Day 188: 50 Pound Mark

So, for the last several weeks, when people come up to me and tell me I am losing weight, they always ask how much.  It is a fair question, I suppose.  I have been answering that I have lost "About 50 pounds."  The 50 pound mark, truthfully, has never actually been attained, but it just seemed easier than saying 48.7 pounds.  Now, friends, I can say it:  I have lost 50 pounds.

It is, I think, quite an accomplishment and something I never thought I would get to.  But I have.  It has, however, created some disappointment.  To explain this, let me tell you a quick story.  Many years ago, a friend recommended a biography on Theodore Roosevelt called The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt.  It was an amazing book.  I really, really liked it.  It was about 1100 pages though, so it was quite dense reading.  As I plowed through it, I learned a whole lot about Roosevelt, his family, his youth, his early years as a student and politician.  Then I realized something about 50 pages from the end of the book:  I hadn't read anything about his presidency.  That is right, I worked my way all through this book, and there wasn't one mention of Roosevelt being president.  The book eventually ended at the moment Roosevelt learned that President McKinley had been shot and was dead.  I had picked that book up to read about Roosevelt's presidency.  I finished knowing a lot more about Roosevelt than I ever imagined, but absolutely nothing about his presidential life.  It was then that I realized I had a whole lot more work to do (i.e., I had to read the next book on his presidency).

As I approach the final goal, I have realized, like I did with 50 pages left in The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, that I have a lot more work to do.  While I have a lot more energy, am a whole lot healthier, and look 50 pounds lighter than I did six months ago, I still don't look exactly like I would like.  I still have a belly, I still have fat, and I still have problems regulating what I take into my body. 

So, I am afraid to say that I still have some work ahead of me.  As of today I have lost 19.4 percent of my body weight as of October 4, 2010.  How much more I have, I don't know, but I certainly hope you stick with me to find out. 

Thank you all for your support!