Week 0

Wow!  Someone said he's looking for me to post.  Maybe I'd better actually do it!

While this might seem boring and trite to some, I have a topic about which I can actually post regularly and with which people might like to follow along.  It is not a "weight loss" journey, but rather a health-gaining journey, and it's not for me, it's for a member of my family who was told by his doctor that his health problems will never be treated until he treats the following, himself.  Here is the culprit:

Lest anyone feel like they are in medical school, I'll sum it up as such:  Some fat and some flab are of no concern, or are merely cosmetic concerns to the wearer, but a certain type of fat may be the driver of diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. In the case of Mr. Grapewrites, who seems not to have excessive fat anywhere else, but hoards an inordinate amount of it underneath the abdominal muscles (really, you can pinch MAYBE an inch over the muscle, but under - something is clearly taking up massive acreage), the fat - which was documented years ago with naked eyes in the open air of an operating room by a surgeon who eloquently described its appearance to me - has become an unwelcome houseguest who has been given notice and shown the door.

The endocrinologist says that the loss of this abdominal basketball will result in a clearing up of the borderline-but-persistent health problems it is causing the basketball-holder.  One medication has already been tossed; two more are constantly under question by the doctor as to whether they are needed, so wouldn't it be nice to throw those bottles out, too?  Wouldn't it be nice NOT to be setting oneself up for even worse health problems after not just years, but decades of carrying around the results of a misspent youth?

(That last sentiment didn't come from me, it came from the basketball-wearer.  He is the one who decided to tackle this, and tackle it for real now that he understands the significance.  Before, he may have thought that some extra flab was not his worst worry, but with the prospect of discontinuing the health monitoring and associated prescriptions required for several medical conditions, blasting the entirely and outrageously excess adipose appears to have become his focused mission.)

So, let's see if we get his permission to post progress pics.  He usually grumbles, but is then game for anything that will document the success he intends to achieve.