Things are improving. Well, appearance wise anyway. Since last Thursday, I have traded in my old glasses for a more stylish pair, got my first set of contacts, got a new haircut, and went shopping for some new clothes (with some help from my sister-in-law). I feel like a new man.

The new glasses are quite different. They are much smaller than the old ones and, personally, I think they make my eyes look too close together and beady. Now, the contacts will take some getting used to. I can only wear them for a few hours, then it feels like my eyes are full of grit – apparently, I’ll get used to them as my eyes adjust.

I only bought one new outfit because I’m losing weight at a fairly decent rate, and I don’t want to waste my money on clothes I’ll never wear.

Yesterday, I decided to put in the contacts and try on the new clothes. As I stood there in the mirror, no glasses, new haircut and fashionable clothes, I thought I looked pretty good - at least good enough not to have women running away, or laughing - maybe even decent enough to risk striking up a conversation. I mean, I’m still overweight, but I don’t look sloppy anymore. I look at least as good as any other average guy out there. My daily visit to the gym must be doing something. I’m sure I’m not imagining this.

Yes, I felt good. It took a little getting used to, but for once in my life, I wasn’t staring back at an overweight, textbook geek. I was actually pleased with my appearance. However, I do need to lose another 30 lbs.

Now comes the tough part – putting myself out there to see what happens. While I feel pretty good, I could also be kidding myself.

I’m apprehensive right now because I’m still overweight. I would love to be able to lose the weight first, but that would take a long time. Too long, actually - because the last thing I want to do right now is wait another 6 months until I reach my ideal weight. I’m going to have to chance it, and hope that my new image will be enough to get me through.