I am a Puffer Fish!

Puffer Fish have several unique qualities, including a toxin mainly found in the liver and a bit in their intestines and skin. One of their best defenses though is the ability to puff up... "to fill its extremely elastic stomach with water (or air when outside the water) until it is much larger and almost spherical in shape" (Wikipedia, 2015).

In the last year I found the amazing ability to also puff up. In high school I desperately wanted to gain weight. I was around 150-160 lbs, 5'10ish as a junior and 6'1" as a senior. I thought gaining strength and weight would help with football. My gym teacher, probably my favorite teacher in high school, Mr. Beaney, used to give me passes so I could come to his office and eat another meal in attempts to put on weight. I would stay after school to lift in our new weight room.

It didn't work. After college I became a runner so being skinny was okay, except to my Mom who thought I was too thin. It was nice being able to eat anything and not gain a pound. Over a couple of decades my weight crept up a bit, into the 160's, still pretty light for 6'1" though, so I wasn't concerned. Then last year I fell and couldn't run due to shoulder surgery. I eventually ended up at 190!! Insane what sitting on the couch, eating and drinking could do over time. As chronicled in earlier blog posts, I eventually got down to around 175, which I could deal with.

I just weighed myself yesterday. My puffer fish elastic stomach has filled up, but not with air that can be instantly blown out to get skinny again. The dreaded November-December weight gain, due in part to not running much with the injury and falling but also to cookies, Southern Comfort, wine and double servings of food, seems to have taken hold. What happened to being 17 and not being able to gain a pound?

So the diet begins...again. The goal is six-pack abs, and not because I'm holding a six-pack of Sam Adams beer to hide my bloated belly.