*sits in quiet auditorium of people… raises hand and is called upon to stand up*

Hi… my name is Keith and I am a food-a-holic. I have been a food-a-holic most of my life, but used to be active enough not to have to worry about the effects. That all changed over the last decade, but my eating habits did not. So, as you would expect, I gained weight. At my peak, I weighed 385 pounds. That was in 2005.

Starting in July of 2005, I began to work on weight loss. I was also taking dextroamphetamine (dexadrin a.k.a. prescription speed) for dealing with Attention Deficit Disorder. The dexadrin jump-started and drove my metabolism at a high rate, and losing weight was easy. I dropped to 285 pounds in about 8 months and had little to no appetite. Then I decided I didn’t like the mental effects of the dexadrin and stopped taking it. The food cravings came back, and very quickly I was shooting back up. In mid-2007, I was back to 365 and determined to halt the trend.

I joined Weight Watchers, and experienced a fair amount of success. By January of 2008, I had dropped back down to 328 pounds and was on track with my goal of getting down to 245 by the end of this year. But then I could no longer afford Weight Watchers, and doing it on my own wasn’t as compelling as going to meetings. My food cravings got worse as I dealt with personal stress, and as of this weekend, I was at 375 pounds, my highest since 2005. I am determined to lose the weight, hit my goal and be healthier, for many reasons including wanting to have a long, healthy life with those that I love and because I believe it will help with my depression.

Right now I still do not have the money for Weight Watchers. I am prepared to make some hard changes to my budget to afford it if need be, but first I am going to work hard at trying it the SparkPeople way. SparkPeople is a health and wellness site that support weight loss, including tracking food and exercise. It has been recommended by a couple of friends, so I am going to see if I can make it work for me. Because I also do better with public accountability, I will be posting my progress on here as well, though no more than weekly unless something dramatic happens! Hopefully we’ll see positive trends here. If YOU are working on weight loss, please feel free to contact me and we can support each other!

Until later… have a healthy day!

(Sung to the tune of Mamma Mia by Abba)

I’ve been eating at you since you first opened
And today I saw your new sign, saying bring in a friend
Look at me now, I eat here too much
I’m a big cow but I just passed the salad bowl
For sausage I’d barter my soul
Just one taste and I hear Pavlov’s bell ring
One more taste and I will eat everything, o-o-o-oh

Pizzaria, here I eat again
Oh, my, how can I resist you?
Pizzaria, tummy’s grown again
Oh, my, just how much I missed you
Yes, I’ve been to the slice bar
More than once I’ve been so far
Oh, why do you have to tempt me so?
Pizzaria, now I really owe
A bill I’m afraid to have to show

I’ve been hungry and bad about my weight loss with you
I can’t count all the times that I’ve avoided you
But then I’m here, with a coupon too
The buffet is near and I can’t stay away too long
You know that I’m not that strong
Just one taste and I hear Pavlov’s bell ring
One more taste and I will eat everything, o-o-o-oh

Pizzaria, here I eat again
Oh, my, how can I resist you?
Pizzaria, tummy’s grown again
Oh, my, just how much I missed you
Yes, I’ve been to the slice bar
More than once I’ve been so far
Oh, why do you have to tempt me so?
Pizzaria, even if I stray
Oh, say, to my local Subway
Pizzaria, you just have to say
Oh, say, Two-for-one and I’ll stay

Pizzaria, here I eat again
Oh, my, how can I resist you?
Pizzaria, tummy’s grown again
Oh, my, just how much I missed you
Yes, I’ve been to the slice bar
More than once I’ve been so far
Oh, why do you have to tempt me so?
Pizzaria, now I really owe
A bill I’m afraid to have to show