It’s a New Phil, Week 2

By | January 13, 2006
2 Comments

I weighed in this morning at 285 pounds, representing a total weight loss of 12 pounds.

All I have to do is lose 12 pounds 7 more times and I’ll be just over the 200 pound mark. I have decided to put off deciding what my final target weight should be until I’m in that neighborhood. Reader “Ross the Heartless Conservative” suggested that I should have fudged my starting weight up to 300 so that when I hit the target of 150, I can brag that I lost 150 pounds. That’s a great idea, but I’m not sure that I will want to go quite as low as 150.

The goal is to come out of this thing looking more like this than, say, this.

  • Kathy

    Phil, hey this great stuff for the Speculist–part of the reason you’re struggling with weight is attributable to the fact that technological advancement in food production and availability has outstripped our biological adaptation. We’ve had agriculture for 10,000 or so years, and we’re still carrying the thrifty genes of hunter-gatherers. We haven’t yet figured out a way to tinker with those genes–but maybe we will as we explore other life extension issues and learn more about the human genome.

    Anyway, I’m inspired by your candor. As the wife of a guy who probably would balance you on the proverbial teeter-totter, I send you prayers, encouragement, and wild applause.

    And by the way,as the Specuspouse has probably already told you, you’re cuter than Brad Pitt already to those whose taste is more discerning.

  • https://www.blog.speculist.com Phil Bowermaster

    Kathy –

    “We haven’t yet figured out a way to tinker with those genes…”

    My understaning is that we have figured a good part of that out, but that applications are still a few years away. Kurzweil discusses this in The Singularity is Near. Plus some drug treatments are on their way, as ivan points out in his comments to the previous post. We may soon look at what I’m doing now the way many of us look at using a camera with film…sure it works, but isn’t it a lot of bother?

    “And by the way, as the Specuspouse has probably already told you…”

    Stop it. I’m BLUSHING, I tell you. :-)