The Football Fan’s Diet

By Matt DeReno
On The FFD

PITTSBURGH – The first serious week back was marked by 5 great days followed by a weekend where I slipped. It wasn’t a disastrous weekend, but still, have not figured out that part yet. We had a birthday party and though I put some record time in during the week at the gym, I still went over my DGO.

I jumped back on the scale an hour ago and yes, it shows. But, I fully expect to get it back down this week.
Although, it must be noted, the family is taking a little trip to Canaan Valley West Virginia this weekend.
I don’t know if sitting in a hot tub and drinking beer qualifies as camping, but it is my kind of camping for sure.

I thought about it for a while and though I was getting comfortable the past few weeks, I have come to a realization. There is a lot of work left to do. So, screw it, I will start another season and see where that puts me by the end of the year.

After all, it was six months ago I started this and it was cold and freezing and I was really fat. I lost a lot of weight, but my goal weight is still, eh, 30 lbs away. So, there is still a lot of work to be done.
On Season III, I am not going to do the Preseason. I am starting right off in the regular season and since I already lost a good deal, I aim to make my weight loss goals a little less ambitious then they were before. I have this funny feeling though, it will still be as challenging and I think a lot of it has to do with this dumb “feast or famine” mentality I have. In other words, it is easier for me to live with famine than with moderation. Moderation is really difficult for me. Feast or famine is easy because it involves extremes, which I guess sort of agree with me.

And so I came a long damn way from January. Now, I am sitting on the back deck of our house, it is sunny outside, the birds are chirping and what else could I ask for. It is today then that I have announced Season III has begun with my first touchdown yesterday and will continue into December, thus wrapping up when it all started – freezing my ass off in the winter. Only this time, it will be much smaller. In fact, perhaps, just perhaps, that winter could be a very enjoyable one now that I have the aim to get to that ideal goal and be healthy. It is within reach and I proved to myself that it is indeed possible to lose this damn weight.
However, this season’s focus will be on moderation and not extreme fitness or extreme fatness. Balance and healthy living. Therefore, I plan on a few minor tweaks to my DGO. Allow me to summarize of few of my new guidelines.

It will be much more simplified in Season III compared to Season II. I will get a TD for staying under my DGO and a TD for going over. That’s it. Period. No Field Goals. No nothing like that. Exercise calories will obviously be netted into my DGO, which will be the reward itself for having exercised. My goal will be 1.5 lbs per week – come hell or Vitamin high water!

So on that note: It is the week after July 4th. Season II is completely finished. It is history. It worked. I feel great, but there is still work to be done. The goal of Season III will be to finish that work.

By Matt DeReno
On The FFD

Guess what – today was the last weigh on Season II of the Football Fan’s Diet. Now, having kept a weight log for the whole of the year since starting back in January, I am pleased to say my total weight loss hit 60lbs. I went from a high back in December of 2008 of 276. In June, I hit my low mark to date of 216lbs.
So now it is over once and for all and I am officially on the maintenance phase. I would still like to get to 195lbs. So, there is still work to be done. In all honesty, I am just not sure I am mentally ready to hope right in for a Season III. Will that get me down to the goal weight? Or, can I simply “off-season” the retaining weight loss at a comfortable pace? That remains to be seen.

But all in all, I lost a boat load of weight. It worked. IT worked. It worked. I feel better, I looked better in clothes and my confidence is at levels not seen since who knows when. I thank you for having stuck with me through all of this.

What I would like to do know is share this with as many people as possible and continue to refine these posts. So, I will no doubt go back through the past six months and do some editing and finish where I left off with the weekly audio podcasts, etc. It really has been an amazing road. 60lbs. Man, I freaking love it. Now, the challenge of not only making this loss permanent but using it is a spring board to get down incrementally to my goal weight is underway.

Towards those ends, I had a good day yesterday. I exercised. Avoided beer, my dear lordly friend beer, ate healthy and here I am in the morning typing away. I am letting it sink in that the Season II is over. It is time to enjoy what I accomplished but in a way that maintains it all. Thank you for sticking with me from January. I wish you much luck on your own weight loss efforts.