Peace Out!

July 9th is my 44th Birthday. That was the goal date I set back in January and I am now within a few hours of that day.

As of this morning I have lost OVER 99 lbs. and I am ready to say MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

Although I will continue my journey for another 20-25 lbs I will not chronicle my weight loss after today.

It has been One HELL of a Journey.

Thanks to all my friends and family especially Rocky and Zach. I could not have done this without you.

Many have told me that I am an inspiration. If that is true than that is fantastic. I am just a guy who decided to make a stand and do something for my family and most importantly for MYSELF.

Operation 44 was a Success!!!!

Old Navy Experience

Tonight the family is taking our first family picture (professionally) ever. We are headed to a photo store in the mall.

So last night Rocky and I went to Old Navy to get some jeans. I have not shopped for jeans in a while and was worried that Old Navy may not have my size.

I tried on a pair and they fit perfectly. Needless to say that the size 42 jeans would be HUGE for most guys but for a guy who has recently purchased size 50 pants.....The 42 jeans were AMAZING.

To top it off I saw some cool madress shorts...the kind I use to wear in High School and College. They only went up to size 40 so I took a pair into the dressing room and WOW!!!! They fit!!!

Size 42 Jeans and Size 40 Shorts. Can the 30's be far away????

Rocky bought some jeans as well. She went from Double digits to single Digits...(That is all I will say). She looks amazing. Can't wait to see how our pictures come out tonight.

10 More Days to get it done

Had a great time in Vegas over the weekend. I rewarded myself with a bucket list dream of playing in a World Series of Poker event. Although my tourney results were not very good I had a great time. After over 25 years of Vegas trips and well over 70 visits...I finally went with my brother. We had a great time.

With 10 days to go until my 44th Birthday here is where I stand.


Total Lost 94.8 lbs.

Remaining to goal 5.2 lbs.


It is going to be VERY close!!!

I have already lost the 1.8 pounds I gained on my Vegas trip and have managed to lose a little more than the weight I gained.....I am at a Diet Low....I love Diet low days....The days when I weigh in less than I have in 17+ years.

Rocky, Zach, and me are scheduled to take a family picture tomorrow night. This will be our first OFFICIAL Family photo in YEARS. Neither Rocky or I have been too thrilled about taking pictures in general but Hell, We BOTH are looking pretty good and we figure it is time.

We are headed to the mall to one of those studios that allows several different sittings. We are planning to each get an individual shot as well as getting a Family shot.

July is my Birthday month and anniversary month (19th)and it will also be the month I make it to 100 lbs. I just hope I can reach my goal of July 9th.

In the words of Tom Petty........"The Waiting is the hardest part"

As of this mornings weigh:

Loss this week: 1.4 lbs

Total Loss: 93.2 lbs.

Left to goal: 6.8 lbs.


Honestly, I had targeted this week as the week I wanted to get to the goal. Even though the original date set was July 9th (18 days away) I really had wanted to reach it before the World Series of Poker event.

I have had an interesting last 4 weeks of weight loss:

1.6
.8
5.8
1.4

Who the heck knows the science of losing weight. I went about 20 weeks averaging about 4 lbs per week and then BAM....everything goes crazy.

I am more determined than ever. The compliments are coming from all over the place. People stop me on my morning walk and tell me how great I look and congratulating me on the results. I am not going to lie.....It feels great when a neighbor pulls over, rolls down their window and says...." Rick, You are a Shadow of your former self! How much weight have you lost?"

6.8 lbs. to go!

That is so '90's

The 1990's were a very forgettable decade....Sandwitched between the great music of the 1980's and the excitement of the new century the 1990's are looked back on as a bland decade.

Unlike the 1890's which had a great exciting appeal.

Well.....I have entered into the 90's!!!!! As of this morning I have lost 91.6 lbs.

After two straght weeks of small numbers I have seemed to have kicked it up a notch as with one day to go in my weekly calendar I am down a VERY respectable 5.8 lbs so far this week.

I have only 8.4 lbs to go.

Which week will show up this coming week....The 1.6 and .8 lbs. lost that happened the previous two weeks or the amazing 5.8 lbs of this week?

One thing for sure, This has been one CRAZY ride.

Working through Plateau

The last 2 weeks have brought my two smallest loss totals to date (1.6 and .8). Although I still lost weight each week it just was not my normal 3.5-4.5 lbs.

Well something kicked in the last few days as I have lost 2.6 lbs since Monday....Today is Wednesday.

The grand total is now at 88.4 lbs.

With ONE Month to go until my Birthday I have 11.6 lbs. to go.

How can you lose 1.6 pounds in a week and be upset?

21 weeks into my journey I have posted my lowest weekly weight loss. Now, I have had a few weeks where I lost in the 2's but I have not yet experienced what I have this week........Total weight loss for the week.....1.6 lbs.

With the overall total now at a very respectable 85.0 lbs I am concerned that I may have discovered a plateau. The last time I lost 2 lbs I followed up with a GOOD week so I am looking forward to having that good week this coming week.

I have become obsessed with what I call LOW DAYS. A LOW DAY is defined as the LOWEST I have weighed in 15+ years. Even if it is just .2 lbs difference from the day before I am happy when I can achieve a LOW DAY.

Went to a family gathering this past weekend where most have not seen me since December......The compliments were plentiful and most could not believe the change. My father-in-law introduced me to a woman I have never met by saying.....Rick lost 84 lbs. The woman looked at my still heavy body and originally thought he was joking. OK, to a woman who just met me I am still fat.....Hard to take but still true. Don't know if I will ever be to the point where I do not have some meat on the bones. More importantly I dont think I want to. I have seen pictures of where I was when I was 22-23 yrs old and I was not skinny but I was in good shape. Unfortunately that is still about 40 lbs from where I am this morning. 40 is a LOT closer than 125!!!

Happy Memorial Day!

Fourth Quarter.....Time to focus

As of this morning I have lost 83.4 Pounds.

I have 16.6 pounds to go. To use a Football analogy I have my hand up with four fingers raised. This is to signify that I am in the Fourth quarter of Operation 44.

The end is now within sight and I have to increase my focus. I want to complete my goal by June 24th A Full 2 weeks EARLY. I have 31 days to lose 16.6 pounds. That means I need to lose .53 pounds per day OR 3.71 pounds per week. This is VERY acheivable but I will not have ANY room for error.

If I do not make the June 24th revised finish line I will not be disappointed as it surely will come shortly after that.

I begin to think of what I am going to do when I reach my ultimate goal...How will I feel? What will I think? How will I celebrate.


Life is NOT about how many breaths you take....RATHER....It is about how many times your breath is taken away.

Notcha Nachos

Why is it that I am drawn to Sporting event Nachos? I try to stay away but for some reason that fake cheese sauce over stale chips is just too good to pass up. I opt for the pile of Jalapenos to top off my bad snack. I spent the weekend at a sporting event and had to partake in an order of Nachos.

This morning I crossed over the 80 pounds lost mark.....Actually 80.2!!

I am officially on a countdown. With 49 days until my birthday I have just 19.8 lbs to go. I should be able to make it with a week to spare.

Another 3.6 pounds lost this week. I was worried that I may have been on a plateau week but another solid week.

The last 10 weeks Results:

1. 3.6
2. 5.0
3. 3.2
4. 4.2
5. 2.0
6. 3.0
7. 4.4
8. 4.2
9. 6.8
10. 3.2

Turning back the CLOCK

4 months ago I remember saying."8 down and 92 to go"

Today I can say 79.2 down and 20.8 to go!

As I am getting closer to the goal I am having more and more thoughts of how thrilled I am that I have been able to do this. Back in 2000 I was lighter and went on a diet with a group from my old neighborhood. I had lost 35 pounds at that time and was able to get to about the weight that I am now.

Translation: In the past 10 years I not only gained back the 35 pounds that I lost with the group but I gained 43 MORE!!! OUCH.....It has taken me about 4 months to erase 10 years of gain.

The good news is that I am now lighter than I have been in 15 years. When I reach my goal of 100 pounds in a few weeks I will be down to my WEDDING weight which will put me at the same weight I was when I was 25 years old!!!

I will officially be on countdown mode when I have under 20 pounds to go.

Texas Two-Step

Happy Mother's Day!

I am definitely not the only one in our household who has a weight loss goal. Rocky has a goal of 40 lbs but is not crazy enough to put a timetable on her quest. To date she has lost an amazing 23 lbs. and she is absolutely thrilled to have dropped 2 sizes! To her credit she always wanted to eat healthier and it was me who went kicking and screaming.

19 years!! WOW. I have to tell you that I definitely got lucky with regards to marrying the perfect person for me. She is the kindest and most generous person I know. I constantly get compliments from people about how great she is. I always say that I OVERMARRIED.....I outkicked my coverage.

As great of a wife as she is she is an even better mother. Zach is so lucky to have a mom like Rocky. She has read to him before bed EVERY day since Dec. 1997. Granted the reading these last few years has been shared between the two of them but there still is a few minutes each night where Zach can take comfort in the fact that his mother will be sharing that special time with him every night. Following the reading is a special song and a crazy saying that has become a nightly ritual. This saying is going to have to be recorded on his IPOD so he can listen to it when he goes off to college.

She is always there for Zach in every way. Whether it is creating the COOLEST special projects for school, pitching baseballs to him, catching footballs, shooting hoops, etc. Rocky and Zach LOVE the same programs on TV and are often heard giggling for hours on end. I love to listen to them sometimes.

Rocky is an amazing person and Zach and I truly are blessed.

Happy Mothers Day Rocky!!!

Preparing for countdown

These last few days have been pretty successful with regards to weight loss.

I started the week (Monday) at a total weight loss of 71.6 pounds.......In the last four days I have managed to lose 4.6 pounds to put me at a TOTAL weight loss of................76.2 Lbs!!!!

I am now just 23.8 from my goal.


I remember thinking back in January....Only 92 lbs to go. I was focused but there was still something unattainable about my lofty goal of 100.

Well, I am getting close. I hope I can continue losing 3-4 lbs. per week and get this done by the end of June. Well before my July 9th birthday. The only thing I fear is hitting the dreaded plateau. I thought I hit the plateau a few weeks ago when I only lost 2 lbs. Since that week I have had weeks of 4.2, 3.2 and so far 4.6.......So much for what I thought was a plateau. I know that the thinner you are the more difficult it is to throw large numbers on the board each week..It is my hope my plateau comes AFTER my initial 100 lb mark.

Silent Night

C-Ya CPAP!!!

For the past 14 years I have been donning some SEXY bedtime apparral. The steady hum of a machine that blows a constant stream of air through a tube attached to a mask that fits gently over my nose has been a nightly occurance for me.

Many years ago I went to a sleep study and it was determined that I had sleep apnea. I was litterly waking myself up ONCE EVERY 30 seconds throughout the night. Of course I was always tired....I was NEVER getting sleep. The CPAP machine took awhile to get used to but it eventually allowed me to actually sleep.

My specific sleep apnea was a result of my weight. With my losing 74 pounds I have tried sleeping with out the machine the past few nights and received rave reviews from my wife.......NO SNORING!!!! This will be one of many huge benefits of me losing weight.

Weekends-

Weekends are usually tougher for me with regards to staying on course with my nothing after 2:00 strategy. I have to say that with parties and dining out with the family it is not ALWAYS possible to adhere to my plan. I have found that it takes some planning.....If I know we are going to a party that night or going out to eat, perhaps I will eat much less for lunch or in a perfect world I would just hold out until dinner. If I totally goof and eat too much....Well there is always tomorrow to get back on track.

Some people will not agree with my strategy to weigh myself EVERY morning. Most will say that it will get too depressing on those days you dont lose weight or perhaps even gain weight. I am not going to lie, I have been known to yell a FOUR LETTER word if I did not see the number I thought I would... but in the world of my weight loss.....I am definitely a micromanager. I have to know where I am at and have to have complete control.

No one Plans to fail....Some just fail to Plan

The 100 pound goal is my initial goal. It is my hope to lose 30 more pounds AFTER the initial 100. However, the more realistic goal is to create a minimum 15 pound buffer after the 100 pounds is gone. This 15 pound buffer will allow me to adjust my eating and strategy up or down depending on how close I am to the 100 pounds. In other words.....I have an exit strategy. This is a lifestyle change and I have to also plan for AFTER I reach my goal. Too many people reach their goal only to see the weight come back on. This is WAY too hard to have to ever have to do it again.


The Mind is an incredible thing. I have really analyzed why I want to eat and the feelings I get right before and right after I eat. I have been able to zero in on the feelings of satisfaction and tried to obtain that feeling with LESS food when I eat. When the cravings come on for something sweet I satisfy the cravings with something sweet and I dont beat myself up about it. However, instead of a couple Shipley's doughnuts I may have a Tootsie Pop....And I get all my licks in.

There is an incredible feeling of happiness when you are able to regain control of a weakness in your life. I believe I am slowly but surely gaining control of this part of my life and I am not going to lie.....It feels AMAZING

"Walk this way"- Steve Tyler

My morning walk has helped me in so many ways. Of course it helps me burn calories and it gets my metabolism kick started but it also relaxed me and allowed me to better plan my day.

I work from home and usually start my walk when most people are stuck in traffic on their way to work, come to think of it maybe that is why I feel so relaxed.

I started walking in January to help boost my results. That first month I can remember feeling as if my shins were actually going to explode. I probably was able to go less than a mile during those first months. The funny thing is that the more I walked the more I wanted to walk....if I missed a day (which has only happened twice since Jan.) I felt bad.

The key to walking is MUSIC. I have to have my Ipod shuffle or else it is not going to happen. Rocky loaded me up with my favorite music from the '80's. By the way "Say it a'int So" from The Outfield is the absolute BEST song to walk to.

I now am walking 2.5 miles each morning and 1 mile in the afternoon.

So there it is....That is the first "Secret" to me losing weight. Exercise.


I am pretty sure that if my insurance would have paid for Lap Band Surgery I would have done it. I had thouroughly researched it and had more than a few friends who had great success. To be honest I still would have paid for it had doing it my way not worked. So I thought if I can do this myself than that is like SAVING $18,000!!! (The cost of the operation) If I can save $18,000 can I divert part of that to one of my true enjoyments in Life......POKER? More Motivation is what I needed. So I am rewarding myself with a "Bucket List" Dream. Entry into the 2010 World Series of Poker in BEAUTIFUL HOT as HELL Las Vegas.

I love everything about Poker. The competition, the strategy, the comraderie, the way it is NEVER the same. I just love Poker. Since 1985 I have been to Vegas over 70 times. I have to say that I am down to just Once a year but for a while I was going Four-Five times a year. The town is electric. It seems like my dream of playing in the World Series of Poker is also many of my friends and family dream as well. As soon as I mentioned I was entering, I had about 6-8 of them who said they would like to join me. It is going to be a ton of fun and it would be amazing if one or more of us could do well. More on Poker later.

There is ONE more secret to my being able to lose 74 lbs since Jan. 4th........This is an unbelievable secret and one that many dont realize.

Secret #2- Take in Less Calories than you burn each day.

WOW. What a concept. The BILLION dollar weight loss industry can be whittled down to a bumper sticker.......MOVE AND EAT LESS!!!!

Now I love food. When it comes to food I am an equal opportunity fan....Chinese, Mexican, Italian etc. I love food. However, if you were to tell me you can never have squash again (I dont even like squash) but if you forbid me to eat squash again the ONLY thing I would think about was how much I wanted to eat squash. So all of these diets that forbid this and forbid that are not realistic for me. The all meat diet...Forget it....The grapefruit diet...No Thanks.

I needed to develop a plan that I could realistically live with the REST of my life. And let me tell you, Pizza, Fajitas, and Chicken with Brocolli are ALL in my future. I know it may not be the correct thing for me but here is how it works for me.

1. I try to not put any food in my mouth after 2:00 p.m. (The wisdom is to eat 5 or 6 small meals but it just doesnt work for me)

2. I Eat some fruit or an english muffin for breakfast

3. I try to eat lunch as close to 1:00 as possible (the later you eat lunch the less hungry you are at night-remember no eating after 2:00 p.m.). Lunch is really ANY food I want. I have found that the more weight I lose the less I need to eat to feel full.

4. I try to eat slower

5. I have elimanated Sweet Tea and Sugared drinks entirely. It took me about a month but my taste buds have changed and now I really enjoy diet coke and diet Dr. Pepper. This one change alone has saved me about 800 calories a DAY!!!

There you have it....I have just given you my Blueprint for how I have lost some weight. You think I could fit that into a book? Try a pamphlet or flyer.

More to come.

Why blog?

January 4th 2010....Why that day? What was so special about that day?

January 4, 2010 I decided to embark on what I am calling Operation 44.

Operation 44 is my goal to lose 100 pounds by my 44th Birthday (July 9th). I know that it was an ambitious goal and one that I have toyed with over the past 10 years. You see, I have battled my weight since college and have progressively gained more and more weight.

How Much weight did I pack on over the years? Well lets just say that on that fateful day in January I was somewhere north of 300 lbs. I dont really feel the need to give my starting weight....Let's just say for a guy 5' 11" tall I was pretty darn big.

Even with my initial goal of 100 lbs I will still need about 30 more to reach my ULTIMATE goal of getting to a weight I was at when I was 23 years old.

So why a blog?

I have found tremendous motivation these last few months from reading about other peoples journey's and I thought it was time to chronicle my own journey.

Several things pushed me over the edge and were the straws that broke the camel's back. Among these were the normal tight fitting clothes, the costant state of exhaustion, and the embarrassment of having to squeeze into a seat at a local sports arena. I STILL think that I cant be the only person who thinks the seats at the new Cedar Park Center are WAY to small , but I digress.

The point is I had come to a defining moment in my life. In the words of Red (Shawshank Redemption) "Get Busy living OR Get Busy dying"

My wife Rocky and Son Zach are my true inspiration and have been very supportive on my journey. I decided early on that my journey had to include a few things. 1. Public Accountability- I would simply tell everyone I know that I am on this journey....There is something about being accountable that is vital to successful weight loss. 2. Reward- If I reach my goal I needed a reward above and beyond living longer. That reward is POKER! I am entering the World Series of Poker in June. More on that later.

Just the Facts:

Month 1- January 4th- February 4th: 20.1 lbs Lost

Month 2- February 4th- March 4th 20.1 lbs Lost (40.2 lbs TOTAL)

Month 3- March 4th- April 4th 16.6 lbs Lost (56.8 lbs TOTAL)

Month 4- April 4th- May 4th 17.2 lbs Lost (74.0 lbs TOTAL)


I am starting my blog with just 26 lbs remaining until I reach my initial goal.

I will describe in later posts what I am doing to lose what has amounted to over 4 lbs. per week for the past 17+ weeks.

More to Come!!!