Eighty pounds... the photographic evidence.

Fifty means a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

For some, it's the age when one becomes truly middle-aged, or, if their kids are wiseguys, 50 is the age when the old jokes really start to fly (sorry, Dad). Fifty is the number of states in the union, half of a hundred, A heckuva scoring game for an NBA player, or a really crappy score on a math test, like the kind I used to pull down in Algebra II. If you're a bowler, and you roll a 50, consider a different recreational activity, or just stick to drinking beer.

For me, 50 has special significance right now. Last week, I officially moved over the 50-pound barrier, a feat that's been quite a battle. Not to sound like the proverbial broken record, but I'm in the best shape of my life, and once, that shape is more eggplant and less watermelon.

In reality, it's 80 pounds. Yes, it's been 50 pounds since I started Weight Watchers, but it's been 80 pounds since I was at my absolute lowest, err, my worst. It hurts a bit to look at some of these pictures... no one likes photographic evidence of them at their most awful. But I have promised photos of my progress, and though it's taken a little while to follow through on that promise, here's a visual retrospective of what's gone away, starting with this wretched photo taken of me back in 2006.

Yeah, this is literally the worst photo of me ever taken. I'm not faulting the cameraman by any stretch of the imagination. Clearly, I'm not GQ material. I remember this day too well. I'd gone back to campus to visit some fraternity brothers. I practically lived in that sweater. It was all I wore during that time, because, get this... I thought it was slimming. When we moved in together, Megan made me ditch the sweater. I think a family of badgers is now using it for their den.

Seeing this photo was motivation for diet, part one. "Diet" isn't really the operative word, to be honest. My eating habits changed for a little while, but then I got sick of salad for lunch every day. I hit the gym for the first time and developed a routine, but sadly ended every workout with a bowl of ice cream. Some advice for dieters: reduced fat ice cream will plump you up just like its full-calorie brethren.

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Exercise overcame the poor diet, and by the time I left for Israel in summer 2007, I was 40 pounds lighter. After the trip, my weight was down even more, and at my peak, I'd lost about 50 pounds.

A few months after Israel, Megan and I remet. Courtship meant many meals out, and since the way to a man's heart (at least this man's) is most definitely through his stomach, I started eating too much again. I don't regret it at all, but the calories overtook the workouts. I was getting to the gym two or three times per week, and for a while maintained a slighter frame.

Better? Certainly. And, in case you were wondering, that suit is now much too big. But the pounds continued to come, and the 50 pounds I'd lost was now down to 30. I had nothing to worry about any more. I got the girl, and this is the part of the movie where the happily ever after begins. For me, though, happily forever after came with baked goods and chicken wings, and the weight was heading north again.

Around the summer 2009, Megan and I decided to start Weight Watchers. I was a stubborn punk, but eventually I'd had enough of being embarrassed to be in a photograph. Here's one of the last pics of me taken before the Weight Watchers plunge really began, and subsequently, the Great Wedding Fast.

After about 30 pounds were gone, I let Megan take some new photos. For your viewing pleasure...

I always considered apple tree to be a great look for me. So, by this point, I'm beyond Israeli Matt. Starting to look good, my chins merging into one. By Thanksgiving, I was up to 40 pounds gone. And, to help show how much weight I'd lost, I found a dinosaur to provide a good contrast.

Like you, I was surprised to find a T Rex wearing a Santa hat. I thought for sure "Tyrannosaurus" was a Jewish name. This sweater also marked an important step for me... horizontal stripes. In my larger days, you wouldn't find a horizontal stripe anywhere remotely close to my torso. Now I wear this sweater on a regular basis.

Which brings us to now. Here I am, 50 (or 80, depending on when you start keeping score) pounds into my weight loss challenge. Actually, it's more than 50, which means there's less than 10 pounds to go before the initial goal is met.

Wait for it...

Any time now...

Oh just post it already, you buffoon!

Why am I looking to the side? I don't know. Probably a cat stuck in something it shouldn't be, like the sink. But there you have it: 80 pounds less of Matt.

Just imagine what the wedding photos are going to look like. Sorry ladies, but that skinnier finger will soon have a band on it.

And with that, I give you the STATS!

Weeks until wedding: 29.

Week 18-19 pounds lost: 4.8 And that's with the Holidays. Take that, Santa!

Total weight lost: 50.6 pounds

Average weight loss per week: 2.7 lbs

Progress toward overall 60-pound goal: 84.3333333333 percent

Pounds remaining to reach that goal: 9.4. Cue up the Fight Song!

Number of subscribers to this blog: 37.

Can we get to the 60 pound goal by Valentine's Day? Seems like a reasonable goal. If it happens, there will be much rejoicing.

Date when stores began stocking Valentine's candy: Dec. 26

Date when stores began stocking Easter candy: Dec. 27

Date Matt ate his first Cadbury Cream Egg of the season: Dec. 28