Health Update, Button Update

After staring at it on my to-do list for a month, I finally sewed the button back on that had popped off my pants as a result of my recent weight gain.  The pants have red accents, so I used a bold red thread.

Project Runway, here I come!  I’ve lost a few pounds since popping that button, and while I haven’t worn the pants since the repair, I have a good feeling it won’t pop again.

Here’s the bigger, more exciting update – the one about my health (and other stuff):

My Roller Coaster Day

It’s been an up-and-down sorta day. It started with a double-whammy: it’s been great having my mom here to help out while I recover from my surgery, but I took her to the airport bright and early this morning so she could hop a plane back to Michigan. It was a bummer to see her ago, and I’m man enough to admit that I already miss her.

Despite the circumstances, we had a nice visit (it also helped that the outcome of the surgery provided so much good news). We saw extended family a couple times, and before the surgery we had a nice meal out and saw “The Great Gatsby.” The other day we both wanted to get out of my place for a little while, so we turned a trip to Trader Joe’s into a pleasant scenic drive, where I pointed out a few celebrity homes and stopped at two very scenic overlooks on Mulholland, the road that winds across the top of the Hollywood Hills.

I only see my mom a couple times a year, and luckily for me, I’ll get to see her (and my dad) in about a month, so that will be really nice. Plus, she left behind presents in my freezer in the form of healthy food:

The top shelf, and part of the second shelf, has

Do You Have the Stones?

If you’re looking for an update about my impending surgery, you’ll have to wait a little longer. I wrote this post a few days ago and scheduled it for today, just to have some fresh content up. You know, because I’m an awesome blogger! Speaking of the surgery, a big thank you for all the messages of concern, support, love, and well wishes – they’ve been coming in from all over the place, and even though I haven’t been able to respond to all of them, I’ve read them and appreciated them!

Anyway, because the surgery will keep me away from strenuous exercise for 2-4 weeks, I decided I better get my fill of Slimmons classes while I could. So, last week, I went twice, with Thursday being my last class for a while.

It was a really fun class, and Richard Simmons was his

Check It Out: New Everyday Health Article!

About a month ago, I got contacted by an editor at Everyday Health, a big health and wellness website. And by ‘big,’ I mean ‘gigantic’ – they get 20 million unique visitors a month. They were starting a new column featuring weight loss success stories, and the editor was curious if I’d be interested in being featured. Heck yea! I provided some photos and answered a bunch of questions and woke up today to an email saying that my column was published. Happy Friday to me! Check out my Everyday Health column by clicking here.

I filled out the questionnaire before I had my most recent weigh-in and before I fessed up to the troubles I’ve been having this month, but I just reread what I wrote, and it all rings true, and is all good advice for the situation I find myself in now. So nice that the me of the past is looking out for the me of the future!

In other news, today marks the end of the first week of getting back on track. 

The Damage…

…has been done.

It’s the first day of May, and that means it’s time for a weigh-in. Wanna see what two weeks of uninhibited eating and no exercise did to me? Here, take a look at my scale:

That right there is a fifteen pound gain. But, believe it or not, I’m pretty sure there’s good news too.

Double Yolks. PLUS, Watch the Infomercial Online!

EXCITING NEWS! You know how I’m featured in Richard Simmons’ new infomercial for Project H.O.P.E.? The infomercial clocks in at a full 30 minutes, but the online version is only 7 minutes, and I was left on the editing room floor. So unless you set your DVR, or happened to catch it on basic cable in the middle of the night, there’s a good chance you haven’t seen my little part of the infomercial yet.

UNTIL NOW! Check it out: the portion featuring the long-term success stories (me and my friends Joanne and Lori) is now on YouTube! It’s only 80 seconds – watch right here:

Big thanks to my buddy Jon. Check out some behind-the-scenes photos from the infomercial shoot here.

Moving on…

The most bizarre thing happened recently.

Punched in the Gut By ‘The Whale’

I don’t think I’ve ever really shared on this blog what a huge fan I am of live theater. I haven’t consciously been hiding that part of my life from you, it’s just that my theater-going and my escapades in healthy living and weight loss don’t ever really overlap. They overlapped this weekend, though, when I saw a powerful new play that ended up leaving me breathless. It features strong performances and a compelling story, but what really brought the tears to my eyes (literally) was the fact that it hit really close to home. Too close to home.

The play is called “The Whale,” and South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California is presenting the West Coast premiere. “The Whale,” written by Samuel D. Hunter, tells the story of the final days of a man named Charlie, who is succumbing to congestive heart failure and other complications brought on by his extreme obesity. Charlie weighs 600 pounds, refuses medical treatment except for that provided by his only friend, a nurse named Liz, and is a complete shut-in in his small apartment in rural Idaho.

EGGIES! Plus: Weight Loss Chart Update!

Man, I love hard-boiled eggs. I typically hard-boil a dozen eggs a week, and eat them as part of my lunches and after workouts. Usually, I eat only the whites, and toss the yolks into the trash, along with the shells, but every once in a while, I’ll eat one whole egg in addition to 2 or 3 more whites. Egg whites are an excellent source of protein, are fat-free, and low in calories.

So I was very excited to get my hands on an infomercial product that promised to make hard-boiled eggs a snap to make. The product is called Eggies, and here’s the commercial, in case you haven’t seen it (I’ve seen it roughly 2,500 times):

I can’t divulge where I got the Eggies, but I’m happy that I didn’t pay for them (and, no, I didn’t shoplift them). I don’t think that hard-boiling eggs is a particularly difficult proposition, and I’ve never been nearly as flustered as the women at the beginning of the commercial, but I’m all for kitchen shortcuts. And, well, I love informercial products. I’m in!

Behind-the-Scenes at a Weight Loss Infomercial

Hey Folks! Now that Richard Simmons’ new infomercial has seen the light of day, I can share some fun behind-the-scenes scoop about the whole experience. Before I do that, a big thanks to everyone that tuned in! For anyone that doesn’t know what I’m talking about, Richard Simmons just launched a new 90-day weight loss program called Project H.O.P.E., and I’m featured as a weight loss success story in the new infomercial!

For everyone that missed it, I don’t have any information for you about how you can watch, unfortunately. I’m not in the online version of the infomercial (which can be seen here), and I don’t know if the 30-minute version that I’m in will ever appear online. As for television viewing: I’d like to think that this infomercial, just like every other infomercial ever made, will run for months and months and be inescapable. I just don’t have, at this time, any more scheduling information. What that means is that you should stay up late and watch cable TV in the middle of the night for the foreseeable future until you happen to catch it on the airwaves!

Kidding, of course. If I learn more about concrete viewing opportunities, I’ll be sure to let you know! In the meantime, you can live vicariously through these photos.

I appear three times during the infomercial. The first time is right near the beginning, when they show this graphic for a few seconds that features ‘before’ and ‘after’ photographs:

TV Schedule For Richard Simmons’ New Infomercial – Featuring Me!

Just a quickie post to share some vitally important, life-or-death information: the air times for the new infomercial I’m in!

Richard Simmons is launching a new 90-day weight loss program called Project H.O.P.E., and he’s selling it via infomercial, and the infomercial started airing this week. What’s more, I’m in it! I’m not in it for long, but I provide a testimonial as to the benefits of working out with Richard long term.

Here are the channels and times you can watch it this weekend – get ready to stay up late, wake up early, or set the DVR!

If you wanna look for it in your TiVo/DVR guide, search for “Richard Simmons’ Fat Blast.” I’m sure it will air many, many times after this weekend, but I don’t know if I’ll have access to those schedules. So grab some carrot sticks and hummus, settle in, and enjoy!

I’m featured in a photograph touting my weight loss at the beginning, and I can be seen in footage filmed at Slimmons towards the end, but my shining moment, from the interview they shot with me, is right around 15 or 16 minutes in (the infomercial is 30 minutes total).

The interview was conducted in early December, and I’ll share some photos and stories from that day in another post. For now, take note of the schedule, and plan accordingly!

Oh, and as of right now, my interview isn’t available online. There’s a 7-minute infomercial on YouTube and the Project H.O.P.E. website, but I’m not included in that shorter version. All the more reason to tune in this weekend!

KEEP IT UP, DAVID!