The story so far...

I wasn't always fat. I must say that I am neither ashamed of the word nor am I afraid of the word. Its what I am. Hey, I'm BA and I am overweight. As a child, I was five and weighed thirty pounds. As I grew, I was husky. When I got into high school, I was chunky. When I graduated, for a brief shining moment, I was thinner but all that changed. I became more sedentary and less active. Before I knew it, I had to weigh at the post office. If I remember correctly, I began this journey weighing 440 pounds. I remember the discomfort. I remember looking in the mirror and asking myself, "How could anyone love me?" I got on phen-fen and it almost killed me.

Oh, did I mention that I had a heart problem already. Yes, born with one that could be corrected but hampered by my weight. With a Divine blessing, I was married and my long-suffering wife has stayed with me through the ups and downs. I credit her with sticking with me through it all and giving me the encouragement to not stop. I credit the incredible hand of God with give me the strength to overcome.

There is always a turning point, a red flag, or a trumpet blast to get your attention. My father died about ten years ago and I remember being uncomfortable. Recently, I looked at the pictures and discovered where all the grief manifested itself. It was in my size 66 suit. My mother passed away less than a year ago which is where cold facts finally caught up with me. We often here that morbid obesity can be a cause of death. Those two words are a mere abstract until you actually see them on a death certificate. Those two words were the secondary reasons my mother passed away. The primary reason was complications from diabetes. Her death was my wake up call. Her final months were excruciating and ones that I wanted to avoid for myself as much as possible.

And so begins the journey...I began my taking a vitamin supplement that had green tea extract and guarana. I then took steps to slowly change my eating habits. I started out at 402 pounds. This blog will be the record of the loss that I hope to experience now that will keep me from a worse loss later. So, how much have I lost since I started...you'll find out later. For now, the picture above is what I looked like on November 26, 2008. Today, I weigh 348. Tomorrow...Once a week, I will return to give an update. My goal--195. I'll get there.

Sincerely,

BA