Maine Shot Holmes' Target

 

A deceptively simple target, as well as a drill that is low in round count, for those of you trying to save your shekels. You can download it here.

America: We're fat and we're hurting

 Fat kid checking in here. I know, you've probably seen more recent photos and videos and said something like, "Hey, he isn't fat!" Well through a lot of effort and drugs, I'm currently not fat. But that said, I got a fat kid trapped in my body, and if he gets his way, he'll come out hard and fast, so I have to keep him contained. Trust me when I speak from the experience and perspective of being a fat kid.

My most recent weight loss has had several friends and acquaintances coming to talk to me privately about losing weight. I'm trying to help them as best as I can, but I know that I have some advantages and not everybody shares those.

But the mere fact that these people are coming to me tells me that there are a lot of people who are struggling with their weight. I know that there is a whole movement out there, "healthy at any weight," but some heavy people are neither healthy or happy with where they are at. And for every person coming to me, there have to be some uncounted number of people that I'm not aware of, that are just having real troubles.

The human body has evolved to feed itself. If we don't do that, we die, and so hunger is a strong drive. For the vast majority of our history, we've been under-fed, and it is just in the very recent time we live that calories are in wild surplus. Add in to that the "food" industry, kicking out engineered food like products that have very little nourishment, and we're in a really bad place when it comes to being able to stay lean. Bad calories are cheap and easy, and so the fight to eat decently is real. The other issue is that those engineered foods tend to not cause satiety, which means that you just want to keep eating way past what your caloric requirements are. Over time, eating like that will really cause hormonal issues, and that is where I found myself back in January of this year.

The good news, the wild hope, is the new spate of GLP-1 agonist class drugs, such as Semiglutide, Tirzepatide, and similar. Of course, they are quite new when it comes to drugs, and therefore long term use of them is an ongoing study. One of which I am voluntarily participating in, obviously. I talked to a doctor friend of mine, and he thinks these drugs are going to change the face of obesity, diabetes, and related mortality causes. Then again, due to their newness, they're experiencing shortages, and when they are available, they aren't cheap. If we're not careful, this could quite readily turn into a haves vs. have-nots, where the rich can easily stay thin and healthy, whereas the economically challenged have no such benefits. Generic versions of these drugs are years away, certainly because of how big pharma is making money hand over fist when it comes to obesity treatments.

I am sincerely hoping that by next year the availability of these drugs will go up and the cost will go down. With any luck those among us who can't afford these drugs now will be able to in short order. I'm hoping that these drugs will continue to work well for people and that there are no hidden gotchas. Of course, if there are any long-term gotchas, I'll probably be able to tell you, as I'm going to keep taking these drugs. Paraphrasing Charleton Heston, "you can take them from my cold dead hands."

I've lost over 40 lbs, largely due to Tirzepatide. Mrs. Graydog has lost over 50 lbs doing the same thing. Heck, she's the one who found out about this drug and showed me how well it worked. It has been life-changing for both of us. We were in really bad health before, and the difference is night and day. Tirzepatide kick started me eating a good diet, getting in real workouts, and actually giving a shit again about my health. I'm hoping and praying that even if Tirzepatide won't work for you, that there is a solution on the near horizon, especially if you're one of my silent and hurting friends.

And if you are hurting out there and you want to talk to me about it, please do. I won't judge, because duh, I've been there. But for certain drugs and other factors, I'd still be there. A change of life or circumstances, and I could go back. I'm 6 months into being healthier, but that also means I'm really only 6 months out from being just as bad as I was.

So there's good and bad news in this post. Even if you can't afford or don't want a drug, you have more power within you than you give yourself credit for. You can be better than you were, and if you do it every day for a while, you'll be really amazed with your results.