(Day 434 / -154 lbs.) Monkey See, Donkey... Doh!

OK, so 434 days ago I realized that I was a fat schleb (yeah, so I'm a little slow in the self-realization and assessment department) and needed to do something about it. More importantly, I decided (eyes front, full speed ahead, blow up the bridges as you cross, decided) to do something about it. What next?

As I mentioned oh so long ago and as one of my 50 Tips, deciding to do something and being completely and passionately committed to the decision is probably the most important thing to do when going about something like changing your life. The thing is, a guy can also become the epitome of "all revved up with no place to go".

What I had and still have are a few friends who have accomplished many of the same things I want for myself. Pertinent to my topic here, they've lost considerable amounts of weight and have kept it off. Doh! Or should I have said, "Yahtzee!"? Well, whatever should be said when providence lays the blueprint for your success right in front of your face would have been appropriate, I'm sure. Because, like a bonehead at the SAT's, all I had to do next was copy the smartest people in the room.

But not exactly.

I think my most endearing quality, the subject of the epitaph that will be scratched onto the used grocery bag that will ultimately entomb my ashes, or what would have been my middle name had my parents only known, and the reason I sometimes end up doing things the hard way, is that I'm a cheap bastard. My friends had all joined weight loss programs- which worked tremendously. They lost weight, they're keeping it off, they spent some money doing it, and they totally rock. I decided that, while I may not rock (or spend money to rock), I would copy them- mimic their efforts and reap similar benefits.

That's where the "donkey" part (title of this post) comes in. While all they had to do was follow a predetermined plan and eat predetermined, prepackaged foods, I had to plow my own path and develop my own dietary regimen based on researching their program (and others) and work my ass off... to literally work off a little of my ass.

I sometimes wonder If I would have been better off spending the money.