This post also appeared on www.capecodonline.com/blogs in the opinion section of the Cape Cod Times, a division of Ottaway Newspapers, Inc.
Not that anyone cares or is actually keeping track, but since I’ve written about the Weight Loss Death Match my friends and I started in the past, I figured I’d update.
It began on May 4, which means in just more than 11 weeks I’ve now lost 26 lbs. I started at 246 lbs and this morning I was exactly at 220 lbs. Not bad, but also not good enough. My buddy Alex was…well, we’ll just call it “significantly heavier” and truth be told, this competition was always his to lose. If he stuck to his diet and worked out regularly he was going to win. So essentially, I wasn’t betting on myself. I was betting against him. I know that sounds mean, but it’s actually not. And to his credit, he has basically halved himself. He’s lost something like 60-70 lbs and he’ll win this bet walking away.
But you know what? Even though I’m going to lose $100 because of it, it just might be the best $100 I ever spent. You see, I need competition to succeed. And when that competition is coupled with gambling and a chance to taunt my friends? Well, then I’m a happy guy. But for $100 I will have lost more than 30 lbs when the weigh-in is held next month. I’ve gone from a size 42 waist to a 38 (which are starting to get loose). I couldn’t run more than a mile without getting completely winded before, and now I can run 5 miles at a time. I quit smoking entirely, I’m eating better, I have portion control and my wife (who would never say anything to me about my weight) admitted she thinks I look much better now. And one of my good friends is now in the best shape of his life, which is comforting because we were all starting to worry about potential health problems as he gets older. I’ll probably never say it to his face, but I’m glad he turned it around and I’m actually (oh man this is going to hurt) really proud of him.
But as for my other friend named Billy who I haven’t seen since this competition started…just wait until Aug. 15 when it’s discovered that you haven’t lost any weight. You have a night of fat jokes ahead of you big guy.
But as successful as Alex and I have been at this, our bet is drawing to a close and we’re both a little worried about not having the proper incentive to keep this going. And yes, I know, we should both keep it going because it’s healthy, we’ll live longer and our friends and loved ones want us around. We know this, but we’re insane and we need weird motivation. So Alex came up with another plan.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, may I present to you…
The 2008 Fat Guy Physical Challenge!
The weekend of Oct. 26 we will head up to our alma mater, North Adams State College in the Berkshires (now renamed Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts) and run in the annual Sam Gomez 5k Road Race. Well, technically we will drink our faces off and relive our college days on Friday night and Saturday, but then on Sunday we’ll run. And we’re going to have bizarre bets and punishments for whoever comes in last among us. We’ll also have shirts made up too. No word on what will be on the shirts, but we’ll come up with something hilarious. But more important, it gives us another three months to focus on a long-term goal and keep our momentum going. My ultimate goal is to lose 50 lbs which would get me under the 200-lb mark for the first time since I was in college.
Halfway there!
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