Level 85: Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Level 1:  273 pounds

It doesn't take a detective to figure out that the above picture was taken last Christmas.  It was also a point in my life where I had bottomed out, and was completely unmotivated to stick to any kind of diet or workout routine.  In prior months I had been able to stick to both for a week...maybe two, before I would maybe have a bad day at work and stress-eat, or be out at a party where I'd succumb to a couple of beers, and eventually, the mindset of "Well, I've already ruined today, might as well go whole hog..." would rear its ugly head.  People who have been frustrated with weight loss will know the rest.  One day would turn into a week...which would turn into a month.  And that's where I was on Christmas.  


I began this blog in late January.  It was something that had been rattling around in my brain for some time, the idea of turning this weight loss into a game, but my primary reason for starting then was to A) maybe alleviate some of the knee and back issues that I'd been experiencing before our scheduled Disney World trip in a couple of weeks, and B) get started on my weight loss earlier than my usual April-May kick, so that I could go to the beach during the summer and not be completely self-conscious.  

I'll be the first to admit that I'm surprised how quickly it seemed that I arrived at Level 85.  I made it in 102 days, and with the primary purpose of this blog being to prevent long slides of bad eating and no exercise, am pleased to note that I only lost levels twice.  

Level 85:  May 7, 2011 - 229 pounds

And this is where I find myself today...44 pounds lighter, and feeling so much better about my weight and health.  However...not completely satisfied.  These two pictures were taken at the end of my uncle's annual 5-mile Mayday run at the Jersey shore, which, if I had attempted in late January, would probably have killed me.  

I won't be doing any posting for the next week or so, but I will still be evaluating my levels at the end of the day in anticipation of the next phase of this blog.  As I've already said, YOU are going to decide what I do this time through Levels 1-85, so please, visit the home page of the blog and vote for what race you would like to see.  Sometime next week I will put up the class vote, and shortly thereafter, professions.  If you want to lobby a particular race or class, send this to your friends and get out the vote.  

Thank you so much to everyone for your subscriptions, feedback and support.  You've helped me keep to this process on days when I might not have wanted to get on the bike, or felt like eating an entire stack of pancakes.  I look forward to the next phase of Leveling Down, which will begin within a couple of weeks.  Until then, don't forget to vote!