I haven’t given a progress report since October on this little quest of mine, so I thought I would “fess up”, now that the New Year has rolled over and it’s time to start things fresh.

I have made ZERO progress since the last post, and that is honestly a positive.  Over Thanksgiving and Christmas I put back on 7 lbs., topping out at 351 lbs.  I’ll completely admit that I am addicted to Coca Cola.  I could go several months without having one, and then I can have just a sip of Coke and suddenly I need 3 a day.  It’s sad.  I will no longer judge smokers who keep trying to quit smoking but keep failing.  I will now commend them for continuing to get back up on the wagon after falling off time and time again.  At least they haven’t given up trying.  This addiction is a very serious thing for my “Husky” human shell.  In my older years it’s not dealing with processing sugar very well so I gain weight rather quickly while drinking sugary drinks of the soft variety.  So between drinking more than my fair share of Cokes (which are so tempting when they are stored in an icy-cold glass bottle) and eating beautiful and rich foods over the holidays my body began to resist.  On the 27th of December at a family holiday gathering, I think my blood sugar hit the ceiling so bad that I thought I was going to pass out.  My body is having issues regulating my blood sugar levels and it’s been staying high.  Obviously, I don’t want that to happen or feel bad continously so I’m getting back on this “2X t-shirt” wagon again.

A 2x Darth Vader shirt I can't buy and enjoy! GRRR!

So since that night, I’ve completely changed what I’m doing.  Coke is completely out!  I’m really limiting or eliminating sugary snacks from my diet.  I’ve been re-reading the book Eat This, Not That and have incorporated a lot of the suggestions the book’s author lends about the “8 Foods You Should Eat Everyday” into my diet and it’s working.  I really like his explanation of what is in some foods that make them so beneficial for you.  Like did you know that the Walnut is one of the best nuts you can eat?!  It’s supposed to be awesome on many different levels.  So far I have lost the 7 lbs. I gained over the holiday, thus putting me back to square one again. 

I’ve also been doing a lot of praying because I know I can’t do this alone.  The Holy Spirit is going to have to kick in where I begin to trail off because when it comes to food I am a weak human being.  In the past, I allowed the Holy Spirit to take control of my eating habits before a 72 hours of prayer and praise a couple of years ago at church.  For 10 days straight, I did a vegetable-and-water-only fast and it was a great time building my relationship with the Spirit that way.  The Holy Spirit and I would go grocery shopping together and It would direct what I should buy and eat.  I just listened and followed.  Over the span of 10 days I ended up losing 13 lbs., but more importantly I grew closer to God by obeying Him.  It also proved that if I listen to the Holy Spirit and not to the temptation and lies that constantly swirl around me, things will always improve.  The devil likes to try and convince you to just accept who you are and not try, and for those 10 days I didn’t accept what he was slinging.  He is out to destroy me, one Coke at a time.  The big jerk!

So here I am 2 months later starting over.  I’ve lost that time, but I still want to fit into that 2X t-shirt so I’m back on the wagon.  That, and I don’t want my pancreas to shut down! 

I don’t believe in New Year Resolutions because I think a great majority of the time we’re just lying to ourselves, but I will promise to report more often this year on this quest.  I’ve been seeing a lot of cool t-shirts I can’t wear and I want them in a BAD way!

Current Weight: 344 lbs.

So my wife and I are standing in line to buy t-shirts at the Steven Curtis Chapman concert.  They have all of the t-shirts displayed and the sizes.  Of course, the largest size they have is a 2X.  That’s not big enough!  I can fit into a 3X but I’m more comfortable in a 4X.  I’m a big fella, weighing in at 344 pounds.  I’ve got what doctors like to call an “eating problem”.  Anyway, I have a choice to make standing here in line… do I pass on a shirt because they don’t have my size OR do I buy a 2X hoping that one day I will fit into it?

One thing I will confess is that I’m totally frustrated with buying t-shirts and have been for several years after I got heavier.  I love to wear t-shirts!  I wouldn’t doubt at all that once I get to heaven that we’ll all be wearing white t-shirts under the white robes everyone will have on.  (And tighty whities also!  LOL!)  I just think they are more comfortable than most shirts and you can find some with clever sayings or jokes that reflect your personality.  The only problem is, if you’re heavy it’s hard to find t-shirts in your size.  Most manufacturers only go as big as a 2X, so I’ve had to miss out on many opportunities to buy some great t-shirts.  It would be easy for me to say that clothing manufacturers are discriminating against tubby folks, but instead I choose to point back at myself.  It’s my fault that I can’t have some great shirts.

For example, this past summer I went to a Journey concert with some dear friends from high school and was excited to be able to buy a Journey concert t-shirt.  When I was in high school, my family didn’t have a lot of money to allow me to go to concerts so I was thrilled to be able to go to the concert and was even more thrilled to get a t-shirt.  I was always a little envious of kids who came to school the next day with concert t-shirts and talking about the concerts they saw the night before.  Now as an adult, I was finally getting to go, but when I finally got up to the counter to buy the shirt I wanted… 2X is the largest size they have.  I bought one.  It was sad.

So here I am in line with my wife at the t-shirt table again in the same delima… should I buy a shirt I can’t fit into again?  That’s pretty stupid, right?  So as thoughts are racing through my mind, I decided to draw a virtual line in the sand.  I want cool t-shirts!  If a 2X is all I can get, then I’m going to adjust myself to fit comfortably in a 2X.  I’m not sure how much weight I need to lose to win at this, but I know by next summer (2012), I want to fit comfortably into a 2X.  Every journey starts with a first step, so this is mine.  I’m going to try and document steps along the path using photos of my fatness, cool t-shirts I’m missing out on, and any progress I make along the way.  I’ve recently read that in order for a vision to become reality you have to write out goals to work toward.  I only have one:

• I want to comfortably fit into a 2X t-shirt by the summer (June 1st) of 2012.  Heck, I want to fit into multiple 2X t-shirts by then!

I will celebrate by wearing the Steven Curtis Chapman concert t-shirt I purchased in line (pictured in the banner picture).  I will also be wearing a smile. 

Current Weight: 344 lbs.