Weight just a second...

I have got to start running again or something. 190 freaking pounds. That sucks!

I got up this morning. Put on some jeans that I've been wearing for years and they are tight. Never been tight before. Now they're tight. Dammit!

I've weighed around 180 for several years now. I didn't really like being at 180, but I'd grown to tolerate it. Now this ghastly development.

I feel like I should recap my weight over the years. Let’s start 20 years ago. I was a freshman in high school and weighed about 160 lbs. Soaking wet. In my first few years of high school I played football and baseball, so I worked out a good bit. By the time I graduated I was around 175 to 180.

After high school my workouts diminished. They diminished to the point of death. By the time I got married in 1995, I was up to 190 or so. Then things really ballooned. My son was born in 1997. We went to the beach that summer. Someone took a picture. Upon seeing the photograph I was disgusted. I weighed around 230 pounds. And it was time to change that.

I started following a low-carb diet of my own design. Diet Mt. Dew and BBQ pork rinds for breakfast. For lunch and dinner I had many options: omelets, hot dogs & hamburgers sans buns, bacon & eggs. Beef jerky and cheese for snacks.

Within a few months I lost 40 pounds. Eventually I lost another 10 or 15. 175 was not bad. I quit the diet and gained back a little. We moved to Birmingham in 2000. I was back up around 190 by then.

While in Birmingham I roller-coastered between 175 – 190. It depended on my mood. Then I moved to Paducah.

I moved to Paducah alone because our house in Birmingham would not sell. I lived there without my family for about 2 months. During those weeks I lived on Slim Fast and turkey sandwiches. Slim Fast drink for breakfast. Slim Fast “meal replacement bar” for lunch. Half a turkey sandwich for dinner. By the time Misty and the kids joined me in Kentucky, I weighed about 160.

I stayed close tot hat weight for quite a while. That summer I had to wear a jacket and tie to something at church. The only one I had came from the time I weighed over 200 lbs. It looked like I was wearing my dad’s coat.

My mom happened to mention that she had one of my old blazers at their house. It was from my Freshman Football Banquet. (Where I received the award for Best Offensive Lineman.) The next time I was in Florence I tried it on. It fit. 15 years and 75 pounds up and 75 pounds down later, it fit again.

I started running on the treadmill. I ran 3 miles 3-4 times a week. I ate Slim Fast bars for lunch almost every day. I kept the weight off while we were in Paducah. Then, in December of 2004, we moved back to Florence.

After that I started to slowly gain the weight back. I was up to about 190 less than a year after we moved back to Florence back. (I think I tracked that diet in the blog. You can check the archives starting around August 2005.) Within a few months I lost back down to 170.

I did a good job of keeping it off for a long time. I simply started eating less. I never ate sweets. I was Mr. Will Power. Unfortunately that didn’t last.

Not long ago I was hovering at 185. “Not acceptable,” I thought. Mostly because I know 185 is not that far from 230. So I decided to eat a little less, and maybe exercise more. And by more I mean any. Any at all.

Now here I am another 5 pounds heavier. Well, I’m done. No more eating. It’s time for Mr. Will Power to make a comeback. 175, I’ll see you soon! Then it’s on to 165. After that, maybe 160.

I just hope I don’t have to resort to exercising.