Mindy made me carve a jack-o-lantern this year for Halloween. We're even going to hand out candy at my apartment complex...I'm being domesticated, what can I say?

Anyway, hope everyone has a great Halloween this year, and remember, Be Safe!

P.S. I named him Larry, and he was a few days old when this picture was taken, and the rain made one of his ears shrink, so he's a little odd looking...

I have done it! As of this morning, I have lost 90 pounds since January 1, 2007! This is the first time in my life I have ever completed a New Year's Resolution. I'm very happy with my results, but do intend to try losing a bit more weight. Having reached my goal, I will no longer be using this blog to track my progress. In fact, knowing myself, I probably won't use this blog for anything in the foreseeable future. I have enjoyed working on my goal and especially reaching it. Many thanks to all those who have encouraged me in this goal.

I was down a pound as of Saturday morning, but by today, I'm back to the 87 mark...I blame two things:

1. The weather - Due to the rain, I was only able to take one bike ride last week (on Saturday). I was going to take one on Thursday night, but the train I was on got stuck for an hour and a half because some idiot got hit by a train just before I got to my stop. I didn't get home till after dark.

2. I went to Dave's house for dinner on Saturday, and ate waaaayyyyy too much. Nuff said.

So, I expect to drop two pounds this week, because I'm not eating out this week. Unfortunately, I'll be out of town on business next week, and that always tends to lead to trouble...we'll see how it goes.

I'm down a total of 87 pounds as of this morning. Still have 3 more to go until I hit my goal! Of course, I don't truly intend to stop dieting until I feel like I've reached my limit, which could be anywhere from another 10-20 pounds, I'm guessing.

I will, however, probably stop blogging about it once I reach my goal (I know all my readers will be devastated by this...).

However, I am finally going to go get fitted for the tux I'm supposed to wear at Alan's wedding next month, so at least he will be happy with me.

I've decided to give up carbonated beverages. I'm not sure how long this will last, but I'm going to give it a go. My primary beverage of choice has been Diet Coke for many, many years. However, I'm about to become a strictly "water" man. I don't know if I'll see any health benefits from this change, but I hope to.

I've been drinking a lot of water for the past year or so due to getting water delivery set up for my apartment. I've also avoided buying Diet Coke for use at home. So, I generally only drink soda at work (where it's free) and when eating out. I'm thinking that it shouldn't be too hard to switch, because I can also get water in both of those places.

On the weight front, I'm now down 83 pounds. I took a 20-mile bike ride on Saturday, and I felt pretty good when it was done. I keep fighting the urge to make the rides longer and longer. The main issue with this urge is that daylight is getting shorter and shorter. In the end, I'll probably have to purchase a trainer for my bike that lets me ride it in my apartment.

Well, I've passed the 80-pound mark (81, to be exact) and am now working on 90. I've decided to keep 90 as my "official" weight-loss goal. I intend to keep dieting until I reach my plateau, so I don't really know where I'll stop.

Of course, I'm going to have to find an alternate form of exercise when cycling weather ends, so that will be a challenge. I'm really not a fan of going to the gym, and I don't really want to get a stationary bike either...however, I may go that route if nothing better comes along.

I've considered looking into climbing...based on the assumption that there are indoor climbing walls available all year round. I don't know if I have the right build for that kind of stuff, however, so I may stick to the simpler things like cycling.

In looking through various online sources, I have come to realize that I have three separate weight-loss goals posted. The one listed in this blog is to lose 80 pounds. The goal posted on my Project Weight Loss site is to lose 90 pounds. On my personal web site, I show a goal of 95.5 pounds. So, I have to decide which one of these counts as my official "New Years Resolution" goal. The reason this is important is because I have never actually followed through with a resolution before, and I want to make a big deal out of it when it does happen.

So, my current weight loss of 79 pounds either puts me 1, 11, or 16.5 pounds away from my goal. Hrmmm...what to do, what to do...Ultimately, I intend to keep dieting until I reach all of my goals, but I do need to decide which one is my "official" goal. I'm thinking of splitting the difference and going with the 90 pound loss...that is probably what I'll do...

Back to work today...and down 77 pounds so far. I picked up some dumbells the other day, so I have something constructive to do while watching my Netflix. Since the bike riding is taking care of my leg muscles, I decided to do something with my arms. If soreness is an indicator, I'm doing fine.

Today is my birthday, and in spite of spending the weekend in Las Vegas, I'm still down 75.5 pounds. Ruth's Chris was awesome. Hooters was pretty good too.

I'm in Utah for a few weeks visiting friends and family, and I discovered that my parents still have the same crappy old scale they've had for years. So, I decided to buy them a new one (calling it a Father's Day gift) so that I would have one to use while I'm here. As of this morning, I am down 74 pounds, and still shrinking.

I brought my mountain bike with me (since I drove out), and I intend to ride for at least 45 minutes every other day. I'm also sticking to my diet as much as possible for the duration of this trip. I'm still hoping to lose about 15 more pounds before switching into maintenance mode.