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OMG . That so took me back to when I first started. Not only did I get pimples and boils in embarrassing places (butt, inner thigh where they chaffed, upper back) I got them in odd places like inside my ear canals! Now I literally can't remember the last time I had acne of any kind . Keep up the great work!
Kate

Congratulations! I was literally cringing as I read past the boil warnings. Well played!

Official Announement!!

I've lost 100 pounds!!

That's ten 10 pound sacks of potatoes!

That's eleven and one third gallons of milk!


That's TWO pounds more than that Italian chick I dated 25 years ago!!

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Here is the graph of my weight loss so far:



This is a graph I am very proud of. This is the first time I've posted it here, but every time I update my weight I look at the graph. It shows a remarkable change in my life over the past year. But more importantly, it shows that I still have much further to go. I am but one third of the way to my goal.
My next biggest major goal on my journey home is 327 pounds. That is 59 more pounds. That number is significant to me because I remember finding myself as a young man in my early 20's weighing 327 pounds and thinking "Oh My God". It prompted what was to have been the biggest and most successful weight loss campaign I'd ever had, until now. I mustered the torturous willpower to get myself back down to about 260 pounds from there, which is what I weighed when I graduated high school.
By the time I reach 327 I will have sailed through other minor goals such as 350 pounds which is what I weighed in 1997 when I married my first wife, and 336 pounds which will mark the half way point (150 pounds) on my Journey Home.

-Norm

P.S.
Some of you already know about this milestone!! For those of you who stopped reading my last post, out of fear of hearing about the boil on my butt...... There was/is no boil on my butt. I snuck in this same announcement last night for those who were willing to read on.

You are awesome, Norm!!!!!!!

Congratulations on your 100 Lbs.

I already said that but now I am saying it again.

Looking forward to hearing about the next 100.

You rock, Norm. Seriously. Rock.

You now have joined the Century Club.

Awesome! Way to go!

Thanksgiving Day Update #1.

I have a cold!! It isn't a bad cold, more a minor inconvenience. Probably something to do with the hundreds of people I've been in contact with in the past week plus the stress of all the holiday goings on at the food bank, etc.
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I walked a half mile this morning. I hadn't walked since Monday I think. First thing I noticed... my foot doesn't hurt as much. Second thing I noticed... my knees and hips don't hurt as much. Taking things easier is paying off!!
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I am going over to my parents for dinner. My mother is going out of her way to make sure I can have some dairy/oil free vegetables and mashed potatoes. I am bringing the rolls, which I'm baking now. They're as nutritious as dinner rolls get, being made from organic wheat I milled fresh this morning. If I'm overly tempted with things I shouldn't eat, I'm just going to eat more rolls. They're not the greatest as far as calorie density goes, but they're wholesome and nutritious otherwise. I'd rather consume an excess of calories than an excess of fat. It is a feast day, after all. Still, I'm showing up full of good food. I already ate my morning porridge and will have a bowl of leftover soup before leaving. This will be the first thanksgiving I can recall where I didn't intentionally leave myself as hungry as possible for the big meal!!
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I'll update again this evening.

Happy Thanksgiving All!

-Norm

YEA NORM! You are doing AWESOME! Have a great day!

Well done, Norm. Here's to another hundred!

Wishing you a great, healthy, time at your mom's. You are fortunate she goes along with it. Many feel slighted if you don't eat what they prepare for the meal. Enjoy and feel blessed!

Congrats on all your success Norm!

Thanksgiving Day Update #2.

I had a great time with my family and had a great opportunity to talk to them about my diet changes. I did eat a small amount of turkey. I could have stuffed it all in one mouthful if I'd wanted, but I managed to stretch it out through the entire meal. It was good, I enjoyed it, but I could have skipped it and had no desire for more. I also had some gravy, more than I should have, but making a big show of having more gravy made it easier to decline more turkey. The rest of my meal consisted of the plain potatoes and vegetables my mother prepared with no added oil/butter, and the delicious whole-wheat rolls I made this morning. I passed on all the desserts, stuffing, and other things.

All in all I had a great day and I feel good about my food choices.

-Norm

The morning after.

I always made wise cracks and jokes about it, but the morning after Thanksgiving has brought some very unpleasant experiences in the bathroom over the years. As much as I've eaten to have gotten up to 486 pounds, I assure you, most of the time I honestly tried not to eat so much or to make too much of a pig out of myself. But Thanksgiving is the one day of the year where you're not only allowed, but in some families, like mine, expected to eat as much as you could. And I always did! And always suffered for it the next day in ways that are just best not discussed in detail. I got up this morning not missing those days of years gone by!
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Bananas!! I've been sitting on a lot of frozen bananas which I saved from going to waste quite a few months ago. Originally I was going to make banana bread with them, but then I stopped eating baked sweet goods. So they sat. The past couple of weeks I've been putting some of them into my morning porridge and it has been working pretty good. They add enough sweetness that I've eliminated the spoon of honey I've been using. I like it. Will make use of old mushy bananas any time I get them.
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I walked a mile today!! Felt good.

-Norm

Here it is, the end of November. Winter is fast approaching. I have had some long-time beliefs about wintertime. Today is a good time to talk about them.

The first long-time belief I have had about winter is that some people's body's shift into energy saving mode and no matter how hard they try they put on weight, I believed because of thousands of years of evolution preparing for harsh winters where food was lacking. I always believed I had one of those bodies. In all my years I have never been able to maintain a weight loss attempt into winter. So strongly did this become ingrained in my head that I actually stopped trying and focussed any attempts at weight loss to start in the spring.

I don't think I believe this any more. Time will tell! I now think that my past trend of not being able to lose weight in the wintertime stem more from the next belief I've always had.

The second long-time belief I have had is that wintertime brings depression for many people. Decreased sunlight, colder temps, and being cooped up indoors are what bring this on. I believe that I, too, suffer from this. Not in the extreme, but enough to notice it, and I have always been on the look out in the fall for the first signs of it, and when I do I pull up the calendar, count how many days till Dec 21 (winter solstice), then tell myself I only have to make it that long and then the days will start getting longer and from there I'll know that things are improving a little bit every day. This simple technique has allowed me to deal with my wintertime depression making it almost a non-issue. Well, there are 24 days till Dec. 21st. Less than a month!! I believe this is the latest into any fall season that I've checked the calendar and counted the days. So this year is better than years past.

I'm pretty sure the second belief I spoke of has some actual fact in it. Could it be that my attempts to lose weight have never extended into the winter because of my wintertime depression, coupled with more time spent indoors near food and less time outside exercising? I think so. Again, we'll see!! In any event, I wonder if my recent feelings of "blah" are actually this wintertime depression setting in? If so, I think I'm on the right track for dealing with it. I've changed my sleeping hours slightly to better allow myself to be up and active during as many daylight hours as possible. I'm still spending as much time outdoors as I can. And I'm sticking to my new way of eating. I have no doubts my weight loss will continue into the winter, but am curious if it will slow somewhat.

Thoughts? Opinions?

-Norm