On this day in 2007, I decided I was going to lose 43 pounds, and become an “FAA standard person”. I reached my goal weight on March 1st, 2008. I actually hit it a week before, but had bounced back up over it by about 1.5 pounds. It only counted if I stayed below 171 for several days at a time.

Although a couple times I have bounced back up to 172 for a day or two at a time, over the last 6 months, I’ve generally stayed right around 170.

And although the official number is 43 pounds, checking the records at my doctors office, I see that I was at least up to 220 at some point. It’s ridiculous to be that heavy.

I’ve been asked how I did it. The answer? A rather trivial one: Eat less. If you eat less than you burn, you lose weight. If you eat more than you burn, you gain weight. So I limited myself to 1500 calories a day; a “smoothie” made with cinnamon, strawberries, and two scoops of protein powder in the morning, typically a Lean Cuisine entree for lunch, an apple in the mid-afternoon, a light dinner, and a Weight Watchers ice-cream bar at night. I also started walking 1.25 miles a day in the mid-afternoon (typically all 4 of us at work go), although with the temperatures in the 90′s the last couple months, we’ve forgone that.

Some days I eat too much, and I bounce up a little. I don’t let it stress me, I just make sure I don’t keep eating like that.

A number of times I’ve been to Wal-Mart or the grocery store, and I’m appalled at these morbidly obese people pushing their shopping carts around loaded with junk food. The worst are the ones who as soon as their out of the Wal-Mart light up their cigarette, and have young children with them. I suppose like a reformed smoker, there’s nothing worse then a reformed fatty.

I know I feel better than I used to. While I’m not into exercise, I don’t wheeze after walking up the driveway to the mailbox. And while I don’t have rock-hard abs, I can at least look down and see my toes without leaning over.

I have two friends to thank for this, too. One of them weighed 270, and lost 90 pounds. That’s one third of his body weight. The other lost 30 pounds or so, just by eating better. I figured if they could do it, I could do it, and I was just plain tired of being fat.

Oh, and the “FAA standard person”? It used to be 170 pounds. Now with all the fat Americans, it’s been raised to 185.