Not only that, since I find myself posting here with less frequency, a Twitter account seemed to make even more sense. It’s a quick way to get the word out about my thoughts on a story I saw online, foods I might be trying at the moment, a workout I just started (courtesy Endomondo), a quick photo, etc. In short, a more immediate way to communicate.

The account also gives you, the reader, a chance to send a quick message to me if you wish since I now have a smartphone and use the TweetCaster app to check for messages. Even more interactivity! I’ve even gone ahead and added a Twitter widget to the sidebar so you can see my most recent tweets. Neat-o.

But before we get started, I have a few rules in place which are listed below. Please read and understand them before proceeding any further.

On Following: I welcome anybody to follow me provided you are a genuine, real-life human being with interesting and topical things to say about weight loss. Whether you’ve met your goal or are just starting, I’d love to hear what you have to say so I can follow you in return. This also means that if you are not and are just using Twitter to spam the whole Twitterverse with links to bogus weight loss products or other half-baked snake oil weight loss schemes, you will be blocked and reported for spam. I will not argue with you; I’ll just block you. Remember that this blog is about how I lost weight the right way and not investing in fishy weight loss products because they simply do not work.

On Direct Messaging: You can also DM me if you wish and I’ll try my best to answer you or just say hello. But the same rule goes for DMs: spam me and I block you. Simple, huh?

With all that said, go ahead and follow @200by40 on Twitter and let the fun begin!

First of all, I have renewed my domain name so that’s good news. The only thing is that when you type in www.200by40.com, it will redirect you to 200by40.wordpress.com instead. That’s because I didn’t renew my domain mapping through WordPress but that’s okay because it will still get you where you want to go. Not only that, any old links that were posted with www.200by40.com will still be there only without the domain. Not really an issue.

In addition to renewing that, I will also be taking some time to do a little housework around here so if you show up and things are a bit out of place, I again apologize. It might be that way for a bit until I decide on what to keep or which theme to stick with.

I will get back to posting within the week and if not about my personal weight, then perhaps about products that active people such as yourself might be interested in. See my reviews about:

• FinishSafe Finish Tags which I got a few weeks ago and are awesome (and were free!)
• The Endomondo fitness app
• RoadID Bracelet

Wait, you’re not active? That’s okay because I wasn’t at one point, either. But now I go crazy if I can’t exercise. Once it’s in you, it’s hard to shake it and if you’ve made it here, then chances are you want to make the change as well.

Hang in there. I have lots to do. Thanks again for stopping by!

It’s time for my annual notice! As usual, I want to remind you to update your bookmarks to include 200by40.wordpress.com.

Why, you ask? Because it’s time to renew my domain name and redirecting service and I’m not sure if I’m going to get them done in time so just as a precaution, I kindly ask that if you like what I’ve got going on here (and I do realize the posts have been few and far between lately), just add that URL to your list of favorites, your RSS feed, or by clicking the Subscribe button on the right.

UPDATE 6/28/10: Domain name renewed (yay!) but not subscription through WordPress. Give me until this coming Wednesday or Thursday when I have the money to do it

Thanks!
Dave

As far as progress goes, I’m holding firm at around 198 or so. Still not at my target of 190 but hey, keeping most of it off for what will be two years in September isn’t too shabby.

I’ll be back and posting in no time. Thanks for hanging in there during this tough time

Naturally, first comes some bad news, namely me gaining back almost 18 pounds since reaching my goal nearly a year ago.

Okay, no. That’s a joke, guys, and I just wanted to see if you were paying attention. To prove it, here are a few shots of me playing softball at my company’s picnic a few weeks ago:

So as you can see, the weight gain did not happen and will not happen. (I seem to have grown a goatee in the process, however.) But alas, I really do have some bad news.

Remember all that talk of running the Disneyland 5k in September? Well, unfortunately, that’s not going to happen—at least this year. There are a few reasons for this:

Running on a treadmill is not the same as running in the real world. Duh, I know. A 5k is a breeze on something that is designed to give a little but terra firma is much less forgiving. Believe me, I tried to get used to running on solid ground but despite losing over 100 lbs., my knees simply could not take it. It’s unfortunate but I think it’s the right choice for me at this point.

I lost my job. On March 31^st, I was laid off from my job and as a result, had to find something and pronto in order to keep food on the table once my severance checks ran out. I did find a job but it pays exactly half of what I used to make, so expenses had to be cut somewhere. Believe me, people, having no money is not a lot of fun, and that meant all of the 5k walks and runs I had planned to walk/run had to be put on the back burner indefinitely.

Now on to the good news. My  new job, as horrible as it may be in terms of pay, does afford me one privilege: I can ride my bike there. It’s about 3.5 miles from home so I’m logging a good 7-8 miles a day which makes me very, very happy. Because of this, I haven’t been on the treadmill since getting the job as my commute is now my daily exercise. It definitely works out.

More good news. As of this post, I’m steady at 195 lbs. which means that after almost a year, I’ve managed to keep it off and even lose a few extra. No, it’s not the 190 I had hoped to be at by now but hey, keeping it off is harder than losing it in the first place. A change in lifestyle definitely worked for me and I’m happy that I chose to do it. Sure, there have been parties and other events in which my eating habits slipped but you know what? I got back on the horse just as I had always done. A day of heavy eating will not kill you, trust me. In fact, I encourage it now and then so you can get it out of your system and get right back into concentrating on being healthy.

Okay, so that’s about all I have for now. Once again, thanks to all for stopping by, commenting, e-mailing, etc. I hope this little blog continues to inspire people to never lose sight of their weight loss goal, no matter how impossible it may seem.

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And this is where I have a problem.

Quite frequently, some of my posts immediately show up in the “Incoming Links” section of WordPress. I was curious to see who was linking these as I figured maybe, just maybe, it was someone keeping track of their progress and using my posts as examples.

I was wrong.

It turns out that they are being linked to a site called “Weight Loss blog” (or http://weight-loss-pills.biz/weight-loss/ I won’t give them the pleasure of adding a link). Whoever owns the so-called “blog” is extracting information from others—presumably automatically and without their permission—and using as that original content in order to sell diet pills at their online drug store (http://weight-loss-pills.biz/). And I’m not cool with that.

(Here a few examples, linked only because it’s my friggin’ content.)

So let me go on the record by stating the following:

This entry originally posted on 200by40 on July 21, 2008.

If you are reading this post on “Weight Loss blog” or any other site that steals original content in order to make their site look legit and peddle products, please know that I do not endorse these sites nor do I wish to have my posts linked to it. Unfortunately, I have little or no control over it, hence this statement. Note that I am losing weight without the use of pills or surgery, which is why my blog is essential—to show that it is possible to lose it without throwing money away on snake oil.

Posts you see from 200by40 that end up on “Weight Loss blog” and others like it are used without my permission or consent. Please refer back to 200by40 for the original post as well as my journal on how I am losing weight the right way—through a lifestyle change that involves proper diet and exercise, not a so-called miracle in a bottle.

There, I feel better now

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That’s why I’ve added that nifty little Amazon Wish List button to the right. It will be updated frequently and contains all sorts of stuff that would be cool to have.

Anyway, give it a gander if you dare. And remember that this is a wish list so most of the things on there will be expensive.

Have a great weekend!

That’s right, I bought my own domain for this blog. That means I’m committed more than ever to make my weight loss goal happen. I mean, why else would I spend $10 for the domain name and another $10 to WordPress to route it here?

Anyway…that’s all I’ve got for now. I just got through with 50 minutes of Wii Fit and I need to change my shirt. I save the jogging for the last workout since that’s the one that works me hardest, and why I need to change badly. I stink.

Go ahead and update your bookmarks or RSS subscriptions to point to www.200by40.com, even though the old domain of 200by40.wordpress.com will still work.

See you tomorrow for another weigh-in!

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For all those concerned about the future of this blog, allow me to clarify a few things.

With the exception of more frequent product reviews, I can assure you nothing will change. You won’t see my blog sponsored by Kraft Foods, South Beach Living products or any other brand name. As you know, I’m pleased to mention the name of any product I’ve used, whether it’s in a positive or negative light. That’s how things are in the world of blogging–it’s all about opinion, and the reviews of these products will be no different.

As far as the reviews of the South Beach Living products go, know that this was completely unplanned and unsolicited. While I had tried some of them in the past and did approve of them (save for that nasty sugar-free Jell-O that comes standard with the wraps), I had no idea that I would be approached via e-mail by a representative at Kraft Foods’ public relations firm, Weber Shandwick, to sample new products and write reviews about them. This comes totally out of the blue and believe me, I’m about as shocked as you are.

But there are a few reasons I decided to delve into this.

As a former magazine writer, I live for the opportunity to express my thoughts. Anybody that writes a blog must have some desire to write in them (note: I have two blogs). While I worked for the magazine I had the opportunity to attend many promotional events in order to digest the information given to me, write an article based on said information, and have it published so our readers could make an informed decision on products or services that might appeal to them.

I see this as being no different. By allowing me to sample new products free of charge, I can then give you, my loyal readers, the lowdown on each of them and allow you to decide on whether you want to give them a shot or not. You might even learn a little bit about my taste in foods, like the fact that I can’t stand mushrooms or olives. Any product containing either will automatically lose a star in my book.

Some might see this as a conflict of interest since I am following the Weight Watchers Points Program and consuming South Beach Living products. I don’t. Remember that Weight Watchers allows you to eat anything as long as its in controlled portions. South Beach Living products fit perfectly because of their high fiber content, which means that they will be low in Points. Also note that I am not a paid spokesperson for Weight Watchers; I only mention them since I am following their program.

I hope all of this makes sense. Thanks for reading this far and following my progress over the past few months. The products should be arriving at my door on Friday and I’m excited about this opportunity.

And, at long last, I’m slowly chipping away at the 220s! In fact, here’s some notes on today.

As is the case on every second Tuesday of the month, it was Bagel Day at work. But rather than have one for breakfast I opted for my usual bowl of cereal at home, taking a bagel to my desk so that I could have it for lunch. Talk about temptation–a cheesy bagel sitting your desk just waiting to be eaten…

But I resisted. I had a cup of fruit–watermelon, pineapple and grapes–for one snack, the bagel for lunch, a granola bar for another snack and a (homemade) tuna salad sandwich for dinner. So despite it being Bagel Day, I think I did alright.

Whew, I think that’s enough for tonight. Here’s looking forward to Father’s Day when I dig into my homemade barbecued hamburger(s)

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But within those numbers–I’m thinking it was a recent product review–was something that a PR firm representing Kraft Foods liked and thought was worth writing to me about.

Here’s the story. I checked my e-mail today and after sifting through the usual spam, I came across an e-mail that, in all honesty, I was about to mark as spam.

But it was a good thing I didn’t.

The missive was from a representative at the aforementioned PR firm informing me that Kraft Foods has launched a new line of South Beach Living food products, and they were willing to send me samples of them all in exchange for an honest review of each. My never-to-be-humble reviews would then be posted right here for all of my readers to enjoy. (Note: I’ve already tried a few of these items and yes, they are very good.)

I replied, happily agreeing to the deal. I also sent my mailing address so they know where to send the goods. I needed a change from the meals I’d been packing for lunch anyhow.

So let’s do a quick review: Me, some dude with a weight loss blog, getting food samples from the world’s largest PR firm made by the world’s second-largest food and beverage company.

Wow. This is nuts, people. Can somebody please explain to me what the heck just happened?

Anyhow, that’s what I’ve got so far. I’ll be watching for the UPS/FedEX/Airborne Express/DHL truck in the coming days, delivering my box of foodstuffs. And of course, you’ll see everything here.

Stay tuned for more information. This should be good!

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