This is my weekend.  It was delicious.  It was too much food and my tummy was off a bit however.

It was also a busy weekend punctuated by events and parties.  We opened a new Library on Saturday, named after a donor.  Both our Foundation team and the Library MarCom team put in tremendous effort and we had over 1800 people that day.

On Saturday we headed to a friend’s house for a great party with amazing food.  I ended up performing a fake wedding (which I can legally perform…long story) and the kids got to bed too late (10 pm).

Sunday was a busy day getting chores done for the week.  Other the standing all day Saturday I also didn’t have any dedicated exercise, which made me sad.  (That’s right, I am actually wanting to move more) #bigstep

Here is a video talking about the weekend.

The first time I did the hike I was angry, frustrated and not wanting to go. This time my wife asked me if I wanted to go on the hike and the answer that percolated up was still no.  But I said, yeah, let’s go.

We hiked up to the cave at least 30 minutes faster and I took a shortcut and actually sweated.  That’s right, I had sweat on my brow.  It was pretty good overall and I am just a little sore today.  Probably should go do another one.

I was also more than 60 lbs lighter which makes a difference.

See the new and old videos below….

April 11, 2016

November 12, 2015:

6 months to the day. 182 days.

81 lbs. 36 kgs. 13.5 lbs per month. Almost 1/2 lb per day.

900 meals or snacks. 4.95 per day.

Top Gratitude

• Christine and the kids.  While operating the FATKitchen making most of the meals that I have the pleasure of eating, Christine also raises our three girls, manages the household, the finances and pretty much the rest of our lives.  The more I get healthy and the better I feel, the more I can do with and for my family.  I am in debt to the effort Christine has given to the Project.  She is on her own journey and lost over 50 lbs herself since last August.  I am so proud of her and honoured to call her my life partner.

Top Discoveries

• This is really fun to do publicly. Really.  There has been very little negativity at all, just a lot of support especially from friends, family and colleagues.  We have even made new friends on the way like Allison, Malka, tons of instagrammers including all the dieticians, all the American facebookers and especially the CON-YYC folks, look forward to doing more
• Confirmed severe egg intolerance with stomach upset and achy muscles for up to 24 hrs
  • Result: No longer eat eggs and have to be careful around egg in lots of foods
• The weightloss at this point is wholly attributable to food changes in my diet
  • A have huge respect for the work of Dr. Yoni Friedhoff – he is spot on
    • I really want to go to Ottawa and interview him for the FAT Project
  • I have eaten incredibly delicious and amazing food over the six months which has included:
    • Cake, donuts, eclairs, chips, fries in small but delicious and deserving quantities.
    • My diet has mostly been lots of vegetables, good proteins(meats and tofu and beans/pulses), delicious grains(breads, rice, noodles, quinoa and potatoes) and fruits
    • Please look through my 900 meals and snacks to understand how seemingly normal these meals are. (As aside, I had a stomach bug this week so veggies are not very present)
    • I haven’t missed a food post(Though sometimes out of laziness if I had something again, I would occasionally repost a picture again. Examples: Coffee and subway (they always look the same 🙂 )
• I have increased my physical activity.  Weekly walking and bike rides recently, which has helped me feel better but caloric burn was non-existent.  I have not sweated due to exercise these last 6 months (nor have I in many years). I will but my body is bettering slowly.  I still have lots of aches which make it hard to move sometimes.
• My mindset has shifted.  I am much less food obsessed and now consider going up stairs much easier than before, therefore less avoidance of stairs!
• Things I can do now:
  • Sit in restaurant booths
  • Sit comfortably in theatre seat
  • Sit in a outdoor lawn chair without fearing it will break
  • Climb stairs quickly
• And yet everything is still the same.  Losing 80 lbs has not suddenly made me happier, only lighter.  All of life’s regular challenges still remain, they just have small changes that are a result of my reduced size.

Amazing Partners in the Journey(In order of involvement):

1. RoadWest Pictures – Joel Goundry has been a full partner in my journey and is documenting it as we go along.  We did some amazing pre-footage that will help us to really tell the story of this journey.
2. Calgary Weight Management Centre – Dr. Walji has been so supportive and the team at the Centre has gotten me involved with the Canadian Obesity Network (Calgary Chapter).  Special thanks to Geoff and Leslie.
3. WildPR – Kristen was a tremendous boost at the beginning and was a delight to work with on the PR side.
4. Complete Chiropractic and Sports Therapy – I have talked about how great Dr. Shereen Kangerloo has been and the healing I have had with her work has been incredible.  Especially with the sciatica and my shoulders and mid back are actually starting to work properly again.
5. X Warrior Challenge – Darcy Chalifoux has been awesome and so welcoming to someone who no one has ever called an athlete.  In what will truly  be only the second race in my life(I didn’t do any in school, I was out of gym from Grade 8 and up), the X Warrior Challenge (With a team of FAT Project fans and supporters) will be a 5km adventure in physical self discovery. This includes amazing support for being an ambassador including:
   • A one year membership at World Health Gyms – I will be filming my first workout
   • Free trail running shoes from Icebug – they are so cool and the spikes on them, grip like glue – do not use on hardwood 🙂
   • Free meals from Made Foods – Chef prepared takeout to enjoy at home
   • Free Juice from CruJuice – a whole lot of goodness packed in a bottle

Partners to Come

• Tri It MultiSport Store – They have offered to connect around the right gear and such in preparation for the final Triathlon.
• Kronos Triathlon Club – They have also offered to enable me to train with them but the bottom line for right now is that I am truly not ready.  In time, this will be great.

Next Steps

• Preparing for the X Warrior Challenge in August – this is going to take a while and I am in no way confident that I can do it.  I have never lifted my own body weight even as a small child so that will be interesting!!  Christine will be setting up a Facebook group for our FAT Project Team and we schedule trainings and such.  The event is also beginning to host boot camps starting on the 23rd.
• Getting ready to go to my 20 year high school reunion in July.  I have always been big, even in high school – I am hoping to film it. (And buy some great clothes!)
• Get ready for 100 lbs down. Have a party, get media follow-up on the story and hopefully inspire more people!
• I still have 37 years of emotion to work through.  This part of the healing has begun but will require some work, including professional counselling.
• Do more speaking engagements around the FAT Project.  I had a great one with CON-YYC recently and want to do more. Let me know if you need someone, I love it.

All in all I must say how powerful it has been for me to have so much discussion and followers on the various channels engaging with the Project.  I added this to my life on top of the jobs and the family commitments and it takes a fair chunk of time.  That investment has not only been worth it for me physically, but it also so rewarding to engage and excite others with this work.  Thank you for the support.

Paul