Starting my Journey

How the hell did I end up here?

How did a guy who plays hockey, referees, plays tennis, golf, hikes, sees himself as athletic, how does he weigh over 270lbs!

It doesn't happen overnight. It takes a lot of food to get to this stage. It takes a lot of changes in how I act to get here.

I used to identify myself as a fit guy, I used to believe I was fairly athletic...No one would look at me now and see an athlete.

Now I identify myself as the big guy, "Big D"...I'm the guy everyone says, "Here D, take the last piece" and I take it. I relish the moniker, it is who I am.

No more.

This blog is the start of a change. A change I hope you will join me in and help me through. A change in not only how I look and how much I weigh, but a change in who I am, how I am perceived, and how I perceive myself.

I want to look in the mirror and be proud of what I see. I don't want to shop in speciality stores anymore. I don't want to ache when I bend over and pick up my kids. I don't want to be afraid of having a heart attack when I step on the ice to play.

So, how do I do it.

First step, set Goals.

Goal number 1: At the end of 2011 I will weigh less than 220lbs. That's about 1lb per week. Reasonable, achievable, healthy sustainable weight loss. I think I can do even better, but that's my start.

Goal number 2: To run a 5k event. Again, should be very achievable, but I haven't run 5k since I was in the Army Reserves. That's a lot of years between me and the pavement.


Okay, second step, the plan. I love technology, and I love social media. So it only makes sense that this is part of my journey. I will be using the technology from www.bodymedia.com to help me monitor my exercise and my caloric intake. I'll post more about the technology in a future blog.

Second part of the plan, exercise...going to be tough the first couple of weeks as we prepare to move to our new home, but once we're set up I have access to my treadmill, and will be working through the P90x videos.

Third, and I think very important, accountability and support. That's where you come in. I'll be posting here, Facebook and @fatfitman on Twitter. Follow along with me as I share my successes, my temptations, my hard times, and hopefully very few failures. One of the reasons I think WeightWatchers(tm) is so successful is the support system around the people. So I am hoping to use social media to achieve the same things. I look forward to your comments and tweets.

So, this morning I weighed in at 272.4 lbs...the heaviest I have ever been. Its time to say goodbye to the fat guy, and start my journey back to someone I recognize in the mirror.