One year later...7 lbs less

So this year has sucked. I can blame it on writing two books, but really, i didn't do that till the spring. After the newpaper article I just totally lost my drive. And I gained weight.

I was worried that I would have gained it all back. And be more. Like OVER 300.

So I went on MOnday and weighed in....281....whew! While it sucks to be at that number it's nice to not have gained more back. So I worked out Monday and Tuesday and today, Thursday.

I know I'm lame, but when I work out, man, my whole life is better. I feel better, I feel more confident, I'm proud of myself, I get a good start on the day, I eat better, I'm more help at home.

Even knowing all of that, this morning at 5:00 am...I was still having a hard time getting up! But I did. And then I was sore. (but not as sore as Wed). And then the Y was hard. But i did it. And i know from last year, that the pain will subside and I'll feel even better still.

The secret really is in the eating though. I need to count my calories and eat wisely and then it'll be so sweet.

So I'm back. And that's good.

Failure isn't final

I always thought I was motivated by money.

I thought that if I could somehow tie money to weight loss, that would be the thing to get me to lose weight. If I would just get a deal where somone paid me a bonus for every pound I lost...that would be great.

Then along came the Biggest Loser! Whoa! that is awesome! And I knew I wasn't big enough for that show, but if I could somehow make a contest in Wichita...then I could win that and I would lose weight.

So I did that. Thus the blog.

Only it wasn't for big money. $50 and anyone could have won it...they picked the winner out of a hat. It wasn't based on who lost the most. Although, it still motivated me and I went from 289 to 258. YES!

Then when that competition was almost over, Play it again Sports had a REAL contest for REAL money...$5K. Finally, my dream came true! I could finally get paid to lose weight. I had already lost 30 pounds and if I did this contest I would lose another 60! YES!!!!

So I signed up. And waited. Didn't do much. Didn't lose any weight. I figured I'd start it up later. After all, I lost 20 of my pounds in a month for the biggest loser deal, I could certainly do some damage in two months so I can wait.

Long story short...tomorrow is the awards day. tomorrow the contest is over. And tomorrow someone is going to walk away with $5K. Othes will walk away with other prizes.

Not me.

I didn't even go to my final weigh in. I knew I wouldn't win. So why take a ten pound loss to them.

Then, over five short months, I think I've gained it all back.

How sad is that? I'm afraid to weigh in. All those great feelings of clothes fitting and feeling great...I suck. So crappy.

One of the contestants from TBL was told that they have three strikes to weight loss. If they gain 5 lbs, that is strike one. If they gain 7 pounds that is strike two. If they gain 10 pounds, that is strike three and they will go back to thier original weight and probably gain more!

That has certainly been true for me.

Here is the good news: Failure isn't final.

I have the tools. I know I can do it.

Part of my stress has been writing a book. That manuscript is due July 2nd. So on that day, I will celebrate by going to the Y.

The good news is as well, that if I eat right, I can lose weight without even exercising! Shoot, I'm so fat now, walking is exercising!

So I have less than two months, but I can eat better now. Which I am going to do.

My hope, my dream, is that Xmas time, I'll have a little more than 4 months. That's, at the very least, 40 pounds I could drop. Maybe more. And then, next summer, I should be down to my goal weight.

Oh, how nice will that be.

So tomorrow will suck. I will feel like a failure. But I know that my failure isn't final.

Monday Morning Workout

I finally got back to the gym.  What a pain.  It takes so long to get ready.  I hate packing up all my crap at night.  I dread going to go workout and how hard it’s going to be.

But I did it.  And I feel GREAT.  Even when I was working out I was like, “dude, what the hell was I thinking!!!!”  I’m lame.

So I did the ol’ Bobby Reed for 45 minutes and I did 15 min on the stairmaster with HR control at 160.  That was hard but sweet.

Now I’m going to go eat lunch and write it down!

It feels great to be back!

 

Addition By Subraction

First of all, I am an idiot.

I lose 13 pounds in less than 10 days.  HUGE.  Finally break the 30 lb mark.  So what do I do then?

Take 9 days off!  I’m so dumb.  It started off innocently enough by just not writing down what I was eating on that Saturday I weighed in.  Then on Sunday I didn’t.  Then…it goes on and on.  And then I got stuck into two thoughts:

1.     If I don’t keep count, then it’s an off day.  I’ll just eat whatever I want and then I’ll start again tomorrow.

2.       I’ve got to eat this bad food for me now, because I won’t get to eat it again for such a long time.

So dumb.  That’s the attitude that got me here in the first place.  Such a bad attitude.  That idea of eating now.  I’ve got to eat it now!!!  Oh man.  And I’ve found out, that unless I plan my meal, i.e. take a lunch with me or a plan, I end up over eating.  And if I don’t write it down, then I’m screwed.  And if I don’t pack my crap up the night before, I’m not going to pack up in the morning.

I can’t believe all the head games I have to play to do this thing.  I’ve got to be so proactive and vigilant!  And I’m so afraid of not getting to eat anything fun or good ever again, which is just dumb.

So I didn’t weigh in on Saturday, for fear of seeing a weight gain and because I got up too late.

So where is the addition among all this negativity?

Jen was going to have me go to Kohl’s for some close out clearance clothes and I need some new pants.  But I didn’t want to spend more money on fat clothes that I am hoping aren’t going to fit soon.  So in a latch ditch effort, I grabbed some pants that I was hanging on to in hopes that they’d fit me when I was skinnier.

And they do!  I’m wearing a pair now!  I have two good pairs and one pair that I still need to lose more weight to get into, but I can wear them and button them.  They’re just pretty tight.  So, jen says I look better in pants that aren’t so baggy!  So I’m finally downsizing my clothes!!!  HOORAY!!!!!!!

 

3 more pounds!!!

I’m late checking in but I’m down another three.  I’ve finally broken the 30 pound mark!  Since beginning this journey at 288, I’m down to 256.  That’s a good chunk of change!

I haven’t been exercising but I’ve been a champ about counting my calories, etc.  I feel like a slacker.  I need to hit that gym.  Tomorrow is my hope!

I’ve screwed around Sat, Sun, and yesterday so that isn’t good.  But if I can do a good job today through Friday and hit the gym Wed-Fri, I bet I may even get down another pound.

I’m pumped.  It’s such a good feeling to be losing weight!  Only 76 more pounds!  That looks a lot better than 108!  Woo HOO!  Rock on!

BACK to 259!!! HOORAY!

Alright!  I weighed in last Tuesday and did the spin class.  It was the only day I exercised last week.  The rest of the week I have been hardcore about counting my calories.  On Saturday I drove down to the central Y and weighed in socks, underwear, jeans, and an undershirt, and I was back to 259! 

Such a great feeling to be back!

I can’t weight till Saturday to weigh in again.  For some reason, I’ve always had trouble passing this 30 lbs mark, and I’m hoping to blow it out of the water Saturday!  I’m still hardcore on my calories and need to go to bed earlier so I can exercise.  There’s just so much other stuff to do during the day!!!  ARGH!  No excuses.  I just got to get to it!

Okay, really, I'm back now

So, I hit the Spin class again and finally feel like I’m back. I have my head back in gear, I’m not screwing around.

So where am I? How did I do over the break? Am I still in the Biggest Loser comp?

1. 269. Which brings us to #2

2. That is 10 pounds since my last weigh in. 5 more than I weighed officially for the BL comp with Play It Again Sports, which takes us to #3

3. Uh, not really. I basically have, again, 40 days. I’m such a procrastinator. It really burns since I finally got my wish to have an actual big prize money chance, and I’ve blown it. I could have lost weight and made some sweet moolah.

Which brings me back to earth. I’m in this for the long haul. This is my last time to weigh 269. I’m still 19 lbs less than I started this summer. And I have no doubt that I can lose a TON of weight before summer begins.

Progress, not perfection, right?

Right!

Progress...not perfection

Okay, I’m back…it’s been a while.  I haven’t worked out very much.  I haven’t counted my calories.  I’ve over eaten.  I’ve eaten lots of chocolate. I’m afraid of the scale.

 

But I’m back.  I worked out today with the cycle class and did 20 min on the stairmaster.  I’m going to count my calories today and I’m going to keep working out and being active.  And this time next year, I will be less than 200 lbs.  And what a day that will be.  I can’t wait!

 

Last Wichita Eagle Article

1 challenge pounds

BY KAREN SHIDELER

The Wichita Eagle

LOOKING AND FEELING TRIMMER, WICHITALK'S WEIGHT-LOSS CHALLENGE TEAM MEMBERS SAY THEY'LL CONTINUE THEIR EFFORTS

They're disappointed -- and delighted. They missed their combined goal by nearly 50 pounds -- but they say that without the WichiTalk Weight-Loss Challenge, they wouldn't have lost the 107 ½ pounds they did. Their faces and bodies definitely show the results of their efforts. In September, WichiTalk introduced six Wichitans who agreed to go public with their three-month effort to lose weight. They set their own goals and decided what approach to use.

This is the final report on the group, just in time to help you think about the pitfalls and successes ahead if losing weight is one of your New Year's resolutions. Watch for more advice to help you along, beginning in the Jan. 2 WichiTalk.

The first advice from our team members: Enlist a friend or two. All six said being part of a group made it easier to stick with their efforts, even though they got together only twice -- at the beginning and the end.

Reach Karen Shideler at 316-268-6674 or kshideler@wichitaeagle.com.

Tom Allen

Bio: Age 43. Married with three children. Teacher and coach at Northwest High School.

Goal: 40 pounds. Lost 10.

Weekends and the "battle with snacks" kept him from losing more. He has begun to work out and hopes to continue to "improve my health at a slow and steady pace."

His advice: "Most important is to find a way to motivate yourself, and work to be a better you."

Jamie Goltz

Bio: Age 23. Married. Does secretarial-clerical work for Army National Guard.

Goal: 25 to 30 pounds. Lost 30, in part because she got sick.

With her doctor's permission, she wants to continue losing a pound here and there as her pregnancy progresses. Her baby is due in May, and her doctor told her that the heavier she is, the harder it will be to deliver.

Her advice: Go with what you believe in, and don't try to overdo it. Read labels and watch portion sizes.

Toni Harden

Bio: Age 46. Single with two children. Para educator at Wells Special Education Center.

Goal: 20 to 30 pounds. Lost 11.

She will continue to work out daily and to try to lose more, by counting calories and watching fat intake. "Working out first thing in the morning seems to be the best for me."

Her advice: Plan before you eat. Take the extra time to plan your meals for the whole week, and plan snacks, too.

Crystal Iseman

Bio: Age 26. Married, three children. Stay-at-home mom, day-care provider and college student.

Goal: 25 pounds. Lost 18 ½.

Losing weight was easy at first -- as time went on, not gaining became reason to celebrate. "I have realized that I am doing much better just losing a pound or so a week, so it doesn't feel like I am depriving myself."

Her advice: Find a weight-loss buddy. Take a few days off if you're getting burned out -- but don't overdo it. Focus on size instead of the scale: "Size can change quite a bit without the scale moving much, because of working out." Enlist the support of your spouse, friends and family.

Andrea McClellan

Bio: Age 31. Married with two children. Stay-at-home mom.

Goal: 25 pounds. Lost 15.

"I am doing it right this time around." The weight is staying off, and "If it takes me two more months to slowly reach my goal, that is fine with me." As a result of losing weight, she's using her inhaler less often for her asthma. "How awesome is that?"

Her advice: Set your mind to it. Only you can be in charge of the weight loss. Listen to the voice in the back of your head that says, "Don't eat that! What about all the hard work you did today?" Don't listen when it says, "Boy, I sure would like to eat that last piece of pie." At the drive-through, get a kids' meal with apples instead of fries (skip the dipping sauce) and give the toy to someone special -- yourself!

Ken Rawson

Bio: Age 30. Married with three children. Director of student ministries at First United Methodist Church.

Goal: 15 pounds. Lost 23.

Waking up early to work out was tough. Keeping a food journal and counting calories was inconvenient. But it worked. He has signed up for the KSN/Play It Again Sports Biggest Loser Competition (see box) and will keep doing what he has been doing.

His advice: Get involved with a group or friend, and join a message board. Keep a food log. Count calories. Get a workout DVD. Get off the couch: "Anything that you do is better than nothing." You may not lose as much as the people on TV, but "the feeling of fitting in my clothes, moving my belt another notch, feeling great, living a healthier life for my kids and sweet wife, and watching the man on the inside slowly emerge from the man on the outside have been the greatest rewards so far."

Reach Karen Shideler at 316-268-6674 or kshideler@wichitaeagle.com.

Another challenge

Play It Again Sports and KSN are partnering for their version of Wichita's Biggest Loser. Participants, who must be at least 18, must register at the stores, at 8815 W. 13th St. or 11309 E. Kellogg, by Jan. 31 and will have 90 days to lose weight. For more information, visit the stores.

-- Karen Shideler

 

I'm a slacker

Today is Tuesday and I chose to sleep in a warm bed instead of sweating this morning. I suck. Yesterday I overslept and this morning I didn't want to get out of bed and go sweat. But I wish I had.

Tomorrow is a new day and if I do a good job eating, then I'm still ahead of the game.

My goal for my Friday weigh in...1 pound. Just to get to 258 and be officially 30 pounds less, that will be GREAT!

Well...The Eagle article is over and comes out Dec. 19th

Here is your spoiler...I won! Pretty cool. I kinda feel bad that 23 pounds is what won the Eagle story challenge. I thought I would really lose a lot more. And when you put 23 pounds against the amounts of weight people lose on the Biggest Loser, 23 seems pretty small.

One of the girls didn't even show up. So that kind of stunk. But five of us got together to hang out, take our pics, and stuff. So it's all over except that we can post our final weight loss on Dec. 15th for the article.

I am super grateful to Karen for doing this and taking a chance on us. Way cool. And I seriously don't know if I would be 23 pounds lighter had she not done the article. And it's set me up for cointinuing on. And that's huge.

It is really fun to win, though. LIke I said, I wish I had more to brag about than 23 lbs, but it's still 23 lbs. And it's 29 total. So that's cool. I don't know if I'll end up with the $50 as I think they were going to do a drawing for the $50 and one of us was going to win it, not neccessarily the biggest loser.

And again, the cool thing is that I'm set up to do this new Biggest Loser challenge. I know how hard it is to really do this, where a lot of people won't make it. But I don't think 23 lbs is going to do it for the new challenge.

My latest update I'm sending to the Eagle

Well, today is the last day of the Eagle’s weight loss challenge.   Here is the update I sent Karen.

 

---

From: Ken Rawson
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2006 2:39 PM
To: 'Karen Shideler'
Subject: RE: See you Monday!

 

Karen!!!  While I am probably not going to end up as the winner, I just wanted to again, thank you for this opportunity!  I don’t think I’d be 29 pounds lighter without your help!  Thanks so much!

 

See below for the answers to the questions.  And thanks again!

 

Ken

 

 

---

From: Karen Shideler
Sent: Wednesday, November 29, 2006 1:27 PM
To: Ken Rawson;
Subject: See you Monday!

 

Gang,

I'm getting ready to leave the office for an out-of-town conference but will be back in plenty of time to see you at the Y on Monday -- Central Y, pix at 6:30 p.m. SHARP (if I have my way). I'll try to be there by 6.
PLEASE WEAR something you couldn't before or something you just feel great in. We decided boxy red T-shirts wouldn't be the best way to show off the new you!

Here's your homework. I'd love for you to e-mail me your responses sometime Monday or bring a printout with you. If not, you get to stay after class to chat with me!

1. How much did you lose? (Weigh anytime Monday for the final number). How did that compare with your goal?

[Ken Rawson] I lost a total of 23 pounds.  I gained three pounds during the Thanksgiving holiday and lost those three pounds last week.  So I’m still at 23.  My goal was 15 so I feel great that I made my goal.  I wish I would have treated this more seriously and really tried to lose as much as I could have.  But losing weight is really so difficult! 

 

2. How hard was it to lose weight? Did being part of this group make it harder or easier? Why?

[Ken Rawson] Waking up every morning at 4:45 AM to go work out at the Y was tough.  Keeping a food journal and counting calories was inconvenient.  But keeping from emotional eating and snacking out of boredom was really difficult.  Being a part of this group and competition gave me the drive to really take my weight loss seriously.  Having people ask me how it’s going was big encouragement to not slack.  And hearing friends who have been reading the articles was so affirming.  I don’t think I’d have had the initiative to change my lifestyle without being a part of this group.

 

3. Where do you go from here? Are you going to try to lose more, maintain what you've lost, or dig into something you've denied yourself for the past three months? What have you learned about what you need to do? (See Ken's blog, below)

[Ken Rawson] As previously noted I’ve joined the YMCA’s Battle of the Bulge to get me through the holidays.  I’ve also signed up for KSN’s and Play it Again Sport’s Biggest Loser competition which runs for 90 days.  I still have a lot of weight to lose so I’m going to keep doing what I have been doing and take it even more seriously.   There are several things that are important that I’ve got to do to be successful.  Exercising in the morning is part of that.  When I don’t exercise in the morning, I rarely, and I mean RARELY, make time to exercise later on.  Also, I’ve got to stick to my counted calories and logging them in my food journal.  It is a lot easier to lose weight by controlling the calories I’m digesting instead of the calories I’m burning.  In one hour I burn 750 calories.  If I do that, then I can burn 1 pound, ONE crappy pound, in five days.  One pound = Five hours of cardio work.  WOW!  Also, my body burns 2500 calories a day.  So if I limit myself to 1500 calories, and I’m doing an hour of cardio for five days, I’ll burn at least 3 lbs a week.

 

4. What advice do you have for readers? This is the part I'd really like you to focus on, because this wrapup will also have sort of a "here's help for making your own New Year's resolutions" feel to it.

[Ken Rawson] 1.  Join the Biggest loser challenge with KSN and Play it Again Sports.  Just don’t lose as much weight as me so I can win the money.  My sweet wife and I would like to adopt a baby and could really use that $5,000.  So if you join, please sabotage yourself for my sake.  I’ll really appreciate it.

 

2.       Get involved with a group or find a friend to do this with.  I’ve been doing a cycling class on Tuesdays and Thursdays with the Y and more times than they probably know, their encouragement, camaraderie, and friendship has been the motivation I needed to go workout. 

 

3.       Keep a food log and count your calories.  Whenever I don’t do this, I slip up.  I’ll eat stuff without thinking about it and I’ll eat bad stuff that won’t help me achieve my goal.

 

4.        Get a workout DVD.  Sure I look like a dork and I feel like a complete idiot doing exercise videos at home, but after I lose 400 calories and am a sweaty mess, I’m feeling pretty dang good!

 

5.       Join a message board on the internet.  Two message boards that I check out are http://boards.nbc.com/nbc/index.php?showforum=19 and http://boards.webmd.com/webx?50@103.ya6QaGyAP2D.3@.5987f41f.  The first one is for the tv show The Biggest Loser and the second one is from WebMD.  You’d be amazed at the stories out there of people who have really lost weight and become healthy.  It’s so encouraging!!!

 

6.       Get off the couch.  Really.  Just do something.  Anything that you do is better than doing nothing.  If you lose one measly pound a week, after a year, it looks pretty good!  Take the stairs instead of the elevator, eat an orange instead of a bag of chips, skip the bread at Carabba’s, build a snowman with your kids, play with your spouse, whatever!

 

5. Anything else?

[Ken Rawson] While losing 23 pounds has not been as earth shattering as the people on the TV show “The Biggest Loser” the feeling of fitting in my clothes, moving my belt another notch, feeling great, living a healthier life for my kids and sweet wife, and watching the man on the inside slowly emerge from the man on the outside have been the greatest rewards so far.  Thank you for taking a chance on this story and giving me an opportunity to not just share my life with other people, but providing the impetus of change that was so needed.

 

You rock!

 

Ken

 

 

If you haven't looked at Ken's blog lately, check it out. I especially liked this paragraph:

The bad news:  Last time I weighed in, I was at 259.  Today I am 262.  That sucks.  I wasn’t planning on gaining weight back.  But I only worked out 3 times and I didn’t count my calories and I ate when stressed.  I know better.  If I don’t count calories, if I don’t physically write it down, I can’t control myself.  And when I’m stressed, I need better methods of relief.  I’m amazed at how weak willed I am and how easily I’ll go back to my fat self if I don’t take this seriously.

I don't see Ken as weak-willed at all -- and I am delighted at the insight he has about the necessity to take health seriously, and about what he needs to do to get there.

You all have been awesome. Thanks for all your help -- and see you Monday!

Karen

Thanksgiving Redemption

Alright, I weighed in this morning and I'm back to 259. This is the weight I weighed before thanksgiving.

Couple thoughts here: 1. Although I worked out Mon-Friday and twice on Mon and Tues, on Thursday-Sunday I didn't eat as well as I could have. That is so frustrating because I was really hoping to be at 248 and I'm still 11 pounds away from that.

2. I haven't lost any more weight for the Eagle contest so I may not win that, and that stinks. I was really hoping for that. So my total weight loss for that is 23 lbs, I started at 282 and now weigh 259. My goal weight was 15 pounds and I made that. So that is good.

3. What else is good is that when I started this blog I was at 282. And I'm 29 pounds from there. Again.

4. What is even better is that when I weigh in on Friday, I will AT LEAST be at 258 which will be 30 pounds, and that's great. My next biggie will be 248 which if I lose that by Christmas will be the best gift of all.

Update and Another Biggest Loser Competition

Well, this week has been super fast!!! I did two workouts on Monday, two workouts on Tuesday, and good workouts on Wed, Thurs, and Friday. Yesterday's eating wasn't good, but the other days were fine. Sooooo...I'm so hopeful that Monday's weigh in will rock.

In other news, KSN and Play it Again Sports are teaming up to do a Kansas' Biggest Loser and this time it's for real cash! $5K and $3,500 in furniture! Dude, that's some motivation!!! And it's free! Wild!

So I weighed in with my clothes on and I think it was 264 3/4. The rules are that you have 90 days to lose as much weight as you can and you can only lose a max of 2% a week. So they give you a shirt, some official biggest loser info, take your pic, weigh you, etc. So I can lose a max of 68 lbs by Feb 27th!

Dude, if I did that I would wiegh lesss than 200 lbs!!! That would be so freaking sweet!!! So that's some sweet motivation! The only catch will be that people who weigh more than me can lose more. I guess there are some guys who weighted in at 400+ lbs.

I guess the owner of Play It Again Sports is a big fan of the show and wanted to do it and is pretty serious about doing it as well. He lost 16 lbs. the first week! I want to write hime and thank him for doing this. Way cool.

My only advantage is two fold: #1 it's the holidays and people, including me, are pretty weak during the holidays. #2 from doing this Wichita Eagle thing, I know how really difficult this is to do on your own. It's really hard for me.

But I love the opportunity to win big. And I love the spirit behind it. I'm so grateful for the Eagle because I don't know if I would be nearly 30 lbs lighter if I hadn't done this! So I'll be even more grateful for the Play it Again Sports thing if I can lose 30-60 more!!!! That would so rock!

Here's a link to the info. Way cool. good luck!

Mike Morrow...This guy is amazing!

I was on the Biggest Loser message board today and came across this guy's story. His name is Mike Morrow and he weighed 390+ pounds. It's very inspiring. Enjoy.



My story is pretty simple. I spent a bunch of years traveling around the country doing consulting, eating in nice restaurants and sitting on my rump. I was a great big guy for the better part of a decade and a half. My max weight was 390+ pounds, frankly at 35 my weight was affecting all aspects of my life even though I didn't realize it at the time. When we are dramatically outside of our healthy weight range how we feel daily even our attitude toward life and how we deal with our loved ones is effected by our weight. The weight effects our sleep, our energy level and our ability to do things. Weight is insidious because it creeps on slowly, stealing small bits of our life at a time so we don't even realize what is happening.



I had been on diets a bunch of times over that decade and a half period. I told myself all the lies about why I was overweight and that just around the corner was a magic pill that would help me to lose this weight and be healthy. I wanted to be a healthy weight, I just didn't want it badly enough to make the changes required to make it happen.



Until we had our daughter I was never honest with myself about what I was doing. She was my personal angel that woke me up out of the food induced coma I had been in. That wakeup call came when my daughter was about 3 years old. I realized I was stealing part of her childhood by being overweight and out of shape. I did not have the energy or could not physically do the things she wanted to do with me. I also had concerns about my ability to help her in the event of an emergency. Once my mind started drifting down this path, I realized that if I did not make some major changes, it was likely I would not see her graduate high school or get married nor would I see my grandchildren. At this point the most mortifying thought of all hit: That I may actually let my daughter down! Letting my little girl down was simply not an option.



Weight loss really is all about taking in less calories than you burn. Honestly if controlling there intake is all a person does they will lose weight. I didn't do any exercise at all until I had lost 100 pounds (If I had it to do over again I would have started exercising much earlier in the journey). My "plan" involved eating 1500'ish calories a day 6 days a week. One day a week (After the first 3 months and I could trust myself) I would go out to eat with my wife and daughter. I allowed myself order off the menu getting whatever I wanted. I think this kept me from craving things I always knew I was one week from being able to have whatever. I would skip desert and the bread basket and wouldn't eat insane portion sizes. I think the difference between this time and all the others was the way I looked at this journey, always before I felt I was giving something up, this time I really looked at the diet as "getting something" I was getting my life back. I never once the whole time felt deprived, which was so different from any previous attempt.



The biggest part of weight loss is what goes in your mouth. Exercise is great for your health but it is a rough way to burn off any substantial amount of weight. Once I got down to a "reasonable" size (300 pounds :) )I started walking five miles a day. I used walking to build my fitness level. After 9 months or so I kicked up the activity level. My weight loss rate didn't change much once I added exercise with the exception of not losing a pound the first month I was walking (this was VERY unusual for me).



At least for me, consistency is king, only eating the amount of calories that match my plan and exercising on a daily basis has been very effective for me. This is not to say I don't have days where I eat what I want and throw caution to the wind, even those days are "planned" in that they aren't spur of the moment. At this point I allow myself to eat pretty much whatever I want (within reason) but if it is going to be dramatically outside my normal eating patterns plan for it. I sort of have a 24 hour rule, if I have some sort of evil craving I allow myself to eat it but not until tomorrow and by then the insane urge has generally passed. For me that seems to cut down on the mindless munching.



I have been at my goal weight now for a little over 16 months. So far my weight has been quite steady. I find I can eat quite a bit, if anything I have to be careful not to drift lower due to my activity level and overall better food choices. I workout for at least an hour of cardio a day and usually life weights 3 or 4 times a week for between 30 and 40 minutes.



I feel truly blessed to have been given this gift of a second chance at life. I am active on weight loss forums on the internet. I hope that I can encourage others that are struggling with weight as I did. I know how difficult weight loss can be and hope I can possibly provide the spark that starts someone on their journey. I don't have any magical answers to what will work for weight loss for anyone, but I want to be the cheering section for those that are trying.



If a sedentary 390+ pound middle aged man can drop 58.97% of his body weight and go from a BMI of 52.9 to 160 pounds with a BMI of 21.7 anything is possible! I am including a few before and after pictures in this post people often ask to see them and I have been told they provide some encouragement, it is in that vein I share them with you.



This picture is a montage of me before I started losing weight. Pictures from this era are fairly difficult to come by as you can imagine I was not a huge fan of the camera.
























This picture was a fun shot we took as I got close to my goal weight. If you look closely it is my whole family in an old pair of my pants. My wife and I are each in a leg and my daughter is between us. The pants are zipped and buttoned.
























This is just a before and after comparison shot. The after is a picture of me running in my first triathlon.




















Another before and after comparison shot. The after here is just of me before a training ride for the race I mentioned above.

May God be between you and harm in all the empty places where you must walk.



Mike

Day 41

Well, the 40 days are officially over.  And in those 40 days I lost 20 lbs.

The bad news:  Last time I weighed in, I was at 259.  Today I am 262.  That sucks.  I wasn’t planning on gaining weight back.  But I only worked out 3 times and I didn’t count my calories and I ate when stressed.  I know better.  If I don’t count calories, if I don’t physically write it down, I can’t control myself.  And when I’m stressed, I need better methods of relief.  I’m amazed at how weak willed I am and how easily I’ll go back to my fat self if I don’t take this seriously.

The good news:  I still have one more week to really do well.  I worked out this morning.  I’m gonna try to do 2 workouts each day including Sat and Sun and I still have Monday before our pic.  I’d still love, LOVE to weigh 248, that would mean 40 pounds since the summer, and that would rock.

Great blog post by McNutt

Matthew McNutt is the youth pastor from Maine who made it back on the Biggest Loser reality show.  He has a great post about Thanksgiving.  He is the man.

 

 

The latest Eagle Update...and Rawson takes the lead

Deadline nears, some goals revised
BY KAREN SHIDELER
The Wichita Eagle

The pressure is on.

WichiTalk's Weight-Loss Challenge team members are closing in on their deadline.

Earlier this year, WichiTalk chose six readers to go public with their weight-loss efforts for three months. We let them set their own goals and decide their own weight-loss methods.

We're planning a wrap-up about their efforts for the Dec. 19 issue of WichiTalk. That should be perfect timing for people planning New Year's resolutions.

In the meantime, here's a look at how the six are doing:


Tom Allen
Allen, 43, a teacher and coach at Northwest High School, wanted to lose 40 pounds but realized that was unrealistic.

He has lost 15 and has learned that South Beach Diet snack bars help curb unhealthy snacking.
Allen is starting basketball season, so his days are even longer than they had been, running from 3 a.m. to 7 p.m. He plans to catch up on exercise -- and sleep -- over Thanksgiving break and to "stay away from the potatoes and limit the pie."


Jamie Goltz
Goltz, 23, who works for the Army National Guard and the Wichita Marriott, wanted to lose 25 to 30 pounds.

She has maintained a 20-pound loss and may show a bit of weight gain in the final report -- because she's pregnant. As a result, her workouts aren't as strenuous and she's being careful not to get dehydrated while still doing "something healthy for myself and the baby."

Goltz has gotten used to smaller portions and doesn't have any major cravings. "I don't even like eating ice cream. It just doesn't taste good to me right now," she says.


Toni Harden
Harden, 46, is a paraeducator at Wells Special Education Center and wanted to lose 20 to 30 pounds.

She has lost 11, less than she'd hoped but not bad given some health concerns, including diabetes.

Harden and her sister will cook Thanksgiving dinner. "My plan will be to drink lots of water during the morning and to consume very small meals" through the day. "With several diabetics in our family, we will have sugar-free desserts."


Crystal Iseman
Iseman, 26, a stay-at-home mom and day-care provider, wanted to lose 25 pounds.

She has lost 13 and is disappointed it's not more. But she also admits that being swamped with homework (she's finishing a college degree) and work means she hasn't paid as much attention as she should to her eating and exercise habits.

Iseman has learned that "drinking lots and lots of water keeps your appetite at bay." But she'll enjoy Thanksgiving, knowing that if she deprives herself, "I tend to end up giving in and eating more."


Andrea McClellan
McClellan, 31, a stay-at-home mom, wanted to lose 25 pounds.

She's lost 18 but regained 3. "I did it to myself," she says. "I have not been working out as much as I should, and my water intake is poor... Boy, did I mess up!"

At Thanksgiving, "I plan to eat what I want, only small servings. Only two times a year do I get sweet potatoes... I will try to eat a spoonful versus a plateful."

She also knows the role that state of mind plays: "When I am not feeling happy, I eat... I just need to start my day feeling good about myself, and the rest will follow."


Ken Rawson
Rawson, 30, director of student ministries at First United Methodist Church, wanted to lose 15 pounds.

He has lost 23 by "counting my calories and keeping it to 1,500, choosing wisely, which means smaller portions and healthier options." He has been exercising 45 to 90 minutes a day and has signed up for the YMCA's Battle of the Bulge, an effort to prevent weight gain during the holidays.

You can read more about his progress on his blog: http://wichitasbiggestloser.blogspot.com/.

Day 35 and I'm feeling ALIVE

Man, what a great feeling to be taking initiative!  Last night, even though it was 10 PM I still got in one of the BL DVD workouts and shed 200 more calories.  Got up this morning and did the spin class and it rocked.

When I first started coming to the Y and especially the spin class, man it was kicking my butt!  Today I got in there early to test out bikes (they all have different resistance tendencies) to find one that would not be easy.  So I picked the hardest out of three and it was STILL easy.  So today, I took initiative and instead of letting the class direct my speed and effort, I led out and worked my butt off and it was GREAT.

Now, don’t get me wrong.   I wasn’t leading the class and no one was checking me out, going, “Check out Ken, he is rocking today!”  But by myself I knew I was really pushing it and that was cool.  So I busted out 500 calories in 40 minutes!

The hardest thing about exercising...you know, other than, uh, motivation

One hour and 45 minutes.

01:45

That’s how long it takes for me to walk, from my desk, to the Y, change clothes, gear up, stretch out, do cardio for 60 minutes, shower, dress, and walk back to the church.

That’s a big chunk of the day to dedicate to losing weight.  That’s a lot to ask.  And that’s why it is DEFINITELY easier to do in the morning before work.  Most people aren’t willing to give up 2 hours of their day OR MORE (I mean, we aren’t even talking about any strength training!) just to lose weight.  It’s easier to drink a supplement, fast, or walk.  But maybe not better.  Of course, doing something is better than doing nothing.