Confessions of a Fat Guy

I grew up skinny, I mean really skinny. Ribs were countable. Knees knobbed. My dad said that when I wore shorts I looked like a pair of pliers. All through my high school and college years my inseam possessed a larger number than my waist and through it all I ate with abandon.

"Yes, I'll have the 20 piece chicken nuggets. Ten tacos? No Problem. You know what makes a Big Mac even better? Another Big Mac!" Ah, that was the life...unlimited food without consequences.

But eventually, seemingly overnight, it caught up with me. It really seemed like I went to sleep one night blissfully slim and woke up to find that my face had grown two new chins and bending down to tie my shoes was suddenly difficult. I was forced to face the ugly truth, I had turned into a fat guy.

This realization resulted in my experiencing 6 stages of fat guyness:

• Denial (I'm not fat, I've just finally filled out)
• Bargaining (OK, I'll eat the Ultimate Cheeseburger today and I won't eat the rest of the week)
• Anger (Which one of you jerks stole my metabolism?)
• Depression (I feel sad, maybe a pizza will make me happy)
• Indifference (I could lose it anytime I want, I'm just not sure I want to) and finally
• Acceptance (I like being fat. I refuse to conform to society's superficial standards).

Truth be told I have lost weight several times. I have even kept if off for several years. But stuff happens and food's siren song always beckons. Eventually I wake up and once again see a fat guy staring back at me from the bathroom mirror. Over the last couple of years I have lost and found the same 25 pounds several times. I believe it is time for me to get off the weight-loss trampoline.

I recently opened a Facebook account. One reason for that is for accountability. I figure committing to make weekly weigh-in reports via social media will create incentive to stay the course. The possibility of public shame and scorn is powerful. In December I am going to California for a wedding and to spend Christmas with family . I want to weigh less than 200 pounds by then. In addition to my Facebook updates I will use this blog to occasionally provide more detail and observations about the process. Wish me luck.