My name is, what?

15 weeks to go before my 1500 meter freestyle. (Short course meters for the technical types.) I have taken four pounds off in two weeks… 227. There are 28 more pounds to go. I can race at 210, but it won’t be easy to go under 17:40.00 unless I am closer to my goal. Chop wood, carry water. During this run for 195 pounds has seen me swimming more than past challenges. Four days per week in the water, with gym time two days. If my schedule permits I take a lunch or two per week to put in 30-minutes of cardio. Jaron and I have been regular gym rats since early spring, and neither one of us enjoy coming to the gym above and beyond the wonderful banter we provide each other. But there is a point when new material runs slim, and we are not fans of recycling anything other than cans and bottles; so we have been forced to look outward across the gym for humor. The birth of the nickname backstory.

Don’t judge us! I am well aware people of all shapes, sizes, colors, and creeds enjoy creating fictitious backstories of characters on reality’s stage. Jaron and I nickname people just in case they are decoying us with silent ear buds to eavesdrop on our clever conversation skills. Backstory authoring at the gym is gold -- repetitive behavior, consistent attendance, and a wealth of odd. Our fellow muses have yet to disappoint. To protect our content the nicknames of the cast is all that will be provided at this point:

 

Shrek
Aryan Brotherhood
@CardioGirl42
Alumni Association
Narwhal
40-year old stripper
Modesto
Wife beaters (the white tanktop undershirt)
Bernie Sander’s accountant brother
OEM
Sling Blade
Gandpa’s Happy Blue Ball
Tennis pro
1982 Mr. Olympia regional finalist
Volleyball twins  

   

Happy 5th Anniversary Destination 195!

Lay off me… I’m STARVING!

                                 -Chris Farley

Happy 5^th anniversary to the 2012 Destination 195! Challenge; the only successful descent to 195 pounds since my wedding prep in 2003. My motivation to get skinny leading into my wedding was for posterity sake… Didn’t want to be fat-faced in my wedding photos. I won’t be around in 300 years to defend the chubby choice. Vanity is one way to get it done.

When Destination 195! Blogging came to life in 2009 I had been enjoying married life, two kids, and the middle American dream for a good stretch. Very little motivated me to lose weight. I’m comfortable in my skin, world. Take me for who I am and stop interrupting my nap! However, I had not completely lost my primal urges to look good for the wife. She occasionally gave me the Pillsbury Doughboy tummy poke, yet never held the pounds over my head. She was good, so I was good. Who knew, but it only took a dare to get me going again. (Check out the early No Fat Jokes Please entries to gain perspective - especially if you are not the type of person who has ever chugged a full bottle of Hidden Valley Ranch for $5.00.) I don’t climb mountains just because they are there, I climb mountains because a buddy bets me I can’t climb the mountain while holding up the universal simple for acting like a complete wuss. The dare is the fundamental motivator for my weight loss. There is nothing left to prove to myself. I just need rub it in the rube’s face who dared to dare me to climb that stupid mountain. That and my desire to break 18:00 minutes in the 1500 meter freestyle at the December Masters swimming regional championships. Either one will work!  

Here are the past numbers, cuz I don’t hide from the scale:

2003    

January 1^st starting weight 234         

June 21^st ending weight 195

2009   

July 14^th starting weight 235              

Nov 5^th ending weight 214

2012    

August 1^st starting weight 231          

Dec 1^st ending weight 193

2017    

August 1^st starting weight 231           

Dec 1^st ending weight TBD

Hopefully history will use the revisionist eraser to block out my piss poor 2009 results. Unlike years past where my weight cruised around the uncomfortable, yet manageable 230 plus range, this year I had to lose 20 pounds to get back to the common starting weight. Since changing careers in 2015 the weight climbed a steady upward grade to a peak of 250. This past spring I required no extra time with wardrobe to get into my Matt Foley costume. Well, la-de frickin’ dah there is another fat guy with an office job. Mr. Foley, let’s get this challenge started again. And rumor has been confirmed, Jaron will be along for the ride to encourage, craft workouts, and join in on all the gym shenanigans.