Wibbly wobbly… timey wimey…

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 weight.  Not nearly the amount I was losing before, but enough that I could justify my actions.

Then, it hit me.  I was falling into my old habits and my skin began to crawl.

I have since gotten back on track; exercising and eating properly… and I'm starting to lose again.

This week, specifically Tuesday evening, I had an "ah ha" moment.

The company that I work for gave all of their employees two gifts, a Christmas ornament featuring our logo and a fleece jacket.

My heart was banging like the wheels on a train.  I didn't give them my size and, therefore, they had to guess.

NOTE:  Quick refresher here, dear reader.  When I started this adventure of mine, I was wearing XXXXL shirts and 50W/30L pants.

Through the years, I've received several articles of clothing from my employers.  I've never been able to wear them, so I've always given them to my wife.

I took my ornament and then looked at the size of the fleece.

"Crap," I thought.  "A XXL.  I'm not going to be able to wear this.  Oh well.  My wife will get to enjoy it."

I folded it and put it away.

When I made it home from work that evening, I pulled out the fleece and showed it to my wife.  She told me to try it on.

Needless to say… I was not looking forward to it.

So, I unzipped it, pulled it on and zipped it back up.  Then, something I did not expect happened.

It fit!

Not only did it fit, but I looked… and I say this with all honesty… pretty darn good.

My wife took this picture.

I took a couple of looks in the mirror.  Alright, I admit, I took several looks in the mirror.  I've never, in my life, felt this good about myself.

My employer gave me more than just an ornament and a fleece this year.  They gave me hope… and self respect.  They'll never know what that means to me and how it has profoundly changed my outlook on my life and my future.

And I'm happy to announce, my wife will not be getting this fleece.  It's all mine.

Status Update

We've reached the point in my entry were I like to update everyone on my weight.  This time, I will also provide a comparison picture that features what I looked like when I started and where I am currently.

So, what's my current weight?

START WEIGHT:  394 pounds

CURRENT WEIGHT:  277.6 pounds

DIFFERENCE:  116.4 pounds

Now for the comparison picture.  Even though I've not been at this a year yet, I wanted to share with you what I looked like just before I began and where I am now.  If you recall from previous posts, I have been having trouble breaking away from the mental image I have of myself.  After this week, it's been a lot easier to let that image go.

And before I show the image, I'm wearing smaller clothes.  I'm down to a XXL in shirt size and a 44W/30L in pant size.

Until next time, dear reader.  Be infinite.