Weigh in, 196 pounds lost so far!

I was worried that I would not have a loss this week because of an earlier in the week look at the scale and the fact that last Saturday I ate pretty bad but this morning I was pleasantly surprised. I will get right to it, I stepped onto the scale and it said 338.2 pounds, that's a 3 pound loss for the week and I am more than happy with that three pounds. 196 total pounds lost since Jan 2008 and a mere 4 pounds separates me from being able to say that I have lost 200 pounds, maybe I will actually get there by next Friday, maybe not, either way when I think back to day one (which is as clear as yesterday) I can remember how I felt that I was starting in on another attempt to lose weight that was bound to fail and here I am 4 pounds away from having lost 200 pounds, here are the Friday photos for your viewing pleasure.

No flash in a dim room but there it is! 338.2 pounds!

This is Laura Vukov and she weighs 196 pounds, I lost a whole her!

Over all I am feeling good about what I have accomplished but then who wouldn't feel good after losing close to 200 pounds? It is a bitter sweet feeling if I am being honest, on the one hand I have just lightened my body by just about 200 pounds and have been living healthy for about 17 months, more than likely I have added years to my life and I feel awesome! on the other side of the fence is the years gone that cannot be gotten back, 200 pounds ago I was unhappy and how many years have I wasted by allowing myself to get to that size? I mean its awesome that I have lost this much but at the same time is that really a title someone should try to attain? "the guy that lost 200 pounds" (do not think for a second that I dwell on this, it is merely a thought in the many that enter my head daily) The fact that I have lost this amount with nothing more than determination is the awesome part to me, I did not use any miracle diet plan or pills, I did not have to buy into a plan that offers pre made meals, and I did not buy any books or cards that tell me how much to eat and when, and the best part is that I did this without surgery.

The reason that I started doing this the way that I did was because I feared for my life, I was honestly afraid that I would walk down the street and bamn! dead from a heart attack. Imagine living a life where you honestly thought that any day could be the day, just from walking up stairs to go to bed, or carrying something heavy up stairs for your wife could kill you because of the strain that was on your heart, hell, just walking up the stairs I was carrying something heavy! Myself! Now imagine that you were responsible for that condition only because you could not control how much and what kinds of food you were eating, imagine.

I do understand that losing weight is much more difficult than anyone that has never struggled with it knows but at the end of the day we are responsible for what we choose to eat, we are the one responsible for whether we do some exercise or not, I am responsible for my actions and you yours, everything else is an excuse. I have heard people say things like "but I can only walk 5 minutes before I cannot walk any more" ok, then walk for 5 minutes per day until you can walk 6, so on and so on. When I started off I could barely walk a 1/3 of a mile trot around the block and that was at a 2 year olds pace! now I walk just under 2 miles 5-6 times per week and can walk more than 3 miles straight without feeling anything but relaxed. "but I can't afford a gym" I have never belonged to a gym in my entire life, which may explain a few things! but my point is that its not needed, body weight exercises, walking, yard work, anything can count as exercise when you are as big as I was! "I have a limited budget and cannot afford to shop the way I need to in order to lose weight" as my Grandfather use to say "awe horse puckey" I am by no means well off, in fact I am a stay at home dad so we live off of one income currently and let me tell ya with 2 kids and one of them special needs I do not have money to burn! smart shopping along with bulk shopping will do the trick every time, give it a shot.

I will get on down off of my soap box for now because I want to get out there and get a walk in this morning, 3 pounds down and that much closer to that 200 pound lost mark and I am feeling pretty good this morning. Anyone reading this for the first time, know that it is possible to lose the weight and live healthy with a little determination and discipline, toss in a bit of smart shopping, exercise and recipe planning and well, ya get what we got right here!

Thanks for following along and thank you all for the support that you leave me daily.

As Ever
Me