"No, really, I do like lunchroom food!"

"I Like Lunchroom Food"...way too much!

This is a good place to start, right?! The classic early 80's high school annual senior photo with quote. My quote was a bit different. Most of my classmates used quotes like "Nothing is better than a dream, than a dream come true" or "No man grows wise without his share of winters" or the appropriately rural Arkansas flavored "There is only one thing better looking than GMC trucks, but I forgot what it is?!"  My senior quote was "I like lunchroom food" because I liked lunchroom food. I ate in the lunchroom every school day...no exceptions. The administration was hesitant to allow me to use my quote as they thought I was mocking the school's food service program. I was being a bit tongue in cheek, yes, but I was not being dishonest!

The whole "you gonna eat your tots?" and "you want that extra chocolate milk?" approach to eating started in that lunchroom and wouldn't catch up with me for years, but it did. Yes, I'm sure the whole tendency toward compulsive eating started in the "cafetorium" in Rector, Arkansas. Food Obsession 101...it has been a problem most of my adult life.

I'm writing this blog as part of a plan to become a healthier me. I will be 50 in May and I know I won't live a long and full life as an obese, out of shape man. During this recent yucky winter I experienced my first kidney stone and threw my back out badly. I was becoming more sedentary, stiff, tired, and was in the habit of wasting several hours every evening watching tv. I decided to not wait for another health episode to "wake me up."

So, here are the things I've committed to for my own health and to share this journey with others:

• Work with a personal trainer once a week to plan my workouts and nutrition goals and work out 4 days a week on my own. (quick shout out to the incredible Kerri Davis with Fit To You Personal Training)
• Working with Bo Dean and Ashley Miller as member of the Executive Leadership Team for the 2014 Heart Walk. I committed to lose 50 lbs. in time for the Heart Walk on Saturday, October 18th and to share this journey with others. I hope to inspire healthy choices in others.
• Write a blog and share it with the world no matter how much I DON'T WANT TO!
• Lead my office team to raise money for this year's Heart Walk.

Guess it's time to share the HARD data with you. I'm 5'6" tall. I've weighed as much as 265 pounds. I've lost as much as 50 pounds as recently as 2 years ago. Food obsession and compulsion have been a serious issue for me since I was about 27 years old. Moderation has never been my strong suit. Self discipline, not so much. That is how I got here.

When I started this journey on January 16th, I weighed 258 pounds. The first month was hellish as I dealt with an ongoing kidney stone issue and a serious back injury. Kerri helped me stick to the plan and I'm making progress...the right way. Slowly. No fad diet. Pretty much a math thing. Eat this much. Burn this much. Lose weight slowly and gain muscle. The goal here is to become a healthier me.

I'll try to update here with some regularity and share it with more folks as I go. Count on me to inject more humor, too. I want this to sound like me.

I still like lunchroom food.

Craig