Hi, my name is Stephen Knowles.  I am a writer and ventriloquist.  This is me a little more than a year ago.  I weighed 300 lbs.  Not quite the largest I've ever been, but close.
     I've always struggled with my weight since I was 8 years old.  At different points in my life I've been slimmer and heavier, but it has always been a fight.  Last year, on March 4, I decided that enough was enough.  Like Stephen King wrote in his story Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, it was time to get busy living, or get busy dying.
     I decided it was time to live.

     This is me in October of last year after losing 60 lbs.  In the picture I am wearing a large shirt and 36 waist overalls.  In the before picture those sizes had been XXL and 46.  Today, I am in some medium shirts and my 36 overalls are very loose.  I've lost 85 lbs to date and I feel better than I have in years.
     I have chronicled my success in a new book,  Fat Is Not Funny, which I hope to have printed soon. In this blog I will be sharing the day to day successes and failures of maintaining.  I hope to use the blog as a tool to inspire others and to motivate myself to stay on top of my food and exercise choices, knowing that you, faithful reader, are watching.
     The opinions expressed in this blog are just that - opinions.  They are based on my own experiences.  You should do what is right for you and consult your doctor before starting any weight loss program.  I am not a medical professional and I make no attempt here to diagnose or treat any disease.  I merely hope to encourage and inspire.