I am fat.

Ladies and Gentlemen of Facebook:

As the title suggests, I am fat. It is a serious situation. I've been fat for 20 (give or take) years of my life (I'm 26). My parents have attempted various systems of rewards in an attempt to get me to lose weight, such as $500 if I lose a set amount of weight, or a new wardrobe of clothing if the amount of weight I lose requires it. If you've seen me recently, you'll know, none of these have worked. My fiance, Tabitha Ashley, may have come up with a reward that might actually get me motivated to do something about it (which I will describe in more detail later).

Another step I'd like to take is to get the word out to enough people to hopefully garner some online support in the matter. What I'm going to do is attempt to write an entry everyday and open myself to all sorts of online scrutiny. At first, it will just be a food diary, eventually evolving into a food/exercise diary. I'm hoping that you readers will help me out with words of encouragement, as well as questions/comments about my diet, exercising, what has worked for you, what hasn't, etc.

Now, to head off some comments, I'm not going vegetarian. 1. I like meat. 2. I like to have complete protein. 3. I've read too much that makes me uncomfortable with the idea. 4. I like meat. I respect people that do it, it just isn't for me. Also, I like to avoid processed foods. I'm a big proponent of the "slow food" movement. I'm an avid supporter of the ideas of Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food), Nina Planck (Real Food: What to Eat and Why), and Joel Salatin (Polyface Farms) along with things like www.eatwild.org and the Weston A. Price Foundation. I would absolutely adore discussions about those things.

There are times that I will make decisions about my diet/exercise that are not beneficial. I'm not going to worry (that much) about it. I'm imperfect, shit happens, that's how I got in my current condition. I'm going to attempt to make strides. Also, I'm still a fan of the occasional adult beverage.

So, along with daily food diaries, every Monday, I'm going to weigh myself first thing and I'll include that in my entry for the day. If/when I go to the doctor, I'll summarize that. You make think of this as too much information, I'm okay with that, I'm not forcing you to read. I'm just asking you, one friend to another, to be an active participant in my quest to become a healthier person.

I'll include more information about my reward system later on.

Thank you very much for your time,

Zeb

Question #1: (5 Points) This will be much harder for those that haven't seen me recently, and Tab, your guess won't count, but how much do you think I currently weight? (Closest guess gets the points, a tie and both will get the points, correct answer tomorrow evening at ~7:00pm)