Half the Man I Used to Be



October 13, 2026

Half the Man I Used to Be

I'm half the man I used to be

(For as I feel as the dawn, it fades to gray)

Well, I'm half the man I used to be

(For as I feel as the dawn, it fades to gray)

Well, I'm half the man I used to be

(For as I feel as the dawn, it fades to gray)

Well, I'm half the man I used to be

Half the man I used to be

— Stone Temple Pilots, Creep

She said it when I stepped off the scale. I didn’t even pick up on it last Saturday. She said I was half the man I used to be. She said, it went over my head. Now, she was just telling me good job on my success at WW and on the scale that week. After having a few weeks of going up and remaining flat, I am back with a vengeance and back to my losing ways. Nothing is really different. I am just following the program and doing my workouts. I am living my best life!

Then, yesterday, I was sitting on the couch. Thinking about my journey and what needed to be said about it. A strange thing to realize is that my focus is less about the number on the scale and losing weight. My focus is on clothes that are comfortable and that look nice, and on my 70.3 and training for it. I did want to see what the WW app says I away and see how much I am down. 

I punched my highest weight into the calculator app. I am terrible at math. CPA in two states or not, I am really bad at math in my head. Then I subtracted the weight listed in the WW app. 269 total pounds lost. I flipped back to the WW app and looked at my current weight. Then back to the calculator app and then back again. 

Holy Shit! I am literally half the man I used to be! That is when Creep, by one of my all-time favorite bands, Stone Temple Pilots, started rambling in my head. Scotty W was singing, “Well, I am half the man I used to be, I am half the man I used to be,” and it was true, so true. I am half the man I used to be.  

Everything else went on hold: the short story, the novel comments, the running form. The new blog and newsletter, I needed to put this out in the world and celebrate it. It is an accomplishment. It is my nexus point. Every pound lost from this point on means I have lost more than I currently weigh, and how does that not make you want to scream “Hell YES!” 

My journey has just begun. I have a second shot at life, and that is what I am happiest about. I am living my dream. It still doesn’t seem like it is real, but it is, and it is mine, and I love it! I am so proud of myself for sticking with this journey. For finding my way and my why. For finding my dream and leaving half of myself behind. 

Comments

  1. CarloOctober 13, 2026 at 9:39 AM

    Amazing progress Bill! Like you said the journey has just begun! Keep it going. 🏊🚴🏻🏃

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Morand ProjectOctober 14, 2026 at 9:18 AM

    👍

    ReplyDelete

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