With ten days to go, it's time for the Final Countdown

Yesterday I stood at the front of the line in the Potbelly on the Rockefeller Center concourse and found they've recently added a new "BIGS" option to their menu, in which you can order a sandwich with 30% more meat. I know this was a recent addition to the menu because it didn't exist the last time I was in that Potbelly approximately 48 hours earlier.

I may have a problem.

I'm fine with that, though. Potbelly Sandwich works is a good combination of quality, cost and college-related nostalgia and does so with a relatively low number of calories. However, this "BIGS" option intrigued me. In my head I decided it was best to avoid it, but when I started to order this exchange occured:

Dave: "I'll have the roast beef on wheat with mushrooms."
Employee 1: "Would you like that BIG?"
Employee 2: "YEAH HE DOES!" (Saucy smirk that implies sexual intrigue, but is entirely about the sandwich.)
Dave: "No, I think I'll pass unfortunately."
Employee 2: "Oh come on, you know want the BIG one."
Dave: "I do, but my sister's wedding is in 11 days, so--"
Employees 1 and 2: "OH! OK, NEVER MIND!"

I wonder if that excuse would work in other situations. I'll have to test the theory. In any event, I've buried the lede a little bit like I always do, so let's get down to brass tacks. Low these past 200 days I have been eating differently, eating less, drinking less and exercising a shit ton more all in the name of looking decent in the few dozen photos I'll find myself in on just one of the (hopefully) thousands of days I've got left here. So far it's been going swimmingly, (no pun intended) though there have been fits and starts along the way and obstacles high and low. Oh, and some pretty unfortunate musical references, though one more is coming.

But through 200 days, I'd say I've done pretty well. After all, I've dropped more than 40 pounds since I first got on this crazy quest, which regardless of whether or not I get down to my initial goal has to be considered an achievement of some sort. But over the past 28 1/2 weeks I've been working toward one number and one day.

175. June 22, 2013.

Well, I'm not there yet, in either case, but it's getting awfully close. I've been joking to friends over the last few weeks that I should have set my final goal weight at 180 as opposed to 175, because the visual difference wouldn't be particularly noticeable and while I've already crossed that 180 barrier victoriously, sonuvabitch those last five pounds are being fickle. It hasn't helped that in the lead up to the wedding I've been bombarded by bigger dinners, family birthdays and the onset of grilling season, but it's also a matter of the body just saying no sometimes. And no matter how hard I'm exercising, how well (or little) I'm eating, and how much water weight I'm sweating, I just can't seem to get past that mid-177-179 range.

And then there's the deadline, which is really the point I've been getting to this whole time. Today is June 12, 2013, which means that my sister's wedding, and indeed the end date of this entire bonanza is just ten days away.

JUST 10 DAYS AWAY. WE'RE ALMOST IN SINGLE DIGITS.

I'm not entirely sure how to handle that, frankly. Sure there's the whole emotional significance of your sister's wedding and the impending onslaught of questions from extended family about why I'm still single and don't have a wife in the wings (I can't find words for how excited I am for that business), but mostly I'm just wondering what will happen to my diet and exercise regimen when I don't have a deadline to meet. After all, they say it's the maintenance rather than the weight-loss that's the hard part.

Also, you know, I haven't gotten to 175 yet. And I may not. These last 10 days will be the final countdown that makes or breaks the quest. I'm not foolish enough to consider it a failure if I end up at 175.5 or 176. The difference is negligible and I'm still far healthier than I was 30 weeks ago. But I won't lie. I will feel a bit wistful and disappointed that I fell short. So I guess I'll just have to work my ass off in the next 10 days to get there.

And if I don't, well, I'll just drink and eat myself silly to forget that I fell short. I mean, it is a wedding after all. Isn't that the whole point?

Besides, no matter what happens, I will never look as silly as Europe. I probably eat better, too.

CROWD-SOURCED WEIGHT LOSS PLAN DAY 200!

Days until sister's wedding: 10
Target weight: 175
Starting weight: 219
Weight today: 176.6