Ban the Assault Belly

You've probably seen the picture above before. I've always found it humorous and one day showed it to a co-worker. The immediate reaction was, "Is that you?"

Oh dear! Had I turned into one of those fat, white guys that likes to play with guns? The sad truth was "yes."

Me at 27.

What the heck had happened? Two kids, a mortgage, and a career later and look at me: I'm trading man-boob jokes with MSgt B.

Well, I'm happy to announce that the scale this morning says I've dropped 15 lbs, and my pants are telling me I've shrunk two inches.

There's still some more work to do, but given I started trying this while on a business trip only two months ago I'm fairly happy with the results. My goal actually hasn't been to drop weight but rather eat better (basically, cut way back on the carbs) and to build up strength. That's been accomplished mainly by strength training at the gym, eating less crap, and a mental transition that requires me to do some exercise, no matter what it is, even if it can't be part of my normal routine (sick kids and business travel can really screw with your norms).

Without a belly hanging six inches over my belt line, my carry options have changed. Do you see the gun in the above photos? It's riding Mexican at my appendix. I've been doing that for at least two weeks now and have come to really like it. But that option was never something I would have tried just 2 months ago.

Like I said, I'm really only 2 months into this. With any luck, I can report back in 10 months and check off the box that says "life-style change".

(And yes, that's a new Hoplorati shirt you see.)