Chasin' Mason

A lot has changed since my last post (August 27). Firstly, dear reader… my apologies.  I can only hope that once you read this latest entry, you'll understand the reasoning for the distance between this post and my last. To save a lot of explanation, life happened.  Just a short time after my last entry, I uprooted my family from Western Kentucky and moved them to Central Florida.  The reason?  I received a job offer that I couldn't pass up. In the time leading up to the move, I continued to diet and exercise.  However, once we landed in Florida, I fell off the bandwagon. I began to eat more than I should and basically stopped exercising.  I would get in some activity here and there, but nothing compared to my previous workouts.  My schedules, both work and home, were off and it was simply easier to grab the quickest thing I could and run.  I struggled to get back on track.  It was easy to let it happen too.  I was still losing w...

"I'm not much for dressing up.  I'm more of a comfort guy." Honestly, that is a false statement... at least in part.  I really don't like to dress up.  When I say I am more of a "comfort guy," that really means I choose clothes that hide my bulbous features well. Quite recently, I was in a situation which required a suit.  I have two.  So, I went to my closet, pulled them out and tried them on. Uh oh!  Catastrophe!   (A quick note here.  If you don't have children who watch Disney Junior, you probably didn't catch that reference.  It's a tip of the hat to Gaspard and Lisa . Oh parenthood.) Neither fit.  The newest edition wrapped around me like a mummy. The second, the oldest of the two, was a bit smaller, but not by much.  I sent it to the dry cleaners for processing. In the end, it turned out alright.  I personally don't think it turned out well, but it did the job. With my continuing weight lo...

NOTE:  Again, I must apologize.  My blog has suffered from lack of attention.  As a result, dear reader, so have you.  I will endeavour to do better.  With that out of the way, Allons-y! We've all seen those movies.  You know, the one where any given character stands and suddenly the room begins to spin without warning.  Often, the dizziness is the result of some drug use or medical condition. In my case, it's both. Now, I must explain that the drugs I am referring to are, of course, the prescribed medications designed to combat my high blood pressure and cholesterol.  The medical condition is, well my obesity and heart. Recently, I began to notice a sharp increase in dizziness and nausea.  I would be getting out of bed or just standing around and suddenly, the room would start to spin like a ballerina... only I am not equipped with their seemingly graceful super powers or pink tutu.   (I hope you enjoy that mental image ;...

I've been exercising from day one of my diet.  Most of that exercise, however, has been on the treadmill. Those following my diet adventure have suggested multiple times that I vary my exercise a bit; do something other than hitting the treadmill.  I've taken the hint and have made a decision.  Biking.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm still going to spend quality time with the treadmill.  I cleared two miles under 30 minutes several times this past week, but my weekends belong to my bike. A few years ago, for Christmas, I bought my wife a bike.  While I was pestering her about surprising her, my mom and brother surprised me with a bike of my own.  We took them for a spin... and that was it.  They sat in the garage and collected dust. So, when I made the decision to start biking, I had a "brand new" one waiting for some adventure. Saturday was the first day I'd taken it out.  My wife and I rode a few miles together and returned home. I d...

"Mason, you can tell you've lost weight." That's a phrase I've heard a lot lately.  Honestly though, I didn't believe it.  That is until my wife took two recent photos and placed them side-by-side.  Take a look. The picture on the left was taken in February, a few days before I started my diet.  The picture on the right was taken on May 19th.  Pretty crazy, huh? It wasn't until I saw the comparison images that I began to see a difference.  You see, I've been big for so long that I have a certain mental image of myself.  When I look in the mirror, I see a fat slob of a bloke.  I can't see anything else.  It's because of that self image that I can't see the changes my body is going through. Even now, after seeing the comparison, I can't seem to shake my self-image.  That said, I can obviously tell a difference in my clothing.  I've dropped two pant sizes.  When I started my diet, I was wearing size 50.  I've si...

As my title suggests, it's been little more than a month since my last post.  My apologies.  Originally, I planned to return to blogging after the Easter holiday.  The next week came and I failed to post.  Then two weeks and so on.  Here I am, however, with a brand new post. This week's entry will feature three different subjects:  my first doctor's visit since starting this adventure, exercise and current weight.  Let's get to it shall we? Doctor's visit I've been to the doctor three times since my family returned to our hometown.  Once, because I was sick.  The second time, for blood tests.  The third, for the results. The most recent visit started off, as most do, with the scale.  I was expecting to see a number on the doctor's scale similar to the one on my scale at home.  No such luck.  The doctor's scale was ten pounds off and not in my favor.  I was perplexed and felt like the little boy who just watche...

I am a Hilltopper.  That's right.  I'm a proud Western Kentucky University alumni. Needless to say, I followed Friday night's game against Kansas with real excitement.  At times, I found myself getting "crappy" with the game and cursing from time to time.  In the end, Kansas topped the Toppers. On my way home from work, I thought a lot about the game.  Normally, I am not a "sports" person, but I noticed some parallels between the game and my weight loss adventure this week. Scales and Baskets Stepping on the scale this week was like trying to sink that three-pointer but it just wouldn't go in.  I have a bad habit of weighing myself every day.  I've tried to break it but I just can't seem to stop.  I have to see the number, good or bad. The number hasn't changed much this week.  I'm down three pounds which makes my current weight 359. Believe it or not, that's a bit closer to Weight Watchers' grand schem...

As this week's title suggests, I have lost enough weight that my clothes are starting to sag. It's a rather new feeling for me.  Only once in my life have I decreased my clothing sizes.  That happened in the summer of 2007. Earlier that year, a doctor diagnosed me with severe sleep apnea.  Shortly afterwards, he ordered me to use a CPAP machine, a mechanical terror hell-bent on robbing me of precious sleep.  Ironic, right? After struggling with the machine, my doctor suggested I have surgery to try to correct the condition. Five surgeries later (all happened at the same time), I began to drop the pounds.  At one point, I dropped 60 pounds.  My mom, along with my girlfriend (who is now my wife), decided it was time to buy some new clothes.  As much as I hated to go through with it, I did. One year later, I could no longer fit into those clothes.  I folded them and tucked them away. Fast-forward to the present... I normally wear 50/30 ...

So, I've been on the diet for more than two weeks now. I have to admit, going into the second week, I felt pretty good. And for good reason. I had dropped my first 20 pounds or so.  Then reality started to kick in. Suddenly the weight loss slowed. It was very, very discouraging. In fact, I had a minor meltdown. In my head, I knew it was merely the water weight but that didn't stop me from going nuts. And it's not like I was unaware it was going to happen. I wasn't making it any easier on myself either. I was weighing every single day. Whether you can tell it yet or not, I am very impatient. I want this massive amount of "baggage" gone now and I don't want to wait. However, you and I know that will not be the case. I've had close friends tell me the same thing but I try to be the superhero. I am always pushing myself in everything . That includes my diet and physical activities. Not a good idea, at least in the case of exercising. I decided...

You don't hear the phrase "in the can" very often these days. I love it. Not because it only denotes "trash," but also a completed project or part of a project. * I can happily say my first week of dieting is in the can. So what am I doing to lose weight and how do I feel so far? I realized last week, to lose this massive bulk, I was going to have to WANT it. And I want it plenty. That's not the problem. The problem is I'm weak. I've attempted this a couple of times in the past complete with dieting and exercise. None of them lasted very long. I would start eating again and put-off a workout until I spiraled back into my old ways. Quite simply, I was not invested in the "adventure." The funny thing is, up until last week, I thought I had plenty of reasons to drop the "extra cargo." I have a B-E-A-Utiful wife and daughter. I am also well aware of the health issues related to obesity and my family's medical ...

Eye-catching title, huh?  I'm quite proud of it. *  Blog entries should always have a strong title.  That being said, there is more to my selection than a jovial attempt to lure you to my "online, digital stage."  It's a statement about me and what this entry and future entries will be about. So, let's get to it shall we? I'm heavy... and not in a "Back to the Future" kind of way.  No, I'm heavy... as in obese.   It's actually an embarrassing admission.  I've never really stated it so bluntly... and meant it.  Oh, I've made plenty of "fat" jokes about myself, but I've never focused on the fact that I am indeed "massive." My healthy dose of reality came, oddly enough, while I was sick. My daughter and I caught an awful bug recently and both ended up at the doctor's office.  We had to go through the usual pre-screening.  That meant a check of the pulse, blood pressure, temperature, height a...