PROGRESS

During High School and the first couple of years in the navy Charpy was pretty much a "bean pole".  Weight had been around 120 - 135.  It wasn't until being stationed in Bahrain that the weight bug set in.  While in Bahrain my weight got as high as 165.

After I got out of the navy in 1982 the weight stayed around the 160 - 165 mark.  There was a time in 1985 that I did reach 180.  Being 6' (actually 5' 11 3/4") it was still acceptable.  

I moved from New Hampshire to Washington State in September of 1985.  Since I worked "swing shift" My younger brother Rod and I played a lot of basketball during the early afternoon.  In 1986 I got the weight down to 167.  Good shape if Charpy could say so himself.

In 1988 I got married.  As with most people under this condition Charpy started gaining weight.

All this time I never really "exercised".  The only real exercise was playing basketball and throwing frisbee.  Gyms were out of the question unless they had a basketball court.

When Rod left the area in 1988, I started playing basketball at the Kitsap YMCA.  But this was only once a week or so.  My weight got to 200lbs for the first time in 1990.

Although healthy, the weight and cholesterol was not good.  The weight gradually got up to 210 and 220 by 1995.  I started playing basketball twice a week at lunch when I transferred from Puget Sound Naval Shipyard to Bangor.  This was real convenient, and because I encouraged others to play at lunch too, we sometimes got 13-15 people involved at various times,  Even the Executive Officer of Bangor.  In 1996 we got a basketball team together for the Military League.  Most of us were civilians while the other teams were mostly military.  Our team played in the league through 1999.  Never did get into the playoffs, but we had a decent team.  

But that did not help my weight.  Only playing basketball was not going to cut it.  In 1998 I had reached 230lbs.  It was then that I bought an "all-in-one" exercise machine and started doing REAL exercise.  It was able to provide me with stair-stepping, knee curls and arm movement.  Almost every morning I would do situps and routines with the thing.  With that and playing basketball I was able to get below 200, at 197.  

But the equipment was put to the side, and my weight got back up towards 230.  From 1999 - 2000 I was always between 220 and 230.  When I took the job in Seattle for the SSA, had to walk uphill for 6 blocks.  That was good, but basketball at Bangor had dwindled to where no one showed up.  I did manage to get to 215 in March of 2000.  

It was easy to get the weight back on.  By October I was back up to 230 again.  In mid-January 2001, I had reached as much as 235.  My clothes were uncomfortable, and I just didn't feel good about myself and the situation.  

For my birthday on January 3rd, I got a weight bench.  It sat in the spare bedroom.  Didn't have any weights either.  Just the bench.  It also is able to do knee curls.  

On January 20th, I "forced" myself to at least run around the "loop" where I live.  The Loop is almost 1/2 mile.  I did two loops.  The next day I did three loops.  A month later I put the weight bench into use.  The rest is history.  

I have made a timeline and weight chart to document my progress.  Check them out if you have a few moments.

On the three month anniversary of starting this, I was at 186lbs.  That's two pounds from my goal.  However I was down to 182lbs a couple days before.  At 182lbs, I have lost 50 POUNDS!  The weight gain is contributed to not being able to exercise or run for three days during my trip to Salem.

Other trips to Spokane and Anchorage didn't help.  I was able to run around Riverfront Park in Spokane, however.  

In early May, the weight got below 180lbs.  I had committed myself to shave off my mustache and sideburns when I got below 180 on a constant basis.  The extra hair came off on Friday, May 11th.  I'll have photos online soon.

I never did reach 170lbs.  Got down to 175 on June 22nd.  I continue to play basketball but did not run much during the summer. 

It's now a year since I commited myself to loose the weight.  During the winter my weight was between 182-192.  I've been able to keep it off by a little running, riding my bike, playing ball, and doing the stairs at work.  A little here, a little there.

In mid-May of '02, I got down to 177.  Wasn't really working on it.  No dedicated goals.  The weather has been really crap, but should now improve.  Today (27May02) my weight is 181.  With dedication, I can get that down to under 170 in no time. 

In the summer of '02, I ran and exercised, but not enough to get down to my goal.  Beginning Oct 1st, I made another commitment to run 4 times a week, and ride the bike three times.  That's a seven-day schedule.  I was doing really good until Oct 7th, when I got a Shin Splint on my right ankle.  Guess that was related to stress on the muscles.  Now I know there's a limit.  I hope to continue with my commitment by the 16th or 17th of October.

On Dec 6th of '02 I fell off a ladder putting Xmas lights on the house.  This really messed me up.  I had bruised both my heels.  I couldn't play basketball for two months.  When I finally was able to play again, it hurt but I was "used" to it.

In June of '03 the hurt was less painful.  It's amazing how something so simple (falling off a 10' ladder and landing on your feet) can mess you up.  Because I walk to work from the ferry terminal everyday and am now playing basketball at least two times a week I am able to overcome this injury.  

In Oct of '03 the Passenger Ferry runs stopped.  This made for a longer work day, and also enables me to play basketball three times a week (usually Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) and then again on Saturday morning.

Although I have not really taken advantage of this "extra" time to exercise, my weight has stabilized between 187 and 197. Starting sometime in '04, I hope to have the ambition to do something EVERY lunchtime for at least an hour.  I would like to run more.  Using the downtown YMCA, I should be able to use the treadmills and other equipment along with playing basketball those three days.   We'll see.

Updated Jan 07, 2004