What happened?  How come I fell off the wagon?  What’s my excuse?  Well, my dog ran away, my truck broke, my best friend passed away…

Noo, not so simple as a country & western song but I did go 1 for 3.  My best friend passed away on July 17, 2007.  I was in the parking lot just getting ready to go into the Tuesday morning WW meeting in North Vancouver when I got the call from the EMS in Texas.  That was the end of the North Van meetings for me.  I spent a fair amount of time down south over the following months and into the early fall helping out with his estate and with all the sympathy eating that went along with that I just never made it back to a meeting in North Van… besides, Tarry had pretty much bailed by then.

I did try  attending in Ladner for a while last year with a friend of mine, Vicki… she is an exceptionally positive role model, hovering a pound or two above her goal weight for the last long time, threatening to become a lifetime member.  Why’d I stop going to Ladner WW meetings?  Change of meeting leader, or at least that’s my story and I’m sticking too it!

So… 3rd time lucky I hope.

Went to a meeting in South Delta tonight with my Sister Corilee… her first time to WW and I think she’ll like it if she can maintain the discipline to eat regularly and track what she eats.  With me helping her – do as I say, not as I’ve done – she’ll be fine.

So, how much do I weigh today?  Not so fast…  When I first went on WW in March 2007 I was 265#.  I quickly lost my first 40#s and by July was at 225#.  When I got back on the scales last year in Ladner I was up to 240#s.  I lost 10#s before falling off the bus.  Today, I weigh in at 252.6#.  So, still below my all time high, but well above my recent memories low.

I hope you’ll follow along with us for this next ride.  I can’t promise it will be my last, but I sure am hoping that 3 times is the lucky one for me.

B

My goal is to lose the 24lbs in twelve weeks.  Start date was Saturday January 10, 2008.  I will be at 222.4lbs (or lower) by April 4, 2009.

I’m pretty excited about this – particularly since I believe it at some deep core level!

(Rachel  - formerfatguys.com lives again as promised!)

It has been a real eye-opener to see how much I “normally” would eat compared to what i eat now – but I have to admit I have been getting weary lately.  Probably because I’ve missed the last two meetings (I made the last weigh in) – but totally missed the meeting.

This kind of stuff takes me off track – as much as I’d like to think I’m a super spontaneous person (I am) who doesn’t like a fixed schedule (i dont), I think I operate best when there is regularity in my schedule.  We are short staffed in our business in a very critical position so I’ve been double shifting myself to do the work – this gets very draining.

I’ve noticed that when I miss a “feeding” – and by feeding I mean breakfast or lunch (at a leisurely pace, not eating quickly in between rushes) is when I typically get into trouble.  For some reason my brain when it misses a meal will NOT let it go, as in, if I missed lunch and now its dinner time – I will “militantly” eat lunch (at dinner) and then have dinner later.  Yes I know this is wacked – but this is my reality at the moment.  Also when I miss lunch (or breakfast) is when I’m most likely to feel “entitled” to eat whatever I want.

The other major thing I’m noticing is that lately I’ve have become more easily frustrated/angry that when I can remember – and I’m not easily frustrated or angry (I’d like to think that anyway).  This in an odd way is encouraging to me because I believe that I have been long addicted and controlled by food – it has been too big a part of my life for most of my life, and I think because I’ve made some kind of deep commitment to changing the way I eat and view food – that some inner part of me is “greiveing” and its emoting in the way I just described.  I’m sure I could get a better analysis than I just gave for $3,000 (in counseling fees …

Anyway its a journey and I’m in and thankful for it.

Peace,

Tarry G

I was looking forward to weigh-in yesterday… somewhat cautiously optimistic that I was able to maintain my focus during the week on managing my portions. You see, holidays for me are a time to relax, have some fun, and eat… After a rough start last Tuesday I did buckle down and enjoyed myself along the way.

Weigh-in went well. Down 8.4lbs this time around so that put me over the 10lb mark and earned me two gold stars! Woo0 Whooo! It was rewarding to be recognized in front of our Tuesday meeting group. From my experience the first 50-60 lbs will be the easiest. I’ll start hitting the wall big time around 200lbs.

Tarry and I celebrated with some Sushi at Gen Sushi on Lonsdale. Great Spicy Tuna rolls and even better Teriyaki Chicken. We actually ate too much!

Eating too much. That’s a whole other topic…

Cheers!

Barry

I’ve just about finished a fairly tough week food wise. I’ve eaten way too much. I couldn’t tell you exactly how man points because I haven’t kept track of it all – very bad management on my part. On the other hand I have not eating even close to what i would have normally consumed if I were not on this plan.

So at the end of the day where does this all leave me…..well we will find out tomorrow (weigh-in day).

Oh and I just bought a 3 month membership to our local recreational center.  My training strategy will be to walk it off.  After I lose some base weight (like 40-50lbs) I may go and see  Dave to take me to the next level, or maybe do some pilates with Caroline – or hey maybe a bit of both.  Anyway its a ways away – and I will be smiling when I get there.

Tarry

Entitlement Eating: Eating what you want, when you want it, even though you are supposed to be changing the way you eat – because you deserve it – and the cosmos should somehow agree with you and not punish you by adding the calories on your body that you are actually eating because after all you are “entitled to it”.

This is the kind of head space that orders a burger and fries at Cactus Club and has a half order of hot wings for dessert….. I did that today – and accounted for it. By the way the hot wings were 20 points!!!! – I will never do that again – I could have had a large order of fries for less, and enjoyed them more.

Yeah I know – that is totally whacked – which makes sense because I’m whacked too!

Nevertheless, I’m encouraged, very encouraged by the progress I am making and the progressive revelation that I’m getting of the obstacles.

Tomorrow is a new day and I’m on a long journey so I plan to be glad and rejoice in it
Tarry

So here I am, in Disneyland. Maintained the plan on the plane down. Even for the first night. All day today I managed my intake. And… tonight at Joe’s Crabshack it happened.

We started with a mixed plate of shrimp for an appetizer. Problem was it was on a plate of fries and I couldn’t resist a few. No big deal. Then came my dinner. A blackened Mahi Mahi where I had them hold the rice and double up on the veggies. No problem, still on track. It was the melted butter that came with the mahi mahi. I should have given it to my wife or sent it back. I dipped the fish a bit and loved it so much I had to borrow some fries from my Wife’s plate to dip. Couldn’t help myself.

Well back at the hotel tonight and I feel like cr*p. Bloated and feeling a tad large or better I say fat. I’ll try and get up early tomorrow and hit the treadmill for an hour. Not the smartest given we’ll walk a ton at Disneyland during the day.

That’s it. I’ll get over it and will do my best for the rest of the week.

Tarry called me today and said he was down another 2.4… that makes 4 at the end of the first full week! Way to go buddy! I wish I’d been there to weigh in this morning. Next week I’ll be there. I only hope I can get back on track and stay on track for the rest of the week.

Arghhhh!

Barry

In any event, as MacDonalds Ads say, “I’m Lovin it”! Was able to put a pair of jeans on today that I’ve not been able to do up for about 6 months. About 2 inches has gone by the wayside. Woooo Whoooo!

Points were a bit tough this weekend… I had to dip into bonus each day, but not by very much. I had ordered a batch of beer before starting on this trek and I bottled, or rather, I canned on Friday afternoon. Averaging 2 beer a day since then I’ve had to use some reserve points.

Went for an hour long walk with Fern again tonight… she had trouble keeping up with me near the end… that’s a first!

Off to Disneyland tomorrow morning for the week. This will be my first out of town challenge. Maybe I can find a meeting in Anaheim for weigh-in on Tuesday, or maybe I’ll just have to skip this week.

Cheers!

Barry

So the next day….I’m feeling a little sheepish, plus our business (Coffeebar/Bakery) called Crema (yah, yah no link – we are working on the website – and its going to be great…) is really busy, so I don’t get a chance to eat. The whole day passes and finally at about 6:15 I sit down at my favorite local Sushi bar and have a Spicy Tuna Roll (5pts), and a green salad (2pts). I feel satisfied for the time being….

About 3.5 hours later – yeah close to 10pm, I eat a piece of Lil Caesars Pizza (4pts) – and thats it, I’m out of time and I’m full

Total consumption for the day 11 points. I’m not supposed to do that and I know it doesn’t help me when I do.

So over 2 days I don’t look as bad – but we are supposed to eat all of our points everyday. “Steady Eddy”, is the right path…that’s hard for me but I’m on it.

Tarry

Yep… I’m struttin’ pretty tall today. Down 2.2lbs yesterday on the first weigh-in after only 2 days. Yeah, I know… the water may be responsible… but… I’ve been chugging water for the last week at least so I truly believe the portion control has helped.

I’ve also got to admit it… on Monday night I walked pretty briskly for an hour with my Wife Ferm and then went to the Gym and killed myself on the elliptical trainer for 30-40 minutes.

I feel really good… mentally good. Very much like when I started off on Atkins. Very an*l about monitoring the point count, etc… and excited about getting back to the gym.

I also learned something from the meeting yesterday and that was to not give up anything, just manage the points. So… tonight went to Earl’s with Fern… had a killer sandwich (Cajun Chicken Cheddar Sandwich on Ciabatta), had them hold the Cheddar, hold the mayo, had a big salad and you know what? I was full AND satisfied! Only problem is, didn’t leave any room for a snack tonight… no real problem though as I’m still feeling full. Maxed the points and didn’t go into bonus!

Onwards and downwards as they say…

Barry