Day 1

This is my attempt to change my life, maybe not in a drastic way, but hopefully something significant. I have been far too overweight for far too long, and while I have managed to avoid major health issues so far, I know it is only a matter of time before my current lifestyle catches up to me.

This is not me redefining everything about myself; there are certain things I'm just not willing to do, and I feel that if I am going to succeed, it's going to be while maintaining roughly the same 'me' as I have always been. A great example: one of my larger friends had a life-changing moment when he broke a toilet. He lost 200lbs over the next year and change, through an insane gym regiment and a fixation on eating what basically amounted to grilled chicken and steamed veggies for every meal. That's not me. I don't have the motivation or the time to change my life in that way.

My 'sympathy belly'

Let me tell you a little more about my life. I am a programmer in my late 20s. In general, my day involves getting up, rushing through the morning chores, driving to work, sitting in a chair for 8+ hours, driving home, then dinner and TV with the wife until bed. Wash rinse repeat x5, then the weekend, also full of chores. Most meals have a large 'now' factor, so fast food / take out is a major issue. My one semi-significant form of exercise is golf, something I try to do once a weekend unless things get in the way. I also occasionally squeeze in a trip to the range before or after work. To add to the 'sedentary' problem, I do a lot of coding in my spare time as well; making video games and other simple apps, most of which never see the light of day. I play my fair share of video games, too.

I have hovered around 260lbs for 5-6 years now.

One of the points of this for me will be full disclosure. Even knowing I was going to be writing this, I had McDonalds for breakfast: BEC biscuit, hashbrown, medium iced coffee cream and sugar. It's exactly the reason I am here. Guilt doesn't work; I am not a fan of my body, but negativity doesn't motivate me. Even the knowledge that my weight may kill me if I give it another decade doesn't always help.

I want to document my journey, the highs, the lows, and everything in between. And hopefully along the way I can find the changes that add up to a newer, healthier me.