Chasin' Mason

When I first started this journey, I never really considered where it might take me.  That was only one of several unknowns. I assumed that if I were to have any success, I would lose some weight and that might be where things ended.  What I didn't consider are the things I might accomplish. At this point, as you well know dear reader, I've lost nearly 120 pounds.  I've walked, jogged, ran and biked all over the place.  But at the same time, I really wasn't going anywhere.  Sure, my location changed, but outside of losing weight and getting healthy, I had no other goals. Then, I "fell off the wagon" as it were.  I needed some way to jump back on board. First, as previously mentioned, I have to recommit myself. Check. Get back into a routine. Check. Then I needed a new goal in addition to others already stated.  Something to strive toward.  What to do? A 5k. So my search began.  It didn't take long for me to find the Turtle...

Well dear reader... where do I begin? A common question for anyone telling a story I guess.  It's one that I ask myself multiple times an hour for eight hours every day.  Most every time... I have an answer.  And I usually change it a couple of times. Speaking of questions and answers, it seems appropriate to answer one I am sure you've had at least once in recent months. "Where is Mason and why hasn't he updated his blog?" The answer is, quite simply, busy. Well, that's partially true.  While I've been busy, I've also managed to fall off the scale if you will.  And because of it, I've been rather ashamed wishing more than ever to stay away from this blog and admit my lapse in judgement. But, I'm an honest chap and can admit when I'm wrong. I've encountered some bumps along my weight loss journey. Now to you, those bumps are small.  To me, they're craters of epic proportions mentally speaking. Here are the factors....

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...