Back on the wagon (with NSFW-ish pics!)

I tend not to focus much on "scale weight." The scale is far too dependent on my hydration status, whether or not I've taken my morning dump, etc. Regardless, staying within an appropriate "range" is important, so I'll be posting weights and pictures every Monday for the duration of this program. Last week I weighed in at 169 and looked like this:

In anticipation for the program and in true American fashion, I really took advantage of my last couple days of "diet freedom." I intended to take more photos, but for the most I was too busy stuffing my face to bother with such silly things.

There's a little shout out to Sticky Lips and Dunkin' Donuts, but the real heroes are salt, sugar, and general food processing. I took the pictures below this morning. I actually laughed out loud when the scale read 182.4 - needless to say this is not within my appropriate range. Is there any wonder why we live in the fattest country on earth? Behold the power of inflammation!

A 13.4 pound difference in under a week is pretty outrageous even for me. I'm thinking of sending these pictures to the producers of Law & Order: SVU in hopes of landing the role of "bloated dead guy." I'm holding so much fluid I felt like I was washing someone else's face in the shower this morning. As bad as I look, I think I feel worse. I purposely wanted to come into this out of shape so that I can show you what a difference a clean diet and a little effort in the gym can make. Granted, that's not all fat weight, but if you've been eating a steady diet of processed grains (even the championed WHOLE grains are processed and terrible for you), chances are you can blame some of your jiggly parts on bloating too. I challenge you to eliminate grains, legumes and dairy for a month along with me. I guarantee you'll be amazed at the results.

Fortunately for me, today is the official Day 1 of the rebound. Get me a vegetable, STAT! Since I'll mostly be working out and eating later in the day I'll probably be a day behind on the logs, i.e., I'll post today's stuff tomorrow, tomorrow's stuff the next day, etc., but rest assured - it's coming. Please feel free to post questions or comments. Thanks for reading!