Well, as expected, the weight loss is slowing down a bit. The ironic thing is that I knew that it would happen and am OK with it and plan to keep focused until I reach my goal (just 34 more to go)! However, it seems as though the people around me are'nt real happy with the progress - they are a tough bunch!

I know that they mean well; but, you can see the disappoint ment in their faces when I tell them that it was 1 - 2 pounds this most recent week.

I let them know that I am happy with the progress and that Rome was not built in a day. I will stay the course!

My wife was rushed to the hospital with a medical emergency. It took almost an entire week to properly diagnose the issue. They then had to perform surgery. The surgery was a success! After two weeks in the hospital, Donna is not home resting well and on the road to recovery.

I went to the hospital everyday and there was more than one or two times that I looked at the pizza and cheeseburgers that seemed to want to comfort me. I took a step back and thought to myself, "my wife (who has always kept her weight down and taken care of herself) is upstairs recovering from major surgery; while I (who has been blessed with good health - other than my weight) am in the cafeteria ready to pollute my body. I will not go back to taking my health for granted. So, it was salad for me. On the nights that they did not have salad, I ate the leanest meat and veggies I could find.

I dropped 3 - 4 more pounds while Donna was in the hospital. I was very happy with that as I am normally s STRESS eater (and seeing the love of your life in a hospital bed with no less than 4 tubes in her is very stressful).

So, we are home, and on the road to recovery!

Things have been going pretty crazy and I have not had much time to get online! Good news is that I am continuing to lose weight (official weigh in is Wednesday and I am anticipating being down to 215). Bad news is that I miss my MF Friends!

I hope that all if well for everyone!

People have been telling me that they have noticed that I have been losing weight. Last week I had 3 people tell me that I needed to get SMALLER pants.

When I started out the waist size of my slacks were 44 and they felt tight. I did notice that they were a bit loose. I did not have any 42's at home to try on so out to the mall we went.

I tried on a pair of 42's and quickly realized that not only did they fit, but I had a little breathing room to spare! I bought a couple of 42's to get me through to the time that I need 40's!

It was a nice to walk into the store and get a smaller size.

I ate my lean green a little later than usual last night. I was not hungry before I went to bed so I skipped my evening meal / snack. Well, that was a mistake! Woke up hungry this morning (first time since being OP).

Ate my breakfast a little earlier than usual. I need to remember: NO SKIPPING MEALS!

Lost 5 pounds in Week #2. That is a collective 14 pounds over the first two weeks.

I went OP yesterday! I was not hungry, I just wanted something tasty. So, I turned to my old friend CHEDDAR CHEESE. So, I pull out the freshly purchase pound of CHEDDAR CHEESE and think about the ramifications of eating it. What if I can not eat just one slice? What if it blows the 2 weeks of good work that I accomplished on plan. I and wrestling with this moral dilemna when my wife comes into the kitch and asks what I am doing.

I respond that I am considering eating a slice of cheese. She then asks how long I have been considering doing this. So, I give an honest response: about 10 minutes.

She smiles at me and says, if you do not eat it now, you will probably be back. Eat half a slice and get on the treadmill. So, I ate half a slice (thinly sliced I may add) and got on the treadmill for 30 minutes. So I consumed about 40 - 50 calories and burned off about 200.

The craving passed and I spent the rest of the day (and today) back on plan!

For the last few years I believed that my waist was a 44. All of the suits and slacks that I had purchased from Jos A. Banks were 44's. Depending upon how bad the weekend was, they were either a little snug or a little loose.

Well I was shocked when I measured my waist with a tape measure: 49.5". How can you hava a 49.5" waist and wear a size 44 from a men's clothing store? Well I measured when I first started the program and I was truly at 49.5".

Well, at least I know my starting point and will reduce from there!