Less of Me

May I brag?

There are people who could stand to lose a few pounds, people who are a little tubby, and people who are overweight.

Me? I'm fat

This is where someone who has seen too many nightclub comics will say "How fat are you?" to which I reply "I'm so fat I have little fat people in orbit around me."

There's no point in denying it.. Having decided to get back into the world and stop lying around waiting to die, it's something I'll confront every day.

I am, hovever, resolved not just to confront it, but to stomp it's smarmy little ass. Celebrate my joy with me, for now I have to less of me to go around.

I got weighed this week. I was in such disbelief that after I left the doctor, I went to the hospital and weighed myself on the bariatric scale. Hah! It recorded seven pounds less than the doctor's scale did. I have dropped over 90 pounds so far this year. That's a small person. I understand I still have a long way to go. I didn't wreck myself overnight and I'm not going to fix it overnight. But I'm tremendously happy. This is way beyond my expectations.

It started with our wellness challenge at work. South Central always encourages us to give back, and to make things better for our community, and ourselves. We're a family-owned company, which is a nice contrast to the corporate gridlock that personifies America circa 2011. Periodically, they challenge us to make some marked improvement in our lives. If you're a regular listener to the show, you've heard me talking about this. (Self-serving note: If you're not a regular listener, shame on you. The least you could do is post a provocative picture on my Facebook page, that is, unless you have a Y chromosone or a husband... I used that line on the show today; see what you're missing?)

I joined in because it semed like a good way to give serious commitment to changing my diet. Because of my heart and the swelling in my calves, I can do only limited exercise. I love to take walks, but I'm just too far gone to walk very far. Not to sound too dramatic, but I have one, and only one, chance. My only hope of living is to seriously change my eating habits.

So, with inspiration from above, we all got motivated. It turned out to be fun. I was especially touched than when I'd mention this on their air or in social media, I'd get encouragement from friends and listeners. It means a lot that people would take time to wish me well. I don't deserve it, but I'll gladly accept it and gladly express my thanks.

Once the challenge was over, I found I could simply carry on with the changes I'd made. So everyone on the Hill resolved to live healthier, and hopefully, longer and better, except for one person who observed that its none of the company's damned business what hapens inside an employee's body. Me, I'm paranoid. I'm overweight and an ex-smoker. That is already grounds for ostracism socially., Given the prevailing attitudes in good-old-God-Save-America (token Joni Mitchell reference) that'll soon be acceptable grounds for getting the boot. O, brave new world that has such thin creatures in it.

Today's lesson? Less of me is nice. I can stand longer, walk farther, and breathe better, blah, blah, blah. But you know what I love best of all? The knowledge that I commited to do something, and saw it through. Correction: I am seeing it through. It's going to be a never-ending process. This fight will go on until the day I die. I hope it lasts a long time.

StevenK