Next checkpoint reached

This morning, I stepped on the scale at work and weigh below 255 for the first time since 2011. After being 295lb in Jan '16, this is another checkpoint reached and if I can get to 250 by my doctor appointment in 2 weeks, I can officially be declared heavy instead of obese and I could possibly use this to lower my life insurance premium. Since I won't wear shoes on the scale, it is possible.

What is interesting is that 16 days ago, the scale read 8lb heavier and that had me wondering why the large change in such a short time.

1) clothing: Because today's high temp is forecasted for 85, I am wearing shorts as opposed to jeans and I only wear a t shirt as opposed to my regular pocketed shirt.

2) FuMPFeST: I was off the 5 days before the first scale reading mostly around FuMPFeST and while I was off work ate at about 10 different places (including Portillo's and a stand alone ice cream place on Monday after a practice round) as well as too much candy, cookies, and chips in the snack room. In spite of that, the weekend this year was better than the one I had there in 2016 where I gained 4lb but the first day back at work did produce a temporary high point for weight.

3) Being smart about food: I realized last year that when I don't eat at the places where I could walk in, pay between 3-15 dollars, and walk out with something to eat, my weight goes down. On the 3.5 mile drive home from work, there are over 20 places that don't serve just Mexican food within one block of my drive where I can do that. (There are about 10 that do). Except for 2 gas station hotdogs last Saturday and a mid tournament sub sandwich and post tournament burger on the 3rd, I have avoided those places in that time frame including the outdoor vendors at the music in the park one block from where I live whose food I can easily smell.

4) changing my badly obsessive attitude about food: For way too many years, I would worry too much about my dinner being eaten and would get real upset when it was. I would see 1,200 calories of breaded food in the oven for one person and panic then make sure I am able to get my share. I would purchase food that would not be eaten by others so I would not have to worry about it being eaten. I know that the places that have food readily available will 99% of the time have what I want and if they didn't, I know there is another place that did. I would make sure that I would eat the food I purchased since I knew leaving it behind could mean it would go missing.

I have joked about not standing in the way of a fat man and his food but it is very true.

However, that situation has changed and there is no longer the obsessive need to make sure that I have something to eat. I know that if I was planning on making something specific for dinner that it will be there and that has allowed me as much as anything to eat more normally.

Anyway, I also know that it is easy to fall into bad habits again and that even if I do get to 250, that is not a goal but another checkpoint, though for me a significant one. I also know that as the weight decreases, it becomes more difficult to continue losing weight since the body requires less than it does when heavier.