Time for a Do-Over

DAMN! I’ve gained weight again, dammit! I guess I should be happy, dammit, because I’m still 10 pounds less than when I started. But dammit, I feel like I’m starting fresh all over again,
Damn! Damn! Damn!

Now that I’m done with my tantrum, let’s look on the bright side:

  • As of this past Friday, I no longer take any medications that are notorious for causing weight gain.
  • I just turned 45 yesterday. Granted, the older you get the more your metabolism slows down, however, it has me more concerned about my health. As of right now, other than my weight, I’m in excellent health. I want it to stay that way.
  • I have tons of support from my friends and fellow bloggers around the world.

Rather than get upset about my weight going up a bit, I’m going to do what I call a do-over, meaning I’m resetting my goals and my tracking. Here, once again, I’m laying it all out there for all to see:

I’m 5’5″ tall and weigh 283 pounds. My long term goal is to lose 120 lbs. Because losing that much weight is a bit overwhelming, I make shorter mini goals to get there. My current mini goal is to lose 20 pounds. I will not weigh myself more than once a week. Many of you have told me that I shouldn’t worry about the scale, but that’s not the way my brain thinks. I need specific, verifiable goals to work towards.

Here are my current pictures:

As for being honest, I had breakfast at McDonald’s this morning and damn were those breakfast burritos tasty.

20 comments on Time for a Do-Over

  1. Do-overs are ok. At least far better than not going for the do-over. You’re human, Bradley, whether you like it or not 😉 We fall down on the job at times. As long as we keep getting back up, it’s ok. Good luck on both the mini and major goals!

  2. I like how you set out long term and short term goals…I wish you the best..P.S ….I loved the pics of you but also the “Obabma” flyer in the back round….too funny…

  3. @rachel Isn’t just a cruel fact of life that all the good tasting foods are bad for you. Really a bum deal.@immi Thank you very much for your support. Getting back up can be tough.@dani I was at a friends house and didn’t even notice the Obama sticker until you mentioned it. That is funny. Maybe it’s a message for me regarding losing weight…”Yes you can!”

  4. Bradley,Good for you!. It’s always best to do these things one step at a time, and to keep trying. And happy birthday!Susan

  5. Hi Bradley,Happy belated Birthday. You want to lose weight and you can do it, wishing you a long healthy and happy life. Take care! 🙂

  6. Hello, Bradly – There are a few ideas that stick in my mind from years of hearing weight loss advice (of course it’s so pervasive you can’t avoid it). One is: Nothing tastes as good as thin feels. Another: Weighing yourself on a scale doesn’t mean a thing. Being able to get into a pair of pants you haven’t been able to think about wearing for a long time – that’s progress. Another one I like: Don’t diet! Ever! Meaning – make changes you can follow forever, mostly eating less of what you always eat and not leaving out the things you love. My hat’s off to you for putting those pictures up. That seems like a great motivator. Good luckh

  7. Hey Brad Just wanted to stop by and say helloThis may be way off base but back a few yrs ago I was on depokote and I went up to 275 I know many of the meds dont help in terms of weight loss.I try to love me no matter what I weigh and now I weigh about 210 which is FAT but I like it and I do and eat what I want.PS I guess what I’m saying is somethings may be out of your control.I always appreciate your honesty in your journey.

  8. Happy Belated Birthday Bradley! Hope it was a great one. Don’t worry too much about back sliding, at least you are aware and have the will power and support to do the little start overs and eventually reach your goal.By the by you’re a cutie pie

  9. Hi Bradley,We really haven’t been formally introduced, but keep bumping into eachother in the blogopshere. I do read your blog every day though.I understand about the weight- I am five feet tall, and thanks to psych meds I have put on almost 100 lbs over the years. I just lost 56 lbs, with another 30 to go. It’s hard. The first ten or so came off easy, but the more I loose the harder it gets. All I can say is hang in there, and I am in your corner rooting for you.Would like to talk to you offline, I am very active in my state and local DBSA too. Keep on, Keep on….

  10. I have a theory on calories. The price of fast food items should be based on them. The higher the calories, the higher the price. That would make them easier to avoid! Reese

  11. i think we constantly need to re-think our goals. well, i do, at least.it’s interesting what you think of as a mini goal (we are all SOOO different, aren’t we?) – 20 pounds would be a major goal for me.one thing that has always worked for me is to ask myself, what task can i set myself that is so small, so tiny, that i have absolutely no reason whatsoever not to do it?bradley, would you like to submit one of your articles on weight loss to the carnival of eating disorders?

  12. @Susan Yep, just like eating an elephant…one bite at a time.@john sullivan Depakote is the final weight gaining drug that I was taking until last week. I'm hoping it will make it easier now to loose. @Robin Thank you@john d All great advice. Thank you@girl blue Cutie Pie? Well, shucks that's nice@LM & K I've heard many stories of people doing much better after getting off certain meds. I hope I can add to the statistic.

  13. @Bill Thank you, that’s very nice to hear.@susan Nice to meet you. For talking offline do you have either AIM or Yahoo Messenger? If you do, my screen name for both is bradshrv@reese Great idea!@mariposa Thank you@jude I just said a little prayer for you and your son. I appreciate your outlook on life. @Isabella I’d be happy to submit one of my articles, but I’m not sure what the Carnival of Eating Disorders is. Email me at bradley at howisbradley dot com

  14. Happy belated Birthday.. Everyone sets goals for themselves, but don’t beat yourself up if they aren’t attainable or you slip.My son has always been a big boy and I always worried about his health he’s 38 now and was recently diagnosed with stage4 small cell cancer and I can’t tell you how grateful I am that he has all that extra weight at this point in his life.He has been taking chemo and gets deathly ill, but with the extra weight at least he’s not melting away to nothing. Unless a miracle happens they give him 2 years. So sometimes extra weight can be a blessing in disguise. My son is also bipolar….Good-Luck

  15. What a great post. It made me smile and it made me laugh. How human are we to sit back and take stock of our lives, be honest about the main problems in our lives and with pure honesty admit to doing the one thing we know we shouldn’t be. At a time of need and comfort McDonalds has been my best friend/enemy too!Keep up all the great work you have done and I know you will continue to strive to do.

Leave a Reply to John Sullivan Cancel reply

%d bloggers like this: