How I got here

 Update:

Weight: 249 lbs
Net Calorie: -981

I realized that I jumped in with both feet and did not document where I came from. 

Born in 1970 in Houston, Texas, I was always a big kid. Looking back, I was kind of chubby, but not an obese kid.  Unfortunately, at that time, the push was for skinny, which I will never be.  My family followed my doctor's advice and tried to find ways to encourage me to loose weight. 

My poor Dad, he even told me, if I was able to get down to the 120 lbs I was supposed to be, he would buy me a dog.  I was already 5'4" at 13 and weight about 140 lbs.  So I basically stopped eating, lost the weight, got the dog, and regained my 20 lbs plus.

Over the years my weight bounced between 142lbs and 160 lbs.  In 1992 I moved to Houston, Texas after college and took a job at Methodist Hospital in the surgical ICU.  In the year that I lived in Houston I gained weight from 142 lbs. to 220 lbs.  I moved back to Portland, Oregon and was able to loose enough to where I was healthy at 160 lbs. 

I stayed around 160 -180 lbs until I met my first wife.  During our 7 years together I gained 100 lbs.  My highest weight ever was 280 lbs at the time I left her.  There were up and down times within that 7 years.  When I was pregnant with my twins, I lost weight so that when they were born, my weight was 225 lbs.  Unfortunately, I gained it all back.

After my divorce from my first wife, I started working out 5 days a week during my lunch break at work.  I did this for the first couple of years.  In that time I met my second wife.  At that time I was 240 lbs.  During our 2 1/2 year relationship, I gained back to 270 lbs. 

At the time of our divorce I was working full  time on my MBA, single parenting the twins, and working full time.  We ate out a lot, but luckily my weight did not go above 270 lbs.

When I started this journey (again) at the beginning of the year, I was 265 lbs.  I had lost 12 lbs before starting this blog. 

I am currently with Kat, my third and LAST wife :)  She is very supportive of weight loss, but more supportive of having me learn how to take care of myself.  Taking care of me is something that I have never been good at.  I took care of my sister and mother growing up.  I found 2 wives that required me to care for them at the expense of myself.  I took care of step children, then my own, again with giving everything I had.  Went to school, worked full time, and single parented was probably the biggest example of pushing too hard.  I also switched jobs, moved, and divorced my second wife in the same time period. 

I now take my needs into account.  I work with Kat to make sure I get time for me when I need it.  I am walking every day on my lunch break.  I make sure that I have activities for the twins and I on the weekend that meet some of my needs i.e. walking to the Library. I am able to be more true to who I am.  I am finding that it is OK to accept that I prefer masculine clothing.  It is OK for me to take care of others as long as I take care of me too.  I feel more like Me and more true to who G-d made me.  In taking care of me, I am moving towards health and setting an example for the twins.  I hope that they will see me succeed!