Half The Man

 There are three major milestones all close to each other, so we're going to celebrate them all at once, even though they're not all "official" yet!


The first...     at 243 pounds, half of what I weighed at my peak (486 pounds), I become Half The Man I used to be!

The second...  at 240 pounds I tie the lowest weight I've ever gotten to as an adult, and at 239 I weigh what I did in 10th grade.

 The third...  at 236 pounds I will have lost 250 pounds!!

I said:   TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY POUNDS!



 My "official" weight this morning, the one reported on my blog and weight graph, which is a running ten day average, is 240.3 pounds, so I've "officially" hit the first half of those goals.
 My "unofficial" weight, the actual weight of the scale this morning, was 236.0 pounds, so I've "unofficially" hit the other half!   It is fitting that we celebrate them all together!




They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  In some cases, a picture tells the whole story.  I think the two pictures below say more than any ten thousand words I could type, so I don't see the point in cluttering up this post with too many more words!

 The first is of me at my peak weight and me at my current weight:

480-ish Pounds                                        237 Pounds

And the second is of me at my current weight standing in one pants leg of the pants I wore at my largest weight.

   
What can I say that'll top that?   Not much.   So I'll spend the rest of this blog post listing off and thanking many of the people who've had an impact on my journey to better health.  I can't possibly list them all, but know that I am truly grateful for everyone's never ending encouragement.   A few people I'd like to mention by name are:

Chris and Emma are two good friends who are ethical vegans and who have shared with me over the years their reasons for eating as they do and who, although they didn't know it, planted some seeds that made it easier for me when I finally decided to change my diet.

Jerry is a friend from a local group we're both in.  Two years ago he invited us to come watch a video about diet and nutrition.   That video had an impact on me.  I wasn't even going to go watch it, but my friend Billy cared enough about me to call me and remind me about it and encourage me to go watch it.   Billy and his wife, because of their own diet and lifestyle, have also had an influence on my dietary decisions and weight loss.   

 Paula is a dear friend who was thrilled that I wanted to mill my own wheat and bake my own bread.    She kindly invited me into her home and spent an afternoon showing me how to bake bread!  She also gave me a book, titled Flour Power, which really had an impact on steering me away from processed foods of all kinds.

Diane, who was curious and supportive of my weight loss efforts was the one who told me about a book she was reading called The China Study, and suggested I read it and also look up someone else she found on the internet...    by the name of Dr. John McDougall.   Dr. McDougall has had more of an influence on my dietary changes than any other person.   His video The Starch Solution  brought everything I had been learning into focus and laid out a clear path for me to follow.   Once I got a grasp of a whole-foods starch-centered diet my journey kicked into overdrive and it's been a rocket ride ever since!  On his website is a forum where more people have been an inspiration to me than I could possibly list.

 Jeff Novick is a dietitian and nutritional guru.  His simple and clear explanation of Calorie Density has given me the single most powerful tool in my weigh loss arsenal.  

 Diamond Dallas Page, creator of DDP Yoga which I've been doing since June 2012, has been a real help.   If you're not familiar with DDP Yoga, check it out.

 But more than any other person on the planet, I owe more thanks to my wife, Lisa, who has not only loved and supported me every step of this journey, but who loved and supported me just as I was before I even began this journey.   The world is seeing an incredible transformation in me as I lose all this weight...   she saw the potential within me before I even started, and has been by my side encouraging me every step of the way.   I could not, and would not have done it without her love and support.   

Thank you All!

Happy Eating!

-Norm  aka John Smith