Partying at 299

I have to apologize that it has taken me this long to post about the party that my brother Brad planned for me with the assistance of my wife and family.  I was completely shocked, and in fact I did not want to go to the bowling alley at 10:30 pm AT ALL!  I haven't see 10:30 outside of my house in a long time, so yea - they got me good!  I was completely blown away by the people that showed up...all of the people there have touched my life in so many different ways, and it was awesome to get them all in one place.  The party was a birthday party and congrats on losing weight party.  I learned quickly that I was a much better bowler when I was HUGE!  Apparently, when you lose 130+ pounds you also lose the ability to throw the ball straight...I have decided that I am going to blame everything I do poorly on losing a ton of weight.  In all reality, I am happy to lose weight and suck at bowling...I am happier now than I was when I was huge and a decent bowler!

For my brother to think to do this for me was overwhelming in itself.  When you have someone that knows you so well and makes a night all about you it is a special thing!  Brad has been one of my biggest fans in this process because he knows that I have struggled and battled this my whole life...I think its awesome to have someone be proud of you, and I know he is extremely proud of me - and it drives me to continue and push forward.  I am inspired by the support of those that I inspire!  Sounds weird, but it is very true!  Thanks again Brad - the party and support means more to me than I can express.  Its great to have a brother like you!

I was talking to Christine about the "Inspiration" blog after I posted it and I told her something that may sound a bit ambitious to some of you.  The movie "Pay it Forward" comes to mind when I think of what I want to do with the level of inspiring others.  The program I am doing gives my the motivation to spread the message and Pay it Forward to others.  Almost as amazing to me as losing 130+ pounds to this point is that I have helped 17 or so others lose at least 25 pounds!  I want them to get people to do it, and so on, and so on...We can really change some things in this country, and educate more people on the proper way to diet and not be completely controlled by food...

By the way, did you know it's possible to go out to dinner for your birthday and not feel so full that you may explode??  Up to about 6 months ago I did not, but I do now!  I remember going to Fogo De Chao last year with Christine and she said before we went that we could walk around the harbor after dinner....Well, walking back to the car after the carb overload was a huge issue!  This year, I felt full after eating my salmon (HUGE salmon fan now by the way), and also felt like I was going to live through the night!  It was a much better feeling!  And really - if salmon had a fan club I would be President and past President,,,

The scale was yet again my friend this week, but it a much bigger way.  In true Anthony style I am able to fully disclose that I weighed in at 435 pounds on October 24th 2011.  I always said that I would never get to 300 pounds, and then said I'd never get to 400...well I did!    Truth be told, I don't think I would have ever reached 500 pounds, but not because of diet...I don't think I would have lived to see it!  On Monday I got on the scale and it said 299!  Bye Bye to the 400's and 300's forever...in fact 3's and 4's are longer in my vocab....300's, 400's, 3XL, and 4XL can all go to goodwill, and  never come back!  I still have some work to do, but for the first time in a long time I can say I am happy with my health and proud of myself for reaching this huge goal!!

Thanks for being there for me everyone....it's great to have true friends!

Anthony