I would like to 'Thank' all of y'all who check out my profile and gallery! I appreciate that and that you took the time to look at my works!

To give a bit of background to this blog, I'll let you know that I was always in the 175 lb range up until my single car accident in 1991. I feel asleep at the wheel coming home from Albany, NY when I lived in southern Vermont at that time. My car flipped end over end three or four times and I was ejected from the vehicle (that I was driving) via the rear window, thrown up against the guardrails and back out onto the highway, head first. This took place November 10th, 1991 at approximately 7 am or so. I do not remember anything from the accident but have this knowledge via Police reports and eyewitness accounts.

Within 2-3 months of my accident, my weight shot up to app. 260 lbs! My doctors were very concerned and had me run through a battery of tests for gland problems and diseases that may cause this...nothing was found. My doctor at that time, Dr Hearst, a great great man, talked to me and he wanted me to go on a diet, not a 'fad' type thing, but to change the way I was eating and to exercise, and cut back on the sodas. At that time he had told me to cut out most of the 'fat' in the foods I was eating and not worry so much about calories; and to exercise.

I followed his advice and put myself on a rather strict diet and started walking up to 7 miles per day. Within 15 months or so I was down to 180 and my doctor was very happy with my progress and declared me healthy. I then proceeded to dump the diet and exercise and soon shot back up to my large size.. I got up to 249 lbs and have stayed that way ever since. I was wearing a 44 in my waist and have for many many years now.

I have had some neighbors, both younger and older than I, who had developed some odd medical problems and from these situations I began to worry about my general health. As I began to change little things in my 'diet' I noticed some weight loss and was happy. I cut out all the soda I drank (2-4 liters a day), and replaced the fast food and junk with prunes, bananas, and other healthy things. I saw more weight disappear. As excitement can feed on itself, I made some more changes and still following my doctors suggestions so many years ago, I've instituted the same plan, though I don't walk as much, but I DO walk everyday between 3-9 miles depending on my mood. I've also added dumb bell exercises to help tighten up the skin on my arms.. lol This change began around January 2008 when I started altering my 'diet.'

Now, as of June 15, 2009, I am down to 185 lbs and have gone from a 44 waist to currently a size 36! I feel great and have generally more energy now and am able to wear things I purchased up to 15 yrs ago and have never been able to wear!! I am planning to get down to my old weight of 176 lbs and then my goal at that point will be to Maintain that weight!! I've cut much of the fat out of my diet, don't do sodas anymore (other than one can every month or so at most), and do the daily exercises which have all paid off, again! This time, being older and wiser, I'm NOT abandoning the diet changes as I did before cause I cannot afford to keep buying clothes of all sizes all the time! lol

I am loving the fact that friends don't recongnize me when they see me in stores!! lol It really gets me when that happens! I was chatting with a dear and great friend the other night on Yahoo! and she had found a pic of me from around 2007. She shared it with me and I was amazed! (I do have many pics of myself from prior to the weight loss, but they didn't have the impact this one did) I could see my face and head were almost round and I had one arm draped across my chest, resting on my big Buddha belly! Now I know many guys have told me over the years how much they dug that belly, but omg, it's NOT healthy and it made breathing a much harder task for me! I have to say that I've not been happier with myself and my achievements here. Now when I see those commercials that say 'Diets don't work,' I realize they are right! The word has been bastardized in my opinion. Your diet is the way you eat, what you eat, and how much you eat. NOT cutting out bread for 6 weeks, or eating only bananas for 4 weeks to lose weight. It's a total change in the way you see food and what you eat in general.

I have a good friend who does 'fad' diets all the time and loses maybe 10 lbs or so, then abandons the diet only to gain it all back if not more! And this happens several times a year and I know this cannot be good for his general health. It is something that must be done for the long haul and made permanent! My only worry now is that when I do hit my target weight, how to adjust my 'diet' to keep it that way and not gain again. I'll have to experiment with adding a bit more fat to my diet and see what that does for me! I will NOT go back to the heavy set Buddha Bear! (though I'll always be THE Buddha Bear, just not the big one! lol)

Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings as always!

There are two kinds of people that go around beardless in this world; boys and women, and I am neither! -an old Greek saying...