625 days and 125 lbs later...

625 days ago, my doctor yelled at me. My weight has been an issue for a long time, but he said if I didn't lose the weight by the time I was 60, I wouldn't lose it period. Apparently weighing 400 lbs isn't good for overall health and longevity. Who Knew? I thought the trade-off was that I was damn stable in a high wind.

Later that day I had coffee with my friend Lynn and she said 'There's An App For That'! She told me about an app that allowed you to set a goal, it gives you a calorie budget, and then helps you figure out what calories are in what you eat. When you start tracking what you eat, it can be surprising and a learning experience. I had a fish filet & rice thing that I made for lunch quite often. The fish was 100 calories. The olive oil and bit of butter that I cooked it in was 200 calories. Solution? Cook it in a little Pam and its back to 100 calories...and tastes the same. Lots of discoveries and paying attention.

I set a goal of getting down to 275 lbs. Today I reached it.

It is ironic that it is today, because one year ago today I had lost 60 lbs, cut my cholesterol 2/3, and lowered my blood pressure significantly...I thought maybe losing that much weight and getting the other stuff under control might earn me a Cosmic Pat-On-The-Back. Apparently not.

At midnight Halloween Night 2017 I had a heart attack. Sort of the Cosmic Kick-in-the-Ass Chris is more used to...

With the great care of the crew at Clackamas Fire Station 14 and the AMR ambulance guys, I got a nice ride to the hospital, they stuck another stent in my ticker, and I was back in business. Except I scared the Begeezuz out of my wife, my son, my Mom...maybe myself a little. So I continued with my plan and the weight continued to drop off. Not as fast as at first, but still dropping.

So 625 days and 125 lbs later, I reached my goal. And set a new one. Another 50 lbs sounds doable. If there is a 'deep lesson' learned, it is that you have to do a simple thing: **Eat less. Move more.** That's it. As I have traveled this path, I have had many conversations with people also trying to lose weight, and that is the only thing that works. It also helps to be a stubborn, pig headed Swede who has been known to be a teensy tiny bit obsessive about reaching goals once set.

Thanks to my family, my friends, and all the others for the encouragement and kind words. Thanks to the crews at Clackamas Fire and AMR for the Second Chance.

Happy Halloween, Folks. A year ago I didn't know if I was going to get to say that again.