One year ago, today, I jumped on the
and saw the numbers 201...I was 
shocked! I had never in my life weighed over 200 pounds. It was right then and there that I promised myself to do something about it and stick with it for a year. I have done that 
Now, this weight didn't
sneak up on me 
And I wasn't in denial about it ...I just didn't want to do anything about it....just kept hoping it would magically 
disappear 
I was aware that getting it to go 
bye-bye was going to take effort. I was becoming LAY-ZMONEY At some point early in this adventure I decided to cal it my "journey of better choices."My story is not anything special. I have been here at 3FC for a long time and have seen many of you overcome tremendous obstacles to achieve your weight loss
. I have read your stories of personal demons that have attributed to some of your weight gains. I have 
prayed with and for many of you. My story is nothing like that but I want to share it with you because I know there are times when many of us give up too soon. I have been guilty of that 
And that is why I am proud of myself today.For me, and only speaking for me, any kind of diet was not going to be something I would stick with.....what if I couldn't have
or 
...not an option I thought about calorie counting, and although I think it might be best for me, I was sure I wouldn't follow through with it....it might take too much effort....I'm not that good at math ....it would take too long....again, LAY-ZMONEY rears it's 
ugly head! However, I did have an
idea. I figured out that I could live on less After all I have been living on less already. My son and daughter ran off and got married, my step-daughter took off for college and knucklehead nephew went and enlisted in the NAVY so there were less kids runnin' around the house. Angie had entered pre-menopause so there were other things I was getting less of 
HERE IS WHAT I DID THAT WORKED FOR ME ~
BREAKFAST BEFORE JOURNEY ~ Nothing! Some mornings I leave at 3am so no time!
NOW ~I don't care what time I leave, I eat a healthy breakfast. Sometimes oatmeal ~ or cold cereal ~ or whole wheat toast and turkey bacon...I mix it up.
LUNCH BEFORE ~Anything leftover from dinner...pizza
~ sandwiches of ham and cheese ~ bags of potato chips ~ when I was home I had nachos with tons of ~ those wrapped pastry things 
~ easy to eat granola barsNOW ~Almost every single day I have a thermos of low sodium - low calorie
chicken noodle soup, when I get tired of it...not often...I switch it up by making my own chili. I am not sure of the calories in my chili but I really don't care and I almost always have a nice turkey sandwich, with meat from the deli...without all the nitrates (thank-you Vegan and Veggie Chicks for that one! 
) on whole wheat bread. NO CHIPS! or anything wrapped in plastic! And usually a yogurt.SNACKS BEFORE ~ANYTHING I could grab! Calories were not ever considered! Many times we start at 6am or earlier.... we eat at 10am and that's it for food until I get home from work. I would hit the door starving around 3pm...grab a beer and a BIG bag of chips.
NOW ~ carrots
~ olives ~ low-cal wheat and rice crackers are mine all mine 
DINNER BEFORE ~ To be honest Angie and I have reasonably healthy food for dinner...my issue has always been portion control! Heck, only 1
burger left...I'LL EAT IT!....half a casserole...I'LL EAT IT!....half a pizza ...I'LL EAT IT!NOW ~ I place a reasonable amount of food on my plate....when I finish that I
ruuuuuuuuunnnnnn from the table! I have figured out that if I start feeling like I am going to 
starve to death, I will have enough energy to make it to the fridge! AFTER DINNER SNACK BEFORE ~Klondike bars ~ chips and dip and chips and dip and chips and dip ~
NOW ~I actually count out a serving size of wheat or rice crackers.
Now, you all know that I am not perfect and I might...OK...I will cheat from time to time. I have had nachos ~ I have had a big bowl or two of un-buttered
popcorn ~ I have had I just don't eat an entire pizza anymore ~ I don't go to fast food places except on a very rare occasion, before my "journey" fast food was, often times, my first choice on the week-end for lunch.
DINNER OUT BEFORE ~No problem getting an extra taco to go with that
cheese enchilada plate or getting a pizza to go to bring home for the week-end lunches AFTER eating an entire Italian meal with appetizer of bruschetta and maybe sharing a cannoli with Angie.DINNER OUT NOW ~NEVER bring a
pizza home! I don't order that extra taco and Angie and I do 
date night now a little different with FRIDAY NIGHT SPLITS...where we get one meal and split it, sometimes we add a salad or a bowl of soup but we have found that we can eat just fine on one meal! EXERCISE BEFORE ~
Hit and miss 
I have been walking and doing 5K's ever since I quit 
smoking 11 years ago. I would however, go for long stretches and be LAY-ZMONEY NOW ~ Since I started this "journey" I have
walked/jogged 984 miles on the treadmill 
or dog walks which gives me about 250 hours of exercise! 
My dogs are very happy ...and healthy!I realize I have missed 500
JUDY'S because I wasn't at home sitting in my recliner...but I can live with that..not easy mind you but it is do-able WEIGH-IN ~I find, for me, that I can stay focused much better by weighing every single day. If I am up a pound or two I feel I have the
power and the 
strength to beat down 1 measley pound at a time!FOCUS ~I think about EVERY SINGLE MEAL and SNACK ~ If I do something un-healthy, I do it willingly...and I prepare myself to the consequences! If I decide to eat half a pizza
I know I will need to do a few extra miles...and I DO IT! ....hey...what a slogan..."just do it"...SUPPORT AT HOME BEFORE ~My family has always supportive of me no matter what I weigh. Through this "journey" they have encouraged and praised me
My WIFE has always set the example in our home for good health. She does this by example with her 
cooking ~ her 
yoga and her 
exercise Other than an occasional "Who's your little friend?" when I step out of the shower, she never says a word to me about my weight. She knows that I know what to do about it or anything else un-healthy that I might be doing to my body.
SUPPORT NOW ~See above...I am a
LUCKY MAN 
another reason I am a very LUCKY GUY ~
is because of all of you!I cannot thank you ENOUGH for the support you have given me this year
I would love to 
thank-you all personally but it would take up the entire page!!I thank my Lord and Savior everyday for His gift to me and His gift of all of you
So there is my story! As I said nothing special about it but it's "my journey" and I'm stickin' to it!
Oh and by the weigh
I lost 31 pounds on this journey! I weighed in at 170 pounds today! That is quite a bonus....for me, it's not about the weight...it is about the journey!
