I have, on more than one occasion, seen individuals or organizations lose weight for charity. I definitely don’t claim the Fitlanthropist to be wholly original (of course, I’d like to think that certain aspects of it are ). If anyone out there is at all familiar with someone who is doing something similar to this, I am definitely interested in knowing. I’d love to get in touch, build a network, whatever…just to see how others are “getting healthy for a greater cause.” In fact, it might be nice to feature them here, too!

Seems to me that runners are often doing something along similar lines…raising money per mile run or something like that. And though it’s been quite some time since I’ve headed out to pound the pavement, I’m hoping I can get back in the swing of things…perhaps I’ll do the Couch-to-5k program again, as it seemed to be quite useful, not to mention pretty fun!

I know there isn’t much to look at here, and that will change. I made a post to my other blog to let readers (if there are any left) know that I’m here now. I’m hoping to incorporate some new things that I’ve always wanted to like guest posts and giveaways. Plus, I’ll be looking to readers for support and input on which charitable organization I’ll be “losing” for. Part of me wants to make it a local organization this time around so I can actually show my face, let them know I’m legit and perhaps make some sort of agreement. I think I will pick four or five organizations to profile and maybe use a poll to have readers vote?  But in the meantime, I will have my first “Weigh-in Wednesday” the day after tomorrow to officially note the beginning mark.

Also, I’ve gotten some e-mails from a handful of people with some questions (this is a good thing) and I will be updating my FAQ page to get everyone current on how this is going to work. Please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or e-mail me at john [at] fitlanthropist [dot] com!

All right. Monday, October 26, 2009. That’s the date I’m going live with this.  I’m going to tell everyone I know. I’m nervous because I’m letting everyone in on something that is highly personal…but I promised myself I wouldn’t keep it in. The people who know me know I’m fat…so really, what’s the big secret?

There’s a lot to be done, and I conteplated not starting until I had everything in place, but in heeding my wife’s suggestion of, “You’ve got to start someplace,” I am going to proceed…and hopefully be able to incorporate some others’ help in making some decisions. Like which organization I’m raising funds for…

In the words of the not-so-immortal Jimmy Buffet: “Come Monday, it’ll be all right…”

This is most definitely not my first attempt at losing weight and improving my health. It is, however, the first time I have given myself the charge to do it for not only me, but for those who perhaps have even greater needs than I do.

I’m getting less shy and more candid about my life over the past couple of years. In that time, my wife and I quit our jobs and moved from Arizona to Georgia, I started a Ph.D., we had our son, I was challenged exponentially in my doctoral program (this will surely be strung out in other posts, so I’ll spare you here), I discovered relatively late in my education that I had a learning disability, I watched a loved one go through substance abuse issues, I discovered I had diabetes, and I summarily watched other areas of my health decline. Needless to say, it’s been a challenge.

So, I thought that I needed to get serious…and creative. I started a blog thinking that it would be a useful tool to help keep me accountable in my weightloss. And, in fact, the many readers of Fat Guy in a Little Coat did just that. They were warm and supportive. I, for the most part, was also relatively anonymous. I kept my ordeal to myself, a few others close to me, and to my new supporters. Then, I decided to go public and let all of my family and friends know. This time around, there’s no secrecy–I plan on being up front, honest and real. I had started running (I even ran a 5k and won an award in my age division) and in a matter of months, I lost 30 pounds. I was happy with my progress.

But then I stopped. And here I am with those 30 pounds back in tow.

So, I am here to start anew. This, as the title indicates, is my “new, new” beginning. I realize that I may be starting from scratch again, but I think that my health, my family, and my cause are all worth it. I hope you will explore this site and follow my endeavor. It’s not necessarily a new concept, but it is an experiment  I’m excited to be involved in. And yes, I also hope that you will become a matching donor for my dollar-per-pound goal, or make an in-kind donation once I have settled on the organization I wish to donate to.

Here’s to a new beginning.