And So It Begins....

Today is Monday, 4 January 2009.  I'm officially beginning today, and not a moment too soon.  I weighed in today at the most I remember weighing since high school.  And at least back then I had the excuse of lifting weights 6+ hours per week.  I'm at 263.4 pounds.  Honestly, I never imagined I'd be up that high.  I still wear the same clothes I have for a while, though they obviously don't fit as comfortably.  I also meant to take overall body measurements during this process, but I didn't have time to do that this morning.

While I find myself more than a little depressed, I'm glad I finally just stepped on the scale for the first time in the last few months.  It was a nice dose of reality.  That being said, I'm also considering being more aggressive with my goal now.  Ideally I had wanted to be around 220 by my birthday on April 2, assuming I was closer to 250.  While I'll likely keep my official goal at 30 pounds before then, I'm going to shoot for 40.

I'm sick of feeling so unhealthy and generally pride myself on being in pretty good shape.  I've let that get away and I need to get it back.  I also have a bet to win.  My friend and I have a bet.  He wants to get under 175 and I want to get under 220.  Whoever does it first gets a best buy gift card.  He doesn't have as much to lose as I do, but he also drinks more than I do, so I'm counting on that to help. What's irritating is that just over a year ago I was at 222.  I could have just taken a laxative and won the bet.  However, at least it gives me a little additional motivation now. =)

So, between that and being back to work for the first time in a week and a half, today kind of sucks so far.

According to livestrong.com, I need 2,149 calories per day to meet my goal.  And considering that I do best on high protein diets, that should be a relatively easy number to stay under.  As I said in my original post, I'm doing a combination of Nutrisystem and my own custom diet. 

I can't wait to get back in shape the way I should be.

I'm sure I'll have more to type later, so I'll check back in then.