Seventeen pounds

That's how much weight I'm down since June 20th.  And yes, it has been a concerted effort, with an initial six weeks or so of eating mostly protein and cutting out practically all carbohydrates.  No chips, fries, or hash browns.  Pretty much the entire potato.  Also, no bread or pasta.  Or BEER.  In years past that would have been a doozy, but with an expectant wife I have not found myself going out as much (and, really, who wants to enjoy a nice patio outing when its consistently hitting 100 degrees during the day??).  Indeed, when I attempted diets featuring a distinct lack of carbohydrates in years past, it was beer that derailed them.  I have no problem eating a protein diet and don't really miss the carbs if I don't dwell on it.  Breakfast of eggs, bacon, and sausage?  Yes, please.  Salad at lunch, meat at dinner?  Yep.  If I need crunchy -- Lee's pork rinds, conveniently located at the Shell station across from UAMS, are mighty fine. 

So, without beer or other alcohol getting in the way*, I proceeded to drop about ten pounds before I felt like I started plateauing.  In order to jump start my weight loss, I changed up to a veggie-fruit-and-nut diet, hoping to confuse my metabolism.  Apparently, a weight-loss plateau can be hit in a high protein diet and I didn't want to lose momentum.  So far, so good on this new veggie/fruit diet, as it has resulted in another seven pounds.  As you can see, I approached this from a completely scientific angle ;)  That being said...

Seventeen pounds.  Fitting into clothes so much better and actually have had to get a smaller belt.  Some shorts I wear now fall off with it.  A long way to go, but I'm pleased so far with the progress.

BTW, do you know what seventeen pounds actually looks like?  Well, one pound of fat would look like four sticks of butter.  Four of these:

So, using basic math skills (or the calculator on my iPhone), seventeen pounds of fat looks like 68 sticks of butter.  Or, if you need a better visual aid, I appropriated this image from the web, which portends to be the same as approximately one pound of fat:

Seventeen of these things.  Blech.  Makes me want to double that number. And double it again.

I'm still a good seventy pounds away from where I want to be, so this is still a work in progress.  But I want to quit taking my cholesterol medication and my blood pressure medication, and to be healthy for my little girl and soon-to-be-born son.  I also want to be able to run on the soccer field again like I used to.  And to fit better in my clothes.  So, yeah, I still got a way to go.

But still.  Seventeen pounds.  Nothing to sneeze at.

* OK, fair disclosure, so I did go out with friends for beers a couple of times during this time period.  Probably set me back a bit, but I am, after all, a social animal :)