Chasin' Mason

As the title suggests... I'm an addict.  There is simply no way around it.  It's something I've always known and have often confessed in my ramblings.  Ramblings that were nothing more than that of a fat man using humor to move the conversation away from the obvious.  I have an addiction to food, and because of that addiction I am: One cheeseburger away from a deadly heart attack. Can't reach the second story of my home without losing my breath. Constantly mopping sweat from my brow. Always tired. Self loathing Scared. I have to face reality the reason I've not dealt with my food addiction or my weight is because I am scared.  Scared to face such a difficult task.  I did it once, but can I do it again?  The constant worry of failing and not being able to recover.  The nagging of my stomach as it wants more food I am mentally unwilling to give it, but emotionally struggling to not give in to something that will make me feel better... f...

When I was a young lad, around 10 years of age, I went with my father to the Kentucky Knights of Columbus state convention.  My dad was a district deputy and was heavily involved in the organization, thus he was asked to attend as part of his responsibilities. I was the quintessential “knight’s kid.”  If I could go to a meeting or an event with my dad, I was there.  It gave us an opportunity to bond and gave me a chance to see my dad in a different light; to see his Catholic faith in action.  That included attending the state conventions. It was at the convention I mentioned earlier when I decided I wanted to be a knight. The state deputy at the time was a man named Phil Carr.  During the banquet, and because of his station, Carr was expected to make remarks. He focused much of his speech on what being a knight meant to him, and he said something that has always stuck with me. “Being a knight,” Carr said, “is not just about...

Let's start this off with a Doctor Who reference shall we? Losing weight is a lot like a Time Lord's regeneration, but much slower.  Instead of a sudden release of regeneration energy and a sudden metamorphosis, humans have to take the "long way round." It's been two weeks since my last entry, and it was on purpose.  I wanted to take two weeks to get back in the habit and really start this thing off right.  I did the same thing during my first "regeneration."  I am pleased to report it's gone well so far. For this blog entry I thought I'd talk a little bit about  Weight Watchers  and share some of the things I'm doing this time around. When I first began this journey in 2013, WW was much different in its point counting system.  Everything, and I mean everything, had to be accounted when tracking.  I was very diligent.  If I intended to eat something, I tracked it.  I worked very hard not to "blow my points." Quickly, you m...

It's time I'm honest with myself.  It's time I'm honest with you, dear reader. My weight loss journey, which started out pretty well, has come to a crashing stop.  I have no one to blame, but myself.  Trust me, it's easier to point fingers.  I've done it.  I've tried.  But I've finally realized that, while pointing fingers at others, three fingers were pointing right back at me.  That sounds terribly simplistic, but the fact remains it demonstrates a reality even I can't ignore. Losing weight is hard.  Everyone has different health challenges, but this one is mine.  Losing weight and keeping it off will be the hardest thing I will ever do. But there is something even more difficult to deal with and that's the reality I failed.  I don't mean to sound so dramatic, but I don't wish to cheapen the situation with lightweight words.  This is my failure and if I'm ever going to complete this journey, I have to own it.  So....

Now that the election is over and I've had a chance to internalize everything, I want to share my thoughts. While I strongly disagree with the outcome, our democracy functioned exactly as it was designed.  Ballots were cast, votes were counted, and the Electoral College votes were awarded accordingly.  It worked perfectly.  It doesn't mean the outcome is the one we wanted.  The important thing is, it rendered an outcome in the end. It also proves anyone can run for the highest elected office and win a chance to lead this country.  That's something the framers also designed.  We as Americans are given the right to elect our leaders regardless of background, faith, sexuality, etc.  You may not like the outcome, but be proud you had a say in who represents us in this grand American republic. Lastly, and I direct this to Donald Trump and his supporters.  You've won.  Congratulations on a hard fought race.  Seriously, congratulations. ...

<<blows the cyber dust off the old blog>> Hey... it's still here.  You're still here.  Well, I think you are anyway.  You're reading this new entry on a rather neglected, dusty old blog.  To you I say, "Thanks.  Thanks for sticking around." So, time to get real and catch you up on where I stand and how my weight loss adventure is going.  Simply, I fell off the wagon outside PandaBelly and decided to lay low and not move for a while.  While there, I found out why it's called PandaBelly. I'm happy to report... I've left the village.  A similar wagon to the one I was on passed by and after telling the driver a few cheesy jokes, she let me hitch a ride. Truth time.  I've gained some weight.  I'm nowhere near where I used to be, but weight gain is weight gain. I'm currently at 314.4 pounds.  Like I said, nowhere near the 394 points I used to weigh.  Now you should know, I've been back on the wagon fo...