First the quick details, for those of you tracking that on your own "Life Size David Staples Vanity Poster" hanging from your closet door. I was 274 as of this morning. That is a total of 81 pounds lost. The 40" shorts I have fall down unless my belt is cinched up to the 7th or 8th hole. So I am pretty squarely into 38 shorts now. My 2XLT shirts are getting pretty loose - even after multiple washings. I have tried on some XLT shirts, but they are too tight for my comfort. (Some people wear shirts that clingy, but I don't.) I really think there is a bigger size jump from XLT to 2XLT than between higher sizes. Of course, then I put on my 4XLT shirts and realize I may be wrong. Today, I went through my closet and pulled out another round of shirts and pants that I can't wear any more.
Contrary to popular belief - and my wishes - this weight loss has not done much for my physical pain level. My back has been excruciating as of late. I finally went to a chiropractor the other day and he took x-rays of my back. They showed the wear and tear of decades of obesity. I have spur formations in my thoracic area. My lower back has some characteristics of "sway back" - from toting my huge gut around. He adjusted me - which helped for about two minutes. But he reiterated the need for Core Strengthening. So that's the next step. (Sigh - I hate exercise.)
The food efforts are still going great. I have settled into a routine. Rarely do I miss anything - usually it is random or if I am confronted with something I used to love, but rarely see. Yesterday we were at Heather's parents' and went to Red Lobster after church. I got grilled rainbow trout with maple cherry glaze, broccoli, rice, and water. It was great. But there were baskets of those dreaded Cheddar Bay Biscuits all over. I'm not going to lie - that was pretty tough. But I ignored them. When everyone has ice cream, I have frozen yogurt. When other people are eating chips, I have mini Quaker rice cakes. I've come up with healthier options for a lot of stuff. My latest is roasted potatoes - which are amazing. The kids say they are as good as fries. (Yessss, but so much better for you.) I still avoid potatoes most of the time, but that is my rare allowance.
One thing I have noticed it a welcome trend among experts and celebrities embracing a healthier way of losing weight. We've seen so many shady and even dangerous suggestions for dieting come along. I'm glad to realize that others are promoting a similar approach to what I've done now. In case you didn't see the news stories, there have been a couple of updates on celebrities with big weight changes. Drew Carey unveiled his new shockingly svelte figure the other day. Like me, he's lost 80 pounds since January. And it has all been through healthy diet changes and exercise.
Here's one story on the process for him. There were some interesting things in the article. One, Carey actually was a Type 2 Diabetic. Since he lost all the weight, his body regulated that and he's off medicine. Another thing was when he listed his foods - he eats Greek yogurt for breakfast (yeah!), avoids starches, drinks only water. It sounded very similar to what I have done.
John Goodman is another who lost a lot of weight lately.
Here's one article that talks about his struggle. He lost over 200 pounds already! At one point he was up over 400. Lots of people actually feared for his life. He was like a lot of fat guys - on the perpetual yo-yo. He would lose weight, gain it back, lose it, gain it. Now he seems to really have adopted a healthier approach. I'm glad for him. I also know that it going to be hard for him. He's been known as this big guy for so long, it is going to be tough for Hollywood to change its view of him. I hope that he is able to keep things up - especially when the temptation from his favorite beer comes back.
I remember back right before I started this whole thing, I saw a show about Alton Brown. He had lost a ton of weight and did a show about his process. I was really eager to hear what he said - desperate myself to shed the bulk. Instead, I got some
strange convoluted system of foods and meals. It was impossible to follow. Sure, if I was a television chef with unlimited resources, money, and a schedule that didn't include taking care of family - then I may have been able to pull it off. But it just was not realistic. So it just served to frustrate me, rather than motivate me. (That combined with many rumors of Alton's newfound arrogance and mistreatment of overweight people at appearances make me lose a lot of respect for him. It is almost like he projected his hatred of his own fatness onto anyone fat around him.) That has always been the problem with media-promoted weight loss programs. They involve personal trainers or bizarre restrictive diets. I remember when the Atkins Diet was booming in popular back in the late 1990s. People all around me started the diet and lost a ton of weight. They kept encouraging me to try it - since it seemed right up my alley. For some reason, I just couldn't do it. I guess I saw through the hype and even in my gluttonous state thought it was too good to be true. I remember sitting eating with my boss and he ordered multiple double cheeseburgers from McDonald's, peeled the bread off, and ate them. Then he smirked at me and said, "It's just that easy." No way, dude. The second you got off of that diet, though, the weight flooded back. In addition, you had reinforced addictive dependence on fat and sodium. AND, the other damage to your heart and body didn't go away. You still never learned how to eat right, so how was that a good path. (The fact that the creator of Atkins died of a heart attack right at the height of the diet's popularity didn't help matters.)
So many times, celebrities are also praised for big weight loss that comes from gastric bypass. Al Roker was one of those. I know that some people come to the place where they have to resort to that surgery. But there is still the overall issue of not learning how to eat right. There are many people - even some celebs - who gain their weight back after bypass surgery. That is EXTREMELY unhealthy and dangerous. And it very disheartening to people trying to lose weight - feeling that the surgery is the only way to get the results you want.
I can't imagine how hard it is to actually be obese in Hollywood. This is a place that has labelled skinny celebrities "fat." (Jessica Simpson, Brittney Spears, Nicole Ritchie, Christina Aguillera) And they blast guys who allow themselves to beef up - unless it is for a role. I remember seeing the beating guys like Alec Baldwin, John Travolta, Val Kilmer, Bruce Campbell, and Marlon Brando have taken for losing the battle of the bulge. They are ridiculed and mocked (probably by bloggers and writers who never have imagined being as fit as those men once were). There is a legacy of fat guys in entertainment - but they usually exist so people can laugh at their awkwardness and buffoonery. John Belushi, John Candy, Chris Farley, Jonah Hill, Kevin James. They are all of that class of "fat funny guy." There is also that big intimidating guy class - but you have to have the right gravitas to pull that off. Brian Dennehy, Ving Rhames, Michael Clark Duncan. It is such a ridiculous standard. Our society pushes people towards obesity. Hollywood continues to put the ideal image up as some ultra-skinny or six-pack packing unrealistic person. So the gulf between the "ideal" and "average" grows. I feel bad for those unfortunate people whose career is in that field who suffer from weight issues. They must be miserable.
All of that to say, I am glad that there finally are some people who are finally providing an healthy and realistic example for others to follow. Guys like Goodman and Carey are working on long-term lifestyle changes. They know it is going to take time and are willing to invest that time. It is not a quick fix. And it requires discipline. But it can be done. I admire them and salute them for their efforts. Hopefully it will be something that inspires others. That would be a good way for them to throw their "weight" around. HAHAHA. Ahhhhh. Man, that was a stupid cliched way to end a post. I just couldn't help myself. It must be the Baptist minister in me. :)
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