Day 18

Kyle 270.0 day -2.2 total -24.6

Jenny 157.4 day -2.8 total -9.2

That's better! The hits keep coming for me, and Jenny finally had a breakthrough and dropped almost three pounds! Her frustration has been relieved, except for the frustration over being so sensitive, which she's accepting and getting over.

A fun part of losing weight is an expanded wardrobe. Over the weekend I pulled three pairs of jeans and six pairs of shorts out of the "thinner" bin. The irony is that I purchased a lot of my clothes as "fat" clothes that I intended to be able to wear for only a short while until I lost some weight. As exciting as it is to put on smaller clothes, it's a little sad to be dropping down to sizes that were "this is as big as I get" sizes.

And there's something funny about numbers and how things are relative.

I was so happy with my body after college. I weighed 225, mostly muscle and just a little fat. I was athletic, strong, fast, and had fun being active.

On my way up, 270 was out of control, huge, FAT! I was miserable and embarrassed, and I dreaded running into someone who had not seen me in a few years. I imagined the things they would be thinking, and I was embarrassed without having to actually experience it. But now at 270, on the way down, I feel so good that I WANT to be around people. I don't care what they think. I would just say, "Did you SEE me two weeks ago?!" And then laugh with glee.

I had the opportunity to introduce the protocol to a client today. She'll be 65 in September. I'm helping her with her retirement plan, which includes her Medicare coverage, life insurance, her nest egg, and more. With certain products, health can be an issue, and and may disqualify someone from enrollment. She told me she takes medication for high blood pressure (almost everyone I meet does), and that she is borderline type two diabetic. We discussed how much getting her weight down would help her, and how many more options she would have in her planning if she avoids the diagnosis. When I told her how much weight I've lost (I didn't tell her how quick), she said she'd love more information. I'm excited to go into more detail once we get business out of the way.

Jenny had womens' bible study tonight, which meant I had the kiddos all to myself. They kept me busy, like they always do, which is a blast (I could be a stay-at-home dad and love it!), but once they went to sleep, I had to deal with some cravings. I was bored! I kept thinking, "What can I do?", and eating something kept popping up as my first choice. I picked up after the kids here and there, then wanted to eat something. I played a few rounds of Modern Warfare 2, then wanted to eat something. I laid in bed and read for a bit, then wanted to eat something! I hate the evening/nighttime mental cravings. They hit me at the end of a long day, and sometimes seem so innocent. But the worst part is how I can do so well all day long, then negate every bit of it if I'm stupid enough to give in. Fortunately, I did not. I have too much invested to make that mistake again. But still, it was stronger than it has been in about a week.