The story so far...

I know what you're thinking: "What's up with Matt? He dubs March 'Healthy Electric Penguin' month and the first thing he posts is a list of fast food he wants to eat. Then there's that stupid post about salad toppings--who in the world would put Fiddle Faddle on a salad? Dumb.--followed by the video of those two, weird Greek chicks dancing. What's so "healthy" about all that mess?"

I get it. I said at the beginning of the month we were all gonna get healhty together and I meant it. So, let's do it, people! You didn't really have to wait for me, but if you did, put your sweat bands on and dig your leotard out from the back of the closet, 'cause it's time to get physical.

To be perfectly honest with you, while my journey to a healthier life started earlier this year, the idea to turn my life around and drop some of this damn weight started last year, specifically when I learned I was going to be a father. When my wife showed me the pregnancy test, I was at my highest weight ever (I'm not comfortable sharing the number here, but I will say that it rhymes with "blue-bundred and nifty"). I decided right then and there that if I wanted to see my daughter grow up (first day of kindergarten, the prom, college graduation, wedding/commitment ceremony,etc), I was going to have to get my act together. My goal: 10 pounds a month until Quinn's birth, which would put me, if I started in February, which is exactly when I did start, at my goal weight of 200. All I had to figure out now was how to do it.

I have twice been a member of Weight Watchers. The first time, I faithfully worked the program, dutifully entered my points into the Weight Watchers database, and miraculously dropped 35 pounds in a matter of months. I was elated. I could bound up the stairs, make love to my wife, and run from Johnny Law (don't ask) without losing the ability to breathe on my own. It was glorious. I was a happy, thinner man. Then I made the biggest mistake of my life: I dropped out. I boldly explained to my wife that I had "rewired" myself--a phrase she still throws back in my face to this day, and rightfully so. "I don't need the Weight Watcher overlords to tell me what to do. They trained me well and I am ready to go it alone." I did OK for awhile, but then my wife got pregnant, the cravings started, and to make her feel less alone, I stopped caring about what I was shoving in my food-hole, and promptly destroyed all my hard work. If you think about it, this is all my wife's fault really. (J/K LOLZ)

The second time I joined it was for, like, two weeks and I simply forgot to enter my points into the grid in a timely fashion and, in failing to do so, learned that I didn't actually care. And so, you know, blue-bundred and nifty. Sigh.

So, what am I doing now? Well, I'm sort of working the WW program without working the program. I'm putting myself in the mindset that at the end of each day I have to enter my "points" into "the system," when in reality I am simply keeping a detailed log, or food journal, of what I eat and drink every day. I also keep track of my activities.

It's working. Kinda. I didn't quite meet my first goal. I lost 9 pounds in February, rather than the desired 10, but I haven't let it get me down. This month I'm focusing on adding more activities. I walk to work every day (1.3 miles there and back) and every Sunday the wife and I take a brisk 45-minute walk around a local lake. But I want to add more to the repertoire and I plan to document these activities in a new feature I'm calling SMACKING FAT IN ITS FAT FACE W/ MATT. You can expect the first one this Saturday.

So, that's where I am. This month--and maybe beyond, I haven't decided yet--I will use all of you as my accountability partners. Feel free to use me too, if you want. Together we'll keep each other honest. I'll keep you updated on my weight loss--as horrifyingly embarrassing for me as that is--as well as activities and foods I've discovered that have made the whole "getting healthy" thing not so bad. Let's do this!

Weight as of last Sunday: 241 lbs