Weighty topic

I've not posted much on my weight loss. That's because my weight loss has been negligible since I started A Taste For The Woods. So I've decided to post more often and in more detail about this weighty topic. Not just feel-good posts about not being 400 pounds, but accounts of my current weight and efforts to get back to my goal weight of 240 pounds. It will not only help me by letting me clarify my thinking, but also might help someone who stumbles across a post. It was my finding positive weight loss posts by my friend Matty back in 2005 that saved my life; he never intended to help anyone, and yet his newsgroup post about getting excited about being able to mow his lawn is still paying dividends.

 I'm not going to turn A Taste For The Woods into a daily listing of calories or a gym-rat log sheet. I enjoy reading such blogs from time to time, and they help their authors and readers. But that's not why I write. And I don't hike or ride or row a canoe to lose weight. I lose weight so I can do things, and get more pleasure from them when I do them. But weight loss is part of the story of the formerly sedentary man discovering the outdoors, and its important I share that too.

  I've added a "Weight" listing on the right side of the blog, beneath the Tip Jar and above the Outdoor Miles log. I'll update the log weekly, each Wednesday, For the record, as of this morning I weigh 313 pounds. My low was 240 in 2007. I looked fantastic at 240, as the photos to the right show. (Ladies, forgive the Incredible Hulk t shirt, please. It's a guy thing. ) Even with defective knees and a poor sense of balance I felt I could do anything. I want to feel that way again. I want to look that good again. And if I pay more attention to the details, just as I did back in 2006 and 2007, I can get back there again, and this time stay there. Or perhaps even drop lower. I'll decide when I get there. 

I don't consider my partial weight regain a failure, although some nice folks online and in person have told me that's just what it was. Anyway I'm not listening to them. I have too much to do being a weight loss success story to pay attention. 

Pottsgrove Manor, December 2013

Cold and snow limited my outdoor activities this past weekend, but I made a point of taking the candlelight Christmas tour of Pottsgrove Manor, the colonial home of ironmaster John Potts. The house was decorated for the season and staffed with volunteers who loved to go back to the 18th century. Due to the snow the tours ended at five PM instead of the planned eight, and attendance was down from last year, but everyone seemed to be having a good time, and the 26 decade old house looked beautiful in the snow. There is no photography allowed in the house, but the outside shots are pretty enough, I think.

Despite the cold, I handled the trip well. My knees didn't creak, and despite having to climb narrow curving steps I had no trouble. I also felt more confident walking on the snow.

The house will remained decorated for Twelfth Night through January 12, and guided tours are held on the hour during Pottsgrove Manor's normal hours. If you are in the Pottstown area, the Manor is worth a visit. You can find more information on Pottsgrove Manor at http://www.montcopa.org/pottsgrovemanor