Words from a loser: Slow and Steady

Once again Speedster is still firmly entrenched up top and now that Doctor Cook has found a scale and removed the question mark regarding his weight I am officially on the bottom of the group of competitors.

Honestly I take my slow and steady progress as a great personal victory, not being on the bottom as a painful weekly defeat. So ha! Chew on that!

I haven't been this light since 2005.

In recent memory (May 2009) I was dangerously close to that magical number that would designate me as a Clydesdale in triathlon events. A mere pound or two away truth be told. This is not something abhorrent, I would have raced a duathlon in the Clydesdale category with pride. It just would have hurt a lot more.

Half the challenge of any race for us larger types is lumbering one's own bulk along for the ride. It ain't easy.

Before this competition began, at the first team weigh-in for dragon boating this year I was a pack mule of 188. Just a touch under my normal "winter weight".

Dionysus would be proud. I have lost weight steadily week by week without compromising having a good time this summer. I am not one to starve myself when there are alternatives. Lack of fuel makes me tired and cranky and no fun at all. The alternative: eat something dammit!

Just make it something GOOD that is actually worthwhile. No crap will be tolerated by my tastebuds and stomach. They are my harshest critics.

More salads are thrown into the mix and junk food like chocolate bars and chips becoming almost completely absent in my diet is nice. Sure I miss some things, I never really consciously gave up the really GOOD chocolate (Just Us! bars from Nova Scotia...yummy!!) but when money and backpack space is tight...some things just stay on the store shelf.

I am no longer afraid of dying in the marathon, now less than a month away. I'll just go slow, knowing I have a bottle of La Fin du Monde waiting for me at the finish line. If it takes me six hours then so be it. The lessened load on my joints is already a marked improvement especially when I'm not grumbling with hunger which only makes other discomforts more noticeable.

We all need fuel to keep going. It gives us the strength to carry on.

Even a tortoise. Ain't 'e cute?

Trepidation and vindication

A number is a powerful thing: simultaneously capable of either destroying and confirming your confidence in weeks or years worth of belief. In this sense, my weight is also a number, and that number is good.

For the last few weeks, I have been incapable of finding a scale. I have to admit, a part of me shied away from looking all too hard to find one. My first Thinspiration weigh-in was quite disappointing. I was confident that I had lost weight. But then I was weighed, I was measured, and I was found... not wanting. Not only had I not lost weight, but I had gained a pound. And this was after subtracting the weight of my wallet and other items in my pocket. That's right, I actually weighed them. And my confidence in my strategy and my chances in this competition were brought into doubt. All on account of a number.

The strange part was that there was other evidence of weight loss that should have been irrefutable: looser clothing, clear evidence of having ribs, and a general feeling of being very very hungry. But it wasn't enough to be sure I was actually succeeding. I still believe my initial weight, pre-competition, is falsely deflated, or rather dehydrated from a particular arid day within my body. Nonetheless, I found myself strangely nervous this past Sunday when together with Thorn and celestialspeedster, we discovered a scale.

The fact that this scale was in use for measuring the weight of furniture was not particularly confidence building. However, against all odds, I have lost weight. Approximately 9 lbs from my starting weight. Our measurements during the last competition have confirmed it. And I feel great!

Further, I am back home again, away from fatty restaurant food, and ready to crush my opposition! If only I can find the energy to get up... sooo hungry and weak...

Fatty Weigh-in: Week 5

Competitor	Current Weight	Tally	Total
celestialspeedster	122 lbs	+ 1 lb	- 7 lbs ( - 5.4%)
Doctor Cook	171 lbs	- 9 lbs	- 9 lbs ( - 5.0%)
Flocons	201 lbs	- 2 lbs	- 11 lbs ( - 5.2%)
Opiate	178 lbs	- 1 lb	- 5 lb ( - 2.7%)
Royal Pinguo	140 lbs	- 0 lb	- 4 lb ( - 2.8%)
Thorn	170 lbs	- 0 lb	- 6 lbs ( - 3.4%)

Survey results: I find Thinspiration XXL...

• educational - 2 votes (28%)
• offensive - 2 votes (28%)
• charming - 1 vote (14%)
• caught between my teeth but easily removable with a tooth pick - 2 votes (28%)

Challenge #1: Burn to Binge results

In terms of strategy for the first Thinspiration XXL challenge, the majority of competitors had none. After weighing in, everyone, minus Royal Pinguo who could not attend, went for a run. Opiate ran 17 km, Thorn and Doctor Cook ran/walked about half of that, while Flocons and celestialspeedster resorted to the 30 second sprint, 1 minute stumble cycle that Halle Berry reputedly used to prepare for Catwoman.

The competitors made their way to The Burger's Priest (1636 Queen St. E.) on rubbery legs. Flocons, Thorn, Doctor Cook and celestialspeedster had the cheeseburger combo that came with fries and a drink. Opiate passed on the fries and doubled up on meat instead. Everyone marveled at how fresh the burgers were.

Doctor Cook was 'kind' enough to bring a jar of Strawberry Fluff back from Boston. Combine Fluff with peanut butter on Wonderbread and the result is a fluffernutter sandwich. After some beer and sake to wash the pink marshmallow down, the competitors returned to the scale.

Competitor	Pre Binge	Post Binge	Total
celestialspeedster	123 lbs	124 lbs	+ 1 lb
Doctor Cook	172 lbs	171 lbs	- 1 lb
Flocons	211 lbs	208 lbs	- 3 lbs
Opiate	176 lbs	176 lbs	- 0 lb
Royal Pinguo	DNC	DNC	DNC
Thorn	171 lbs	173 lbs	+ 2 lbs

Flocons has won Challenge #1 and his reward is looking like Halle Berry...in Monster's Ball.