It’s gonna be up in the triple digits today…

So usually when someone who has been on an intense diet and blogs about it but doesn’t update for a while it’s usually because “life happened”, they went off the plan, and they don’t want to admit it.  These folks also often talk about having been “out of the box”, which is HMR speak for eating things you’re not supposed to. 

Fear not – that’s not the case here.  I’m just lazy.  (This is the secret to my success on HMR.)  My official HMR stats are 79 pounds in 17 weeks.  The actual total weight loss on *my* scale is about 104 pounds.  (That also includes the weight I loss in between attending the HMR orientation and actually starting the program – about 1.5 months.)  I’ve been entirely in the box for these 17 weeks – and that’s why the scale says what it does.
When I ducked under 360 that was pretty big for me because I remember seeing the scale at 460 and going “OMGWTFBBQ11!1!!!!”.  I’m also looking forward to 350 since that’s the max weight for many things like bicycles and gym equipment.  Sadly, that milestone isn’t very far away so it’s gonna be here quick.  The next one will obviously be seeing the most significant digit go from “3” to “2”.  
I really need to dig up some pictures or something – when I look in the mirror the changes don’t look that dramatic to me.  They do to some folks, not to others.  I know there are changes though – for Christmas my dad bought me 2 pairs of jeans that had 66″ waists.  I just bought a new pair (of actual Levi brand) jeans that were 60″.  That’s 6″ off.  Plus things fit better in the leg and butt.  (A large part of the loss has been in my butt.  Don’t ask me how I know.)  I also had to pick up a new belt because even with all the extra holes the old belt was just looking wrong.  (Hey Rochester here’s a hint – when your house brand belt is the same price as the Ralph Lauren belt I’m going RL.)
The one thing that was cool was that my “nice” clothes fit again.  I started buying some pimp gear at Rochester Big and Tall back in 2002-ish.  Lotsa stuff with horsies on it.  None of it had fit for a while. (Heck, I’ve got a pair of pants that still have the tags on them.)  I weigh much less now than when I bought it – more proof that it’s not coming off my belly as fast as it is coming off from other places.  But then again it’s stuff that barely fit when I bought it.  It really fits now.  “Shopping in your own closet” is nice and doesn’t cost much.  I don’t think the stuff will fit for long but I’ll enjoy it while it does.  I’ll dress up and scare my co-workers.  (Wearing nice clothes to the office usually means you’re interviewing somewhere.)  Obviously I’m trying to avoid dumping too much cash into clothes right now.  But at a minimum I need to have, at any given time, two pairs of jeans that fit, underwear, a belt, and t-shirts.  I’m gonna buy jeans one pair at a time – see if I can wait until I’m down to 56-ish before buying another pair.  I guess I’ll usually have one pair that’s a bit snug and one pair that’s a bit loose. 
I also needed new undies and have discovered the magic of boxer briefs.  How did I not know about these things?  They’re awesome.  My giblets are pleased.  I’m *really* looking foward to hitting 3X size because I think stuff like the compression gear that Under Armour makes will be helpful.  Things are getting flabby enough that I wanna keep it strapped down.
I’m looking forward to my trip to Florida – I wonder if I’ll still need a belt extender.  Maybe.  I’m sure the seat will be more comfortable.  I’m still flying in first class – I’m not ready for the trauma of coach yet.  But I’ll just make a shake (or eat a cold bean entree – not too bad) and enjoy the ride.