonna do it, so look for the Battle of the Bulge update next week!