Celebrating a Loss and the WSOP Main Event from "Shakey Town"

One of the requirements when preregistering for a colonoscopy, is stepping on the scale, never a pleasant task. I've always been thin, but had developed a bit of a gut as the years passed by and had to face the truth when I tipped the scales at 188, the heaviest I've ever been.

I knew a diet was in order, but Ms. Duck and I were less than two weeks from leaving for Las Vegas. As most of you know, not the best place to start a diet.

I know there are a multitude of different diets these days, Adkins, South Beach, Paleo, etc, but I like to keep thing simple, so I went with my old standby; calories. It's a simple equation, take your target weight, say 170 pounds and multiply by ten. That means you have to limit your calorie intake to 1,700 a day in order to get your weight down to 170. I'm a believer that if you limit your calories, the rest will take care of itself and you'll be eating a generally healthy diet.

Once we returned from Vegas I began. I've always felt my best between 165-170 pounds, so my plan was to limit my calories to between 1,300- 1,500 per day, thinking that would get me there a little quicker. My target weight was 167-168. To accomplish this, I would have to give up two of my favorites, sweets and chips.

Ugh.

I was vigilant, only eating the occasional chocolate chip cookie at our Tuesday night poker game, and have an occasional chip even less than that. By the time I went in for my annual physical in early May, I was down to 181. My blood work came back the best it had been in years, especially my triglycerides, which had always been in the 70-80 range (less than 50 is normal), but this time was down to 50. A little high still, but I was pleased.

By the time we headed back to Vegas for the WSOP last month, I was soooo close to my goal, weighing in a 169. I was worried I would lose some ground while there, but Ms. Duck and I managed to only go to one buffet, always a danger zone. My vigilance paid off and when we got home I weighed exactly the same.

The bad news is that I had plateaued, something everyone who has dieted understands. I weigh on Tuesdays and Fridays, and each time for the last two weeks I was stuck on 169. So close.

Friday morning I stepped on the scale and gave myself a fist pump as it read 166. Yea me!

I need to gain a pound now. Think I'll have some chips!

Well, a few. :)

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Have you watched the first few days of the WSOP Main Event on ESPN? I was pleased to see over 8,500 entrants, confirming poker is still strong. I think the most interesting thing I saw was when the second earthquake started shaking the broadcast booth. Lon and Norm seemed a bit nervous, but California resident Maria Ho was undaunted, even giving the boys a hard time about it. Funny stuff. :)

I'm looking forward to seeing more.