The Latest Challenge, Part 1

A little over three months ago, I stood in the upstairs bathroom in my brother’s house and weighed myself.  I was using the scale he had gotten used from our friend Chris, which Chris had informed me was off by a couple of pounds.  Even taking that information into account, I wasn’t pleased with what I saw.  The digital screen read 136.7.  For someone who stands 5 feet, 6 inches, that’s a little skinny.  For someone who’s 5-foot-10 like me, that’s motivation for a bet.

I texted Chris—also a naturally skinny guy who had been working out and packing on the calories for the past few months, and a bit of a habitual gambler—and rashly told him I thought I could reach the 150-pound mark in a little over two months.  He wanted me to reach that goal, but agreed to bet against me for the sport of it.  Fifty dollars for the winner.  It was the beginning of May, and we settled on July 4 as the official weigh-in date.  To sweeten the deal, Chris set his own target weight at 190 (he’s 6-foot-1), nine pounds above his weight at the time.  He’d been stuck, hovering around the 180 mark for several weeks, and wanted some motivation to break out of that rut.  That would be another 50 bucks.  I agreed and we shook on it soon after.  The challenge was on.