I went to the doctor today for my annual physical and when I stepped on the scale, I weighed 330 pounds.

And I couldn't be more thrilled.

I know what you're saying. Who in their right mind would be thrilled to weigh 330 pounds?!

I am, because on August 1st, I weighed in at 373 pounds.

As far as I know, that's more or less the heaviest I've ever been in my life. My decision to get my life together and start living healthy wasn't something that necessarily happened on a whim. On Friday, July 30th I was at the radio station when I happened to run into a co-worker. He works on the other side of our floor, so I rarely see him, but we both happened to be in the break room and I could tell he had lost a lot of weight. I asked him about it, and come to find out, he had lost right around 100 pounds. I asked him how he did it, and he was on a weight loss plan utilizing the HCG hormone.

The following morning, being a Saturday, I got up with my wife and we started talking. I confessed to her that I had not been happy with myself mentally and physically for a very long time (something I promise I will get into more in a later post). I said basically I had to make a change in my life because I could not continue living the way I was. I told her about the HCG diet, and while she was supportive of the idea, did point out how expensive the treatments were and the fact that you are on a crazy low amount of calories (500/day, which I've come to learn is ridiculously low). She suggested that I try to just eat lower calorie and see where that gets me, and then after 6 months if I haven't made any progress, we could look into starting an HCG program.

So that's what I did. I cut my caloric intake from what I believe was between 3,500 - 4,000 calories/day to 1,200 - 1,500 calories/day. I was really cranky about it at first, but after a week or so, my body had adapted and now I get and stay full on much smaller meals. I also have cut soda and other drinks with calories completely out of my diet. I now drink only water, with tea and coffee on occassion and only if we're out eating somewhere.

About 2 weeks into the diet, I started exercising. It began with walking around my block. I remember the first few days, I could only get about a mile before I was completely exausted, but I slowly built that up to the point where I could walk 3 miles. I have started incorporating jogging into the routine, and that has helped speed along the weight loss.

So why now? Why just start blogging about this after I've already lost 43 pounds and not from the beginning? It's something I've asked myself quite often. The best answer I can come up with is embarrasement. I was embarrased by who I had become and how I had let myself go. I was also afraid to talk about it for fear of letting people down who were pulling for me, but I've come to realize that's a big reason to talk about it. It helps to keep me accountable and continue on the journey.

I'm not exactly sure what I expect to get out of all this other than looking and feeling better, but hopefully taking you on my journey to a healthier and better life will not only help me, but perhaps someone else who is struggling through the same things that I am.

So please, check back often. I won't let you down. Promise.