When fantasies become reality...

"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 since dropped to size 46 and those are rather loose.

I've also dropped in shirt size.  I was wearing XXXXL at the beginning.  I can comfortably wear a XXXL now.  I tried a XXL t-shirt on recently.  I could fit into it, but not comfortably.  I would say that's still a few months away.

My weight loss adventure isn't just one of physicality, but also one of emotion and mentality.  I've known that from the beginning.  Losing the weight has been "easy."  I say that cautiously.  It's the emotion and the mental portion that's been difficult.  Thankfully, I have a great support system in place.

Let's move onto another subject now...

I'm still exercising regularly.  In my last blog entry, I told you that I'd started jogging more.  That's still the case today, however, I'm jogging full-time now.  I even started to run a bit.

I managed to "travel" one mile in 12 minutes this week.  It was not easy, and I looked a mess afterwards.  Needless to say, I don't think I can do that regularly.

On Saturday, I pushed myself a bit more.  I jogged for 30 minutes straight.  I cleared two miles in 27 minutes.  That was exciting, but again, I looked a mess.

I'm going to start biking soon.  I recently pulled my bike out of the garage and dusted it off.  I'm looking forward to adding that to my routine.

So, where is my weight now?  See for yourself...

Yes.  As of this morning (Sunday, June 2) I'm down more than 66 pounds.  I still have a long way to go, but progress is being made.

ANNOUNCEMENT

A few weeks ago, my cousin (who recently started a weight loss adventure of her own), suggested we run a 5K together.  I thought that was a great idea and it looks like it will happen in a few weeks.

I'm excited and nervous about the prospect.  Never, in my life, had I dreamed of actually participating in an event like that.  Never!  Honestly, I was too fat to participate, and I may very well still be.  That said, I'm going to do it anyway.  I'm not looking to win.  I just want to finish right and proper.

Until next time... be infinite.