Okay, you asked for it.

Well, hello there. Don't you look fancy today? Please, come in, sit down. Yes you, the one with the great smile and aura of awesome around you. I like your shoes. And that shirt/blouse/dress/sport coat/bathrobe/dirty T-Shirt you're wearing looks great on you. Welcome to the first entry in my Diary of a Chunky Guy. I hope you can be enlightened, entertained or inspired by my journey. Perhaps all three.

So, here we go. My name is Casey. I'm interested in acting, movies, books, video games and an assortment of other things. I love to make people smile, I enjoy being around people, I have a wonderful family and have managed to amass lots of people whose company I enjoy, and who hopefully enjoy mine. I consider myself a good guy, and a great friend. I'm always there to lend a hand or an ear to someone who needs me, and I wear a 30's era newsboy cap like no one's business. But I'm also something else:

Obese.

Or in medical terms "morbidly obese". I've been that way for most of my life. The last time I remember not really being overweight was in second grade. I hit third grade and I just started packing on the pounds. I've had a lifelong struggle with my weight...well, not really. It hasn't been a struggle. I've pretty much just been overweight and accepted that there wasn't much I could do about it. I blamed genetics mostly, as pretty much everyone on my dad's side of the family were large folks. I tried a couple of times over the years to lose weight but it always seemed to be a futile effort in the end.

Now, I've never been a "woe is me, I'm overweight so I can't do anything I'm so quiet and withdrawn" types. I never really wallowed in my largeness, I just accepted it as part of who I was. I've always loved people. I got involved with acting in the tenth grade, and have been getting up in front of people to make them laugh and smile for longer than that. Other than my confidence around women, my weight never really bothered me that much. I'm not sure why it didn't, but it just never did.

Then I turned 30.

I swear the day after my 30th birthday, I woke up and thought, "Jeez..why does my knee hurt? And why is my back all sore, and what's wrong with my foot? My elbow burns when I bend it, and my neck is all stiff. What the crap is wrong?"

Apparently when you turn 30 your body starts to turn against you, like a cute pet monkey you've kept in a cage their whole life who suddenly, one day decides to rip your face off. I've noticed a slow decline in my otherwise pretty normal functions. I've always been fairly mobile for a large fellow, and capable of swift movement or acts of pseudo agility when needed. I used to do a bit where I would walk and trip myself just to make someone laugh. I also took a Judo class in 2000 and could do a front roll after taking two steps forward. If I tried either of those things now, I'm afraid I'd break my face.

Also, I've noticed myself silently asking "Is it okay for me to sit in that chair?" on many occasions and also hoping when going out with friends "I hope we get a table, 'cause it's really hard for me to fit in a booth."

This is...unacceptable.

We have one body, one life, one chance at happiness and fulfillment, and I've squandered mine long enough. I've taken the greatest gift that is given to us, our body, and basically neglected and abused it to the point where it's starting to turn on me. This is no way to live, and it stops as of today. Well, okay it stopped as of August 1st, but I'm just getting around to posting this blog.

I refuse to accept that this is the way life has to be. I refuse to continue to put my life in jeopardy because of gross neglect. It ends now.

My hope for this blog is to keep myself motivated, share any knowledge that I obtain and help others who are struggling with their weight. If I can do this, anyone can.

How will I go about losing this weight? Here are Casey's Ten Commandments.

1. No Fast Food. None. Never. (not even tasty tasty McBreakfasts)
2. No Soda. Not Even Diet If I Can Help It.
3. No Junk Food. (Oof. I like doughnuts)
4. No Fried Food. (sob. this one stings)
5. Eat More Vegetables and Leafy Stuff.
6. Portion Control, Portion Control, Portion Control.
7. Read The Labels On What I Eat. Be Aware Of What's Going Into My Body.
8. Exercise Every Day. Every. Day.
9. Learn The Joy Of Healthy Cooking
10. If I Mess Up One Of These Rules, Don't Get Discouraged. Strive To Be Better.

So that's my game plan folks. I'm not dieting, I'm talking about a complete lifestyle change. It's going to be hard. Really hard. But if I expect to reverse the direction my life is headed, I have to jump into it full force, full speed ahead. I end this blog with a quote by Theodore Roosevelt:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

I'm ready to dare greatly. It's going to be one helluva ride. Let's do this.