344

Shout-out to Shawn at 344 Pounds!

Shawn is a well-known weight-loss blogger, and the inspiration for my blog. He lost over 100 pounds in six months by counting calories and exercising - simple and effective.

I don't know him personally, I'm just a fan.

Check out his site. He has an e-book on Amazon now, I may have to get that.

Transformation Progress

I am 60 days into my 90-day-Transformation.

I have lost 1 pound.

I will now go hang myself.

Week 9 - Progress

I'm an @ssh@le.

Every Monday I plan to start my diet and exercise plan, then get derailed by stress. My own negativity makes me give in to my nightly sugar binge. Once Monday's blown, the whole week is shot so why bother.

My all-or-nothing thinking is killing me. But here I am starting again, hopefully I can muster some willpower to get into the groove.

2013 New Year's Resolution

So like a lot of people I made a New Year's Resolution to lose weight this year. My initial goal was to lose 50 pounds in 90 days (I even joined a couple Transformation Contests for extra motivation).

Well, I'm 34 days in and I lost 6 pounds and gained it all back. Awesome.

I'm depressed, unemployed, broke, and I sprained my ankle pretty bad getting up from the couch. You heard me - getting up from the couch.

But I am not giving up - I am back on track and determined to stick to my program (whether I meet arbitrary weight-loss goals or not).

My overall goal for the year is to lose 100 pounds. This year is the year I become the man I was meant to be, and the example for my kids they need and deserve.

Wish me luck.

"Down but not out."

Early To Rise 90-Day Transformation Contest

I joined the Early-To-Rise 90-Day Transformation Contest as of 1/1/13.

Early-To-Rise is an online self-help/internet marketing blog/newsletter run by Craig Ballantyne, with some guest contributors like Brian Tracy, etc.

The Transformation contest has categories you can compete in - Healthy, Wealthy or Wise. I'm competing in the Healthy competition - and failing miserably (but not giving up).

They strongly encourage you to post daily updates to your progress - not sure if you can see my entries without joining or without being in the same contest?

Bodybuilding.com 12-week Transformation

I entered the 2013 Bodybuilding.com $100k 12-week Transformation Challenge as of 1/1/13.

There are a lot of meatheads on this site, but I'm surprised at the support I've gotten so far. Also, if you check out the stickies, there is some good info in the forums. The site itself is supplement ad heavy, but how else are they going to make money?

BTW I'm doing awful - I lost 6 pounds and gained it all back, currently on week 6. FAIL.

Check out my BodySpace profile here.

Week 5 - Progress

Whoa - what happened to weeks # 3 & 4!

GD I'm an a**hole. I sprained my ankle, got depressed over being unemployed, and went on a mindless fast food gorge for two weeks before I came out of the sugar fog.

Gained all my weight back, + 6 lbs and back at 340.

But I am not going to give up. I am not a bad person or loser, but a victim of bad habits that are very hard to change. But change them I will - it's within my power to do so.

"Upward and onward."

Don't Break the Chain - Sticking to Your Goals

I have a wall calendar in my den, and I mark a big red X with a sharpie every day I meet my daily goals, my "Keys to Weight Loss" (see My Methods page).

Supposedly this is a goal-setting technique used by Jerry Seinfeld. The idea is to see how long a "chain" you can make without having a break - then just don't break the chain.

Keep it simple though, don't try to be perfect and track 20 different things using this method.

Here's a free online version: Chain Calendar

Joe's Goals - Online Goal Tracking

Joe's Goals is a pretty cool (and free) goal tracking site.

It lets you track daily goals, you simply click whether you did each goal or not. You can check a goal multiple times in the same day, and it also has negative/bad goals you can track.

You can also have it send you email reminders when you haven't logged anything for a day or two.

Not a perfect site, but useful and free. I recommend keeping it simple though, I don't find it helpful to include lots of detail and a long list of goals, but whatever floats your boat.

My plan is to track daily goals, my "Keys to Weight Loss" (see My Methods page).

Everything else is gravy (and I like gravy).

BMI

Calculated my BMI (body mass index) for my weight at the start of this blog - 340 pounds, 5 ft 9 in tall.

50 - Super Obese!

Yea.

Oddly enough, it's the same calculation for men or women. Not entirely accurate (doesn't account for muscle, etc.), but still a good general indicator.

I used this CDC government calc.

However, I use this ranking found elsewhere on the interwebs (CDC doesn't differentiate above Obese):

Daily Plate - Online Calorie Counting

I use Daily Plate (LiveStrong) to track my calories - it's great (and free).

You can track fitness/exercises as well, but it subtracts burned calories from your total for the day (which is why I don't use that feature).

I used to use FitDay, but prefer Daily Plate. There are a gazillion others out there, it's about personal preference I guess.

I dig their weekly calories bar chart and macro-nutrient pie chart, cool stuff. There's a simple line graph that tracks your weight as well.

What do you use and why? Post a comment here.

Week 2 - Progress

Ugggh!

Bad week, already slipping back into bad habits (eating out). Super stressed trying to find work, also somehow I slipped and fell and sprained my ankle bad. I thought for sure I had broken something, but it's getting better. As I was going down I could feel every pound and every year crushing my ankle, not a good feeling.

But I won't give up. I will eat better this week, get some sleep, get a new job, and start working out (was supposed to do that last week).

Upward and onward.

Stats:

Starting Weight: 335

End Weight: 334

Pounds Lost: -1

Calorie Goal: 2000

Actual Average Calories: 2690

Exercise: none

Daily Plate (LiveStrong) Calories:

Joe's Goals:

Week 1 - Progress

Week 1 down (ok, 5 days actually)!

Not too bad - I am eating better (though not perfect), and lost some weight. I need to start exercising and getting better sleep though.

Stats:

Starting Weight: 340

End Weight: 335

Pounds Lost: -5

Calorie Goal: 2000

Actual Average Calories: 2288

Exercise: none

Daily Plate (LiveStrong) Calories:

Joe's Goals:

First Post

Firsties!

Booyah - first day of the new year, first day of the new me, first post of my new blog.

This is a weight-loss blog. My current weight is 340, my goal is to lose 50 pounds in 90 days.

More to come...