Closer

Today's Weight: 309.8 (first time under 310 in at least 3 years!)
5-Day: 310.2

Well, it wasn't an earth-shattering weight-loss week. I dropped another 1.7 off of the average, bringing my number left to lose down to 50.2 pounds.

It seems like whenever I have a good week (almost five pounds last week), I follow it up with something a little less impressive. Still, taking the average, I've lost three pounds per week over this two-week stretch. I'd be thrilled to keep that pace up for the next 3-4 months.

The big thing for me is getting that ".2" off of the number. Getting my average to under 310 would be a nice milestone that will help me to refocus to hit 299. As soon as the .2 is gone, I'll be changing my posting technique. All of my posts will go under the heading of "The Run to 299", as I document my last days as a guy weighing over 300 pounds. My original plan was to be at 299 by the 11th. While that's still mathematically possible, it's not likely. And I'm OK with that. I've stopped worrying about when I hit my goals, and I've focused on hitting them - period. If I hit 299 in 9 days, great. If I hit it in three weeks, great. As long as I'm a little closer every day.

Now, onto something pretty impressive for me.

Becky made brownies on Friday night. Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies. Soft in the middle with a crisp crust. Amazing brownies. We each had a small piece on Friday night, making sure we kept the calorie level low. I then proceeded to eat exactly ZERO brownies on Saturday. We took the brownies to my brother's house last night (where they also had peanut butter apple pie), and I ate, again, one small piece. And I only did that because I knew I was WAY under on my calories at that point yesterday. We then too the remaining brownies home, and I noticed I was getting pretty snacky. There were the brownies, smiling seductively at me, and whispering my name softly like a gentle summer breeze. I got up from the couch, walked into the kitchen, grabbed a plate and a knife, and proceeded to cut up an apple, which I ate in the place of that brownie.

It's amazing to me how different I am, now. That never would have happened four months ago. I would have eaten two brownines, and two big glasses of milk.

Beck and I did the math yesterday on the kinds of calories we used to take in on a somewhat regular basis. The following is a realistic number of calories for me on a bad day as recently as four months ago.

Breakfast: Two doughnuts, 1 large glass of milk - 590 calories
Lunch: Four McD's double cheeseburgers, 1 Med. fry, 1 large Coke - 1,350 calories
Dinner: One large sausage pizza, one large glass of milk - 2,400 calories
Dessert: One box of Little Debbie Peanut Bars, two large glasses of milk - 2,110 calories

Total calories: 6,450

And those numbers are NOT an exaggeration. Did we eat like that every day? No, of course not. But once or twice a week? Absolutely. It was disgusting. I'm so glad that "Old Kevin" is dead and gone. Now, "New Kevin" still enjoys everything on that list, but the difference is that I understand the concept of moderation. Those things were part of my everyday routine, and now they are, at best, an occasional snack. And I haven't had doughnuts or Little Debbie's in over four months.

I sometimes eat in three days what I used to eat in one. And that's why, even though I haven't been able to excercise as much as I'd like, the pounds are still coming off.

All part of the transformation.

**Side Note**

My shoulder felt good enough for me to get a set of pushups in each of the last two days (16 and 15 - I'm not complaining), but it won't let me do anything more than that. I'm hoping it's a good sign that it's seemingly getting better, and allowing me to get a little work in before it gives out on me. Maybe doing a set a day, as well as some strengthening work on it will allow it to get back into form.

We shall see.