Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Please Indulge Me While I Celebrate My Own Accomplishment That You Don't Care About

FYI, before you read to much, this post is pretty much me describing how proud of myself I am, so don't say I didn't warn you. Well, here goes nothing.

On July 10, 2007, I weighed in at 206 lbs. and was given less than preferred rates on a life insurance policy, as my cholesterol was 10 points too high. Kristi showed me a picture of me at a lake and I was in shock at my appearance. (Granted, nothing like the people on Biggest Loser or anything) I set a goal to weigh 170 lbs. by the end of the year and accomplish that by eating a more healthy diet and exercising more often. I figured the eating part shouldn't be too hard, since I was surviving on Mountain Dew, cookie dough, red meat, and very little else. (Ask Kristi, this is MAYBE a slight exaggeration only)

I started to eat less food, stopped gorging myself when I did eat, and ate foods that wouldn't kill me within 3 days of consumption. The initial weight came off pretty fast, and I figured I would be to my goal in no time. I got under 180 pounds by September or so, and kind of leveled out there. My cholesterol levels went down, and I was able to get re-tested for the insurance, and got the super preferred rate. The holidays soon came, and while I actually did pretty well and gained no weight, I didn't exactly lose any either.

I figured that I should probably start working out to lose the last few pounds. So the week before Christmas, I started working out at a little gym we have in our office building. I got down to 172 pounds, but must admit I did not make my goal of 170 lbs. by Jan 1, 2008.

However, I did make my goal on Jan. 5, 2008. I weighed in at 168.8 pounds. I was excited to say the very least. Kristi I am sure is very sick of me talking about how good I feel (so much more energy!) and how glad I am to be down to pre-mission weight.

I can only hope that I can keep this up and keep the weight off and not revert to old habits. It is amazing to see how easy it is to gorge ourselves in this world we live in. I always find myself thinking things like, "Wow, 1 cookie was good, I bet 6 would be better!" or always going with the 44 oz. Mtn. Dew instead of the 12 oz. (Not gonna lie, that is still my vice. I love me some Mountain Dew. Mmmmmmm)

Kristi has promised that she will join in the fun as soon as she is done being preggers. We currently take turns sitting on our exercise ball at night doing stretches/minor arm weight lifting. I hope I can get her to the gym with me periodically after the baby comes to keep me on the straight and narrow. She looks incredible still, and I am truly not just saying that for her benefit. I honestly don't think she looks like she has gained an ounce (aside from the obvious bump in the tummy region of course) and in fact, I am always trying to get her to eat more to gain more weight! She has been the biggest support to me, and I love how she keeps prodding me along and giving me little digs about some things I eat. I know I may roll my eyes at her and get a little defensive about it, but she helps out more than she knows.

2 comments:

Miracle Gro said...

Wow. That lake picture is something else. I wouldn't mind weighing 206 lbs. if it was all muscle. Alas, it won't happen in my life time. Congrats on the weight loss. If you changed your MD consumption to a half/half mix, you wouldn't have to worry too much.

Kristi said...

I'm so proud of you Benamin. You look fantastic. I always thought you were a hottie, but now you're HOTTIE!!