My entire life I have taken great pride in the power of choice and have enjoyed the benefits of a positive mental attitude. It is that positive attitude that has led me to make a difficult choice. I have an area of my life that I have not let my own convictions lead me to take the action that I know I really want. I am fat…very fat and it's time to bring it to an end. As a former power lifter, I have always viewed my own personal weight as simply a weight class number and a means to quantify lifting more weight. That was over 15 years ago, however, and I have let personal laziness dominate this area of my life. I've started many diets and have lost 20-30 pounds at a time only to regain it. I'm not a competitive power lifter any longer and I have decided enough is enough. I'm going to write openly about my ongoing battle with being fifty or more pounds overweight. I am taking my final stand. I am going to permanently rid myself of fifty pounds of body fat. I weigh 261 pounds on a 5'9" heavily muscled frame. With the help of Dr. Joe and Revolution Mag, I am starting the final diet of my life. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is going to stop me.

Over the course of the next twelve months I am going to openly document my journey. Dr. Joe has agreed to call the shots and I have agreed to make it happen. I am going to document Dr. Joe's nutritional plan and my compliance with it. I will also report my workouts and my progress each month. A difficult thing that Joe suggested is that I take photographs each month and I will include those each month for comparison. It will be with great embarrassment that I post these initial pictures, but I believe this will help me be accountable to my own personal revolution. I hope my progress will inspire you more than the first few pictures embarrass me.

I close with a final note. If you are reading this and know in your heart that you are at a similar point in your life, why don't you join me? Return to the home page and click on "Feed Back." Share with me your story. I could use some company on my journey. At the end of this road I will weigh no more than 200 pounds and I will never be overweight again. NEVER!! I can't wait to give you the results of my first 30 days. I also can't wait to hear from you. I hope you take your last stand with me!