Good morning everybody, it’s me, the current #108WeightLoss Champion, My Sox Summer. Last year when ‘Loaf proposed this idea I was pretty turned off as I thought I was already making smart food decisions and working out enough. I couldn’t have been more wrong…

I’ve never felt worse than I did at the end of the ’21 baseball season. It felt like a 6 month long “first night in Vegas” drinking binge. EVERYBODY was back at the park and EVERYBODY was buying beers. So your boy was in “pounding beer” drinking mode. Plus that sneaky fuck Brew Hand Luke brought the Pipeworks Pineapple Guppy to our attention! (Which I am sure is LOADED in sugar, but so damn good).

I was huge, bigger than I had been in years (maybe EVER). Between bad diet, eating late, drinking beer and no kids club at the gym it might have been the biggest I had ever been. I avoided wearing white because I didn’t want people to mistake me for the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. It was depressing, but even worse was my annual check-up. At that check-up I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic. The conversations with my doctor were sad, especially his face when we discussed my alcohol intake. A change was very much needed.

So I was ready, but I wanted to make lifestyle changes, not just go on a diet. After 10 years of false starts, I finally gave up smoking in 2020 and one thing that taught me was the easy / non-painful way doesn’t always work. For me, the top of the “things to change” list was to limit my intake of food. I was the guy who wouldn’t order something if I thought the portion was gonna be too small, I needed to be fully full. First change I made was limiting my portions and having seconds. I’d eat whatever was a normal sized portion and if I was still hungry, I would fill up on veggies. It didn’t work right away, but as the pounds started to come off it was easier and easier to make the smarter decisions.

Years ago, I had a friend that lost an incredible amount of weight (and has kept it off). I asked her how she did it and basically she said “I just stopped eating so much”. We’re trained to consume especially with hunger. At the slightest bit of discomfort you can make a left turn into any establishment and feed that hunger. I would have (and sometimes still get) hunger pains. In no way was I starving, there was plenty of reserves to keep me moving, but my gut would talk at me all morning. That’s one of the hardest parts, fighting thru those pains. Some days I would give in early and eat something and that’s the rub. Making good decisions most of the time, bad ones just here and there.

When we started the ’22-’23 #108WeightLoss Challenge I had gained about 5lbs from the start of the ’22 season. I was happy with that as even the last few weeks I was “bulking” up for the challenge. This year’s motivation is much different, I don’t feel like total crap, I honestly feel good. I wanna continue making good decisions and keep pushing myself at the gym. I have things that I can cut out and not miss, mostly things produced by Little Debbie. That bitch and her nutty bars will be the death of me.

So to all my competitors in the #108WeightLoss Challenge, I wish you good luck and want to remind you that this is a 6 month marathon, not a sprint. Make the lifestyle changes, the changes that will help you years down the road, not the quick fixes. That’s my advice. It’s not easy, it’s not fun, but it is worth it in the end. Believe you me!

I owe BeefLoaf a ton of credit for getting me on this path, and I’d love to tell him, but #FuckBeefLoaf22.

-The Champ MSS