Milestone in my weight history

I know that few of you really care about how much I weigh (stop reading now if weight does not interest you) but as someone that has faced this challenge for many years, a significant milestone has been reached and another one is close at hand. I write this not only to celebrate my successes but also to inspire others who brave the weight loss game. But first, a history, to gain perspective...

After years of high school football I was roughly 200-205 lbs with a semester of school left. After a coaching change made my baseball situation tenuous I decided to try shot-put and discuss on the Track and Field Team. It was then that I first learned how much I enjoyed running. A track coach somehow saw potential in a chubby lineman and helped me loose 30 lbs that spring and made me marginally competitive in the 1/2 mile to 2 mile distance races. At 170 lbs my mom actually asked me if I was battling anorexia!?!

Three years and a mission later I had drifted up to 220 lbs but was able to drop that back down to 195 over the next year before my wedding day. That is when it fell apart. I gained 45 lbs the first year and steadily climbed to 275 lbs sometime around 1999-2000. With the babysitting of a friend's daughter I was inspired to work out on a regular basis for the first time since before my marriage and the pounds dropped. I soon found myself at 228 when disaster struck, my babysitter moved! Then started the oscillations, 265-->235-->260-->240-->260-->235-->255 alll in the span of 5.5 years. But I was never able to get back down to the 228 of that first cycle.

That is until now. I am currently at 223. Still not as low as I would like to be but finally broken through a barrier that had been quite significant before. What has been different this time? No one thing I would say. Seeing loved ones fighting the health effects associated with excess weight, having the potential of being lighter than my twin for the first time since childbirth, reintroducing the competitive element with the running of a road race in Atlanta, and many other reasons. I draw strength from whatever moves me that day! Most days it is just a desire to be better for my wife and children.

From here? Nothing is certain. At 220, only 3 lbs away, my BMI will drop below 30 and I will officially no longer carry the title of "obese" but will still be "overweight". I'll take that with pride. 6 months ago 220 had been my goal, now as I start a new year I find myself setting a new one. Any number starting with the number 1 seems unfathomable so I will probably draw the line at 200 and reassess if and when I get close. With any luck (and a bit of hard work) I will be close to that when we journey west for our vacation in July. Only time (and the scale) will tell.

Family Pictures

As you can see, we have updated our family picture this month. It is actually the first one we have had with little Liesie in it as we missed last year's picture. This is also the first time that we had to have kids standing behind us and the first time we had to go landscape to fit us all in. As we feared the worst with a baby posing we were surprised to discover that she was the best behaved. Just about everyone else had at least one picture that was tossed on their behalf. Not Liesie Lu as she had a perfect smile in every picture (even if her hair was a mess).

I think this is only the second picture since our wedding pictures that is professionally done and is just Jamie and me. She says I look young in this picture but she has been saying that a lot since I shaved. (The verdict is still out on that, I seem to be running roughly 50/50 in my goatee feedback with one vote from my sister in law for a chin beard) In fairness to her you need to understand that the bluish tint to these pictures make her highlights a lot more silver than they are in person...

And here are the kids, rotten as ever. Caleb 8, Michaela 6, Joshua 4, and Anneliese 1 & a half. Once again you can see that Liesie was the best poser (I mean that in a good way).

Hope you enjoy the pictures...