I've been low-carb dieting for 90 days now.
It's been a busy month (or so). We took several little trips and one week-long one up to Bar Harbor, Maine, where we stay every summer.
I want to share with you a story about this trip.
Last year, when we went up there, I had an ankle that was riddled with arthritis.
I was 365 pounds.
I couldn't walk without agony.
I couldn't walk for long at all without getting exhausted.
I couldn't climb over the rocks and hills to get the kinds of spectacular photos everyone else was getting.
I did more sitting than exploring.
I was miserable but I kept telling myself that miserable in Maine is better than miserable at home.
That's true enough - the scenery up there in Acadia is GORGEOUS.
The place where we stay has a gorgeous pebble beach and you can literally sit on a bench two feet from the water at high tide.
I used to spend countless hours on that beach.
Last year I ventured down there twice during the entire week.
Why? Because there's also a huge hill involved in getting there and I could not even bear the thought of climbing it multiple times.
I was just too huge.
I had no energy.
But what did I have? I had the fried clams. Several times. I had ice cream. I had fudge. I drank a lot of the local root beer.
I had all those things, but I had a lousy vacation.
When we arrived in Bar Harbor this year, I was probably close to 80 pounds lighter.
I had a good brace keeping the arthritis at bay.
I was climbing over rocks and scaling hills all over the place.
And I got some great pictures.
I'll share a couple of them in a few minutes.
Here's what I didn't do:
I didn't eat any fried clams.
I didn't eat any ice cream.
I didn't drink any root beer.
I didn't have any blueberry pie.
I didn't cheat on the diet. Not even once. Not even when no one was looking.
I took my son to play miniture golf and for the first time in three years I didn't need to rely on him to retrieve my ball because I was too huge to bend over and get it.
We played 64 total holes of adventure golf that week. I bent over to get my ball 64 times.
I wasn't drenched in sweat in 75 degree weather.
I never lost my breath climbing the hill after visiting the shore.
I had enough energy to get up at 4:00 AM to catch sunrise at Cadillac mountain.
My SON asked to sit down and rest more often than I did.
I walked all over Bar Harbor, up and down steep hills, through dozens of shops and didn't feel the need to sit down very often at all.
I EXPERIENCED this trip. I didn't just live through it.
And here's the best part: I'm only about halfway to my goal.
I have a lot of weight left to lose.
I can't even imagine what I'll be doing next year.
I've considered learning how to kayak.
And my wife might be joining me now that she's starting the diet too in a couple weeks. :-)
P.S. I bought my first 2X t-shirt in about 5 or 6 years and it fits. All my size 42 pants fit and they're all roomy.
And here are the pictures I promised...
