I decided to go ahead and post this since I haven’t written anything in a long time and to share my culinary expertise with the world. After all, a great meal always makes everybody happy, right?

Okay, so a little background on this. We always used to have tuna sandwiches when we were kids and they were, for the lack of a better term, pretty bland: tuna, mayo, relish. Not much imagination going on there.

Then one day, Mom decided to go a little crazy—by adding tomatoes. Again, not much happening there.

As the years went on I took the basic ingredients and expanded them in order to give the concoction better potency and flavor. And the family will agree that after years of experimenting, I think I have finally gotten it right.

So if you’re ready, let’s begin! Note that this is for the entire sandwich, hence the bagel at the end of the recipe.

Here’s what you’ll need (for one serving):

• (1) can of tuna (preferably Trader Joe’s Light Tongol in Water)
• (.5) lemon (or substitute with ReaLemon)
• (1.5) tbsp. Best Foods (or Hellman’s for you east-coasters) Light Mayonnaise
• French’s Mustard
• Trader Joe’s Lemon Pepper (with grinder)
• (2) Diced Vlasic Sweet Gherkins (DO NOT use relish! It defeats the purpose!)
• Diced red onion
• Diced tomatoes
• (1) Thomas’ Bagel Thins, Everything variety

Start with draining the can of tuna as much as you can. It’s gotta be pretty dry considering all of the stuff that’s going to go into it.

Next, start chopping up all of your vegetables. I insist on the two sweet gherkins per serving/can but as far as the onions and tomatoes go, try about an ounce of each. Or you can say, “Screw you, Dave! I’ll put as much or as little as I want!” which is cool, too. Just make sure to include them both.

Pour all of that stuff in a bowl.

Then comes the Best Foods/Hellman’s Light Mayonnaise, 1.5 tablespoons. And while you’re at it, throw in the mustard, which should be one good squeeze but not a whole lot. In short, the portion should look like this:

Once you have all that, get your Trader Joe’s Lemon Pepper ready. Grind it about 10 times and toss it in the mix. Then finally, squeeze the entire lemon half or ReaLemon (using about the same amount of mustard) into the bowl.

Before you start mixing it all up, toast the Thomas’ Bagel Thin so that it’ll be ready by the time you’re done. Start mixing it all up then give the mixture a taste to see if it needs anything else. At this point, I occasionally add another two grinds of the lemon pepper or a squirt of lemon.

And when the bagel’s done, add the tuna salad mix and in this case, a slice of 2%American cheese. You’ll then have something that looks like this:

As you can see, not only do you have enough tuna salad for the sandwich, you also have a enough to eat on the side or even save for the next day. And if you add it all up, you’re looking at:

• 400 calories (give or take a few)
• 14g fat
• 48g protein
• 5g fiber

Note that those numbers include the cheese which is something I decided to throw in as an extra ingredient today. Naturally, excluding the cheese will bring them down a bit. And while the fat content might be a little high, look at all the protein you get! That’s nearly the RDA for protein all in one sandwich so that you can use to do some running or other exercising! Keep in mind that you can substitute the light mayonnaise with alternatives that are much lower in fat, but you truly do sacrifice some of the flavor in doing so.

Another alternative to this sandwich is to put it on regular bread and stuff it in a panini maker so that you can make a tuna melt. It’s darn good if I do say so myself.

And what’s great about this is that tuna tends to be on the cheap side so you can buy it in bulk, and chances are you already have most of this stuff in your fridge, so the cost of the meal will be very low. It works out all the way around!

Well, there you have it. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

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.

—
Share this post:

: : : : : : : : : :

If you’re in the area, stop on by and say hi! There will be appetizers!

More info can be seen at the Fat2Fit Web site. Hope to see you there!

UPDATE: I went down to the Long Beach Town Center, found a parking spot a mile away (as is usually the case there), went into Islands, asked the girl about the group and she had no idea what I was talking about. I then walked around the place a few times to see if I could find Jeff or Russ or a group of people. All I saw was a few baseball teams–and neither host. So at this point I gave up and went home.

This is really, really disappointing! I’ve been looking forward to this event since the day it was announced and now that it’s here, I couldn’t seem to take advantage of it. I even braved the parking lot of that awful shopping center and came home empty-handed.

Too bad…

Click to enlarge

<< BTW, this is NOT the best picture of me. My face looks…well, deformed or something.

This is a goodbye of sorts.

As you may well know, I started 200by40.com with the intent of tracking my weight loss progress as I tried to reach my goal of weighing 200 lbs. by my 40^th birthday.

Today is February 14^th, which is also happens to be my 40^th birthday and, as you may also know, I reached my goal of 200 lbs. on September 27, 2008—way ahead of schedule.

I have decided that, while I have derived great pleasure in blogging about everything having to do with [my] weight loss, it’s time to put things into perspective and temporarily walk away from the blog.

While this may not be the final post here, it may well be the last one for a long time as I will now concentrate on training for the Disneyland 5k—my first one ever—taking place this September. In between now and then I will do a few 5k walks and, should I have a camera with me, I will post pictures of the events. And don’t worry—all posts will remain intact as will the domain, meaning anything you may have bookmarked will still be in the same place.

Once again, I would like to thank everyone who left comments, e-mailed me, or simply came by to visit (except for you spammers who try and get past Askimet’s death grip–you’re fools for trying!). I do find it a bit humbling and amazing that a normal guy like me would inspire many, many people to get motivated into losing weight. What started out as a simple goal turned out to be something life changing to those who recognized that it’s entirely possible to lose weight if they put their minds to it.

Before I sign off here, I would like to wish all of you good luck with your weight loss program. Regular visitors know that it wasn’t uncommon for me to say things like “You can do it!” or “Never give up!” in my posts. What many don’t realize is that those weren’t just words; I meant them from the bottom of my heart. If I can do this, I have no doubt that anybody can.

Why? Unlike those trying to push diet pills, I’ve been there. I can relate to and understand the struggles of weight loss and being overweight. I know what it’s like to wear size 48 pants, run out of breath when playing with my son, have clothes get smaller and smaller, be ridiculed about my size, be stared at when going to fast food joints, barely fit into the seats on the train, look in the mirror and not like what I see, be intimidated when entering a gym.

But I chose to change all that. I challenged myself to get busy and change my lifestyle and here it is, my 40^th birthday and I weigh 197 lbs. I went from a sloth to someone who is going to run in a 5k. Think you can’t lose weight? I beg to differ. (By the way, at today’s weight I have finally reached the golden 100 lbs. lost level.)

While I could go on forever, I want to share with everybody some things I learned about weight loss since starting this blog. In no particular order, here is that list.

• It’s not easy to lose weight, but it is possible.
• Effective weight loss takes time.
• Diets don’t work, only a change in lifestyle does.
• Keeping it off is just as hard as losing it.
• Reward yourself when you have reached milestones or personal goals.
• Don’t let anything or anybody stop you.
• You control the food, it does not control you.
• Eat less, move more.
• Know your BMR and understand how it works.
• Take pictures of your progress. You won’t regret it.
• Nobody is going to lose the weight for you.
• Don’t be lazy. Stay as busy as possible.
• Everything in moderation, especially treats and sweets.
• You will have “those days”, so don’t let them get you down.
• Regret nothing and make no excuses. If you fall off the horse, brush yourself off and get back on it.
• Stay focused and never lose sight of your goal.
• Find your motivation: a weight goal, your family, etc.
• Don’t resort to pills, diet drinks or other so-called weight loss products, gastic bands or other forms of surgery for weight loss. This is your time to shine, and you can do it because you’re better than all those things.
• Think of everyday tasks (laundry, yard work, etc.) as ways of burning calories, not chores.
• Educate yourself on [proper] nutrition and know what you are putting into your body, your temple. It’s the only one you’ll ever have.
• Don’t push yourself. Know when your body has had enough and needs to rest.
• There are no shortcuts to losing weight—it’s all or nothing, so find that “on” switch and never look back.
• Resist temptation, and finally…
• NEVER GIVE UP

I really mean the last one. Not once during my entire program did I ever stop and tell myself, “You can’t do this.” It was at those times when I got mad and worked even harder. Not once did I doubt myself–I simply refused to give up, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. (In fact, I may consider having the phrase tattooed on my arm somewhere as a reminder of what it took to get where I am today.)

And remember that before starting any weight loss plan, please consult your physician. It only makes sense.

By the way, I found the hamburger I will be eating on my birthday as I promised myself I would. It will not be from the place previously mentioned but instead I will go to Carl’s Jr. for a new item called The Big Carl and oh, it’s a beauty. I almost started drooling when I saw it the other day (when I ordered my usual Charbroiled BBQ Chicken sandwich, by the way–360 calories, 4.5g fat, 4g fiber).

Having practically abstained from eating hamburgers for almost 3 years, I’m not concerend with calories, fat, or anything else I usually take into consideration when eating. I think you’d agree that after losing 100 lbs. the right way, with no pills, no surgeries, no excuses and no regrets, it will be something I truly deserve.

At the top of this post you will find a picture of me, finally posing in my size 48 Fat Guy Pants. Guys and gals, I used to fit in those–seriously. I only kept them as a reminder of where I was and where I am now. I will never fit into them again!

Goodnight, and thanks for everything. Stay focused and never give up–NEVER.

Your friend,
Dave

Oh, and “(weightlossstory485939@gmail.com)” from “(weightlossstory485939@gmail.com)’s Weight Loss Story”? Please stop trying to spam my blog. Your site is a fake, losing that much weight is unhealthy, and you’re just an annoyance now. You’ve been blacklisted and all of your comments will be filtered as spam, and I don’t advertise any “weight loss” products such as yours here. So post real before and after pictures of youself, allow comments on your “blog” and then we’ll talk.

I also moderate all comments so please quit wasting your time. Thank you.

Here’s the post where I thank the products that helped me make it through my journey. For a list of people I thanked some time ago, you can click here.

Ready? Then here we go. Please note that I am not a compensated spokeperson for any of these products; I mention them out the kindness of my heart for helping me reach my goal.

Weight Watchers
While I never went to one meeting or charted my progress online, the Points Program is simple enough to follow that you really don’t need to. (I simply followed the literature my wife had after doing the program years ago.)

Unlike other weight loss programs where you’re practically required to buy their own food products, the Points Program allows you to pretty much eat anything you like, provided you take the time to calculate the Points in each item. 

From there, you determine whether what you’re eating falls into your daily Points intake. Heck, I ate Happy Meals on occasion for 12 Points including fries. While crunching numbers may not be for everybody, I decided that I wanted to get serious about losing weight I had to change my ways. I still count Points to this day, which will no doubt help me maintain what I’ve already lost. 

Another good thing about the Program is that there are quite a few nifty gadgets available that can help you keep tabs of your intake. It’s as easy as that, and I can’t thank the program enough for helping me understand the importance of portion control, not starvation. While I haven’t gotten a book deal for losing my weight, unlike somebody that lost a fraction of what I did and can’t shut up about it, I’m proof that Weight Watchers works. It’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle change.

Trek Bikes
That old saying of “You get what you pay for” is definitely true with Trek bikes. While I was hesitant at first to spend nearly $500 on “just a bike,” I soon realized that a Trek bike wasn’t like any other bike I ever had.

The quality is unbelievable and the ride is just sublime. I’ve put some hard miles on my 7200 model and it’s still begging for more, some of which I will put on it tomorrow when me and The Kid go for a ride while Mom runs a few errands. Even in my heavier days, the bike showed no signs of the burden being put upon it. My only addition to it was my old Garmin GPS unit which tracks just about everything: MPH, distance, elevation, tracks, etc. That just makes the ride more enjoyable.

Trader Joe’s
To the point: I love Trader Joe’s. With such a great selection of healthy foods, it’s no wonder the place it always croweded. But not everything they sell is healthy, which is why it pays to read the nutrition labels (which you should be doing anyhow!) My favorites include their veggie or chicken egg rolls (6 Points for two), 98% fat free bean and cheese burritos (4 Points each), and their unbelievable lentil soup and tuna salad.

Sure, their selection on many items is limited, but for quality food at good prices I’ll gladly make another stop for the other stuff I need.

iPod Shuffle
Walking was part of my daily routine and Apple’s iPod Shuffle made it more enjoyable. I loaded it to capacity with some random tunes, clipped on my person, popped in the headphones and away I went each day during lunch. 

At the low price of $49 for the 1GB model, the iPod Shuffle is sure to make your workout routine a little less of a burden. I know it worked for me!

Wii and Wii Fit
I would have never guess that one day a video game system would be helping me lose weight–and make me sweat!

You might recall how giddy I was when I found a Wii Fit at Target in May. At the time I was about 230 lbs. and broke a sweat just about every time I did anything on it. Over 7 months later, those 30 lbs. are gone and I can do just about any exercise the Wii Fit has to offer and not ever drop one bead of sweat. All I did was add 30 minutes of exercises to my daily routine, which already included at least 30 minutes of walking. Throw in a balanced diet with those two things and I ended up losing 30 of the last 50 lbs. I needed to be at 200 lbs.

Like the Trek bike, the cost was definitely justifiable. 

Subway
This was the perfect alternative to what I normally had for lunch: Lean Cuisines or Smart Ones. In fact as I blogged here, I recently chose to eat lunch there for two weeks by ordering a $5 footlong and splitting it up over two days. Not only was it tasty, it saved me a bit of money as well.

I have my favorites: Veggie Delite, Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki, Turkey Breast and Ham. From there I had condiments added as I so desired, but never got mayonnaise or any oils–I only asked for mustard. Your choices are practically endless so you can mix things up each time you go, and having such a variety is a good thing.

Reebok
When I decided that walking would be a part of my daily routine, I decided I had to buy some shoes that could handle it.

Enter Reebok which, next to Vans, have been my shoe of choice for many years. But rather than buy a few pairs of low-end styles I opted to spend the money on a couple nice pairs of running shoes, and both have held up tremendously. In fact I still wear either pair today, despite being a little worn on the bottom.

Well, I think that about wraps up this “commercial” of sorts. In closing, I’d like to once again thank each and every one of those products for delivering what they promised and helping me make losing weight more enjoyable than I ever thought possible!

I’ll post again when there’s something new to talk about. Until then, don’t lose sight of your goal(s), everybody!

—
Share this post:

: : : : : : : : : :

At any rate, this is just a quick “hello” to you all that have either a) checked back and wondered how things were progressing and b) have come here for the first time and were wondering why last post was almost a month ago.

To sum it up, everything’s fine. I’m maintaining my weight and feel fantastic. It’s been over 3 months since reaching my goal and I still fluctuate between 200 lbs. and 205 lbs. maximum. No big deal; I’ve sort of conditioned myself to make those extra pounds feel like the 97 lbs.+ I lost total. In short, I refuse to go beyond that.

And just to show you that I’m holding up, here’s a picture of me while I was on vacation:

I took the family to Wrightwood, CA so we can all throw snowballs at each other. And boy, did we ever! Note that I am wearing a pretty big jacket so that may add a little poundage to the image, but you guys still aren’t getting a picture of me shirtless. Well, not until I lose those handles I’ve had all my life

That’s all for now. I will be posting something shortly after my nightly Wii Fit routine. Thanks for checking back and see you later. And remember–stick with it and never give up! I’m proof of what you can do when you set your goal and go for it!

—

Share this post:

: : : : : : : : : :

During our last grocery store trip I did something a little unconventional: I didn’t buy any meals for lunch. Nope, not one Lean Cuisine, Smart Ones or anything else I usually eat for lunch at work. Instead I decided to try something different for the next few weeks and see if it saved us some money as well: I chose to eat at Subway for lunch.

The plan is pretty simple. Rather than spend about $3 per frozen meal (even when on sale or with the market’s club card), I figured that spending $5 for a footlong sandwich of my choosing might turn out to be a better deal, if anything more healthy. And being that I only eat half of the sandwich each day, one footlong will last me two days. So once I buy my can of diet soda from the machine at work, I’m looking at about $3 per lunch each day (but could be less if I buy a case of soda!) While that may only save me .50 cents per day, eating something that doesn’t require thawing out or has lots of sodium makes it worth the effort.

Besides, I already have a few low-fat and low-Point Subway 6” favorites:

• Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki*: 370 calories, 5g fat, 7 Points
• Veggie Delite: 230 calories, 3g fat, 4 Points
• Turkey Breast and Ham: 290 calories, 5g fat, 5.5 Points

Info courtesy DWLZ.com. *Usually not part of the $5 Footlong promotion

Of course since they are made to order, I can opt to mix things up a bit. In fact, they accidentally put some mustard on my Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki the other day but rather than have them make a new one, I took it—and it was good! (I also ordered a 6” Turkey Breast and Ham that day, hence the mustard mix-up.)

While work provides us with plenty of fruit, I did still buy 10 Power Bars and some fat-free yogurt for my daily snacks. Granted I was never near what Jared Fogle weighed when he began his Subway deal nor am I eating Subway sandwiches for dinner, but as of now I’m really digging this plan!

Okay, other things. If you recall in my last post (which seemed like an eternity ago), I had mentioned that like mostly everybody, I splurged a little during the Thanksgiving holiday and gained some weight. What I failed to mention was exactly how much I gained.

When I got on the scale that weekend it read—yikes—207 lbs. Now keep in mind that I was still hovering between the 200-202 lbs. mark anyhow, so I saw this as a gain of 5 lbs. And after 4 days of poor eating it was definitely hard to get back on the plan, but that’s exactly what I did. No, it’s what I had to do.

As of now, 10 days after my last post, I’m happy to say that those 5 lbs. are now history and I’m down to 201.4 lbs. Remember also that Thanksgiving week I didn’t walk at lunch so that definitely had an impact on my gain, but I started to walk again on December 1^st and also fired up the Wii Fit (30 minute minimum) at night.

Oh, and one more thing. I was skimming through some old photos last night and found one of me at the local batting cages in 2003. I chose to edit it with a recent shot of me for side-by-side comparison and people, it’s scary! If you wish to view it, click here.

That’s all I have for now. Stay focused, stick with your plan and never surrender—NEVER!

—

Bookmark this post:

: : : : : : : : :

Yesterday Ann and I had the pleasure of attending two children’s birthday parties: one at Chuck E. Cheese’s and the other at the home of our son’s friend. Needless to say it was a say of eating, but one in which I didn’t really sit down to enjoy any sort of meal. I simply grazed on the food that was there, chased the kids around, snacked again, chased the kids again, etc. It was a tiring day for sure.

But one of the best parts of both parties was when I was approached by a few residents/parents that complimented me on my weight loss. While one jokingly told me to stop since I was getting so skinny, the other two were more interested in how much I had lost and how I did it.

“Nearly 100 lbs. on Weight Watchers,” was my reply to both.

Well, it was “only” 98 lbs. to be exact but who’s counting, right?

I then went into short detail about how simple the program is but, as may be the case with many weight loss programs, how difficult it can be to stick to it. Both of them had stories of people they knew: one successful and one that was just the opposite. I told them that I knew exactly how hard it was to stick to it or any other program, but it is possible. By then it was time to go and see what all of the kids were up to again, presumably no good!

Guys and gals, as someone that used to weight nearly 300 lbs. and wear size 48 pants (now 200 lbs. and almost size 36), I’d be lying if I said that I don’t like having my ego stroked now and then about my weight loss. Never at any point in my life have I felt more confident of received as many flattering comments as I have once I lost all the weight. And if you’re in the same boat I was, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind it, either.

So as you go through your weight loss routine by eating the right foods, sweating away on the treadmill or doing whatever it is you do for your daily exercise, know that there will be a reward for you at the end of your journey: lots of accolades.

And believe me, you will enjoy them!

To my always outrageous wife, Ann, who graciously put up with my heartaches, triumphs, successes and failures over these past few years. She’s been the preparer of meals, my rock in my darkest hours, the yin to my yang.

In addition to listening to me complain even more than you readers have on this blog, she’s been married to me for over 15 years. At least you guys can close your browser if you get tired of me; she lives with this. If anybody deserves any kind of recognition for anything, I think it’s her. Take a bow, sugar beet!

To my son, Anthony. It took looking into those little brown eyes in 2006 for me to wake up and realize that I had an obligation to fulfill: to raise him with the healthiest father he can have.

The way I saw it, it was unfair to him to have Daddy be a lazy oaf that didn’t have the energy to keep up with him, carry him, or just do the stupid things that sons and fathers are known to do together. Fortunately, things are a bit different today and I’m glad to report that he gets winded trying to keep up with me, not the other way around.

So thanks, Anthony, and I hope you’re prepared to go on that camping and hiking expedition I’ve been promising next year. We’ve both earned it. I love you both!

To my doctor–that really is him in the picture–who made me realize that I was headed down an unhealthy path, one filled with health complications that I would have rather not dealt with. It was his recommendation of Weight Watchers that got the proverbial ball rolling and made me realize that this was something that I needed to do.

Thanks a million, doc. After hearing about your surgery, it was you to whom I dedicated losing my last pounds. I wish for your speedy recovery and I’m glad I didn’t let you down. I hope you recognize me next time I visit you.

Finally, thanks to all of you who subscribed to this blog or my personal blog and kept yourself updated on my progress. I’ve read and responded to all of your comments so I think you know that they definitely meant something to me and weren’t just a bunch of words strung together. In particular, I’d like to thank:

• Kimberly at LadyGypsy.net who often dropped in to see what condition my condition was in and always left amusing and flattering comments. I’ve been a fan of her blog for years so having her stop by sprinkle her colorful bits wit and wisdom here and on my personal blog is always a treat. Thanks, Kim(berly)!
• Preston at Me and the Blue Skies who claims to be a fatty but weighs less than I do. His blog is nine kinds of funny and definitely worth a gander. Thanks, Preston, and keep your eyes on the prize. You’ll do it!
• Twisted Cinderella who, like me, writes a personal and is also writing about her trials and tribulations in the world of losing weight. That takes a lot of work and dedication, people, especially with a family. And all I can tell her is this: stick with it and you’ll be fine!
• Lisa Winternitz who came across this blog and sent me some free South Beach Living products for my consumption and review. Thanks, Lisa, for finding me and giving me the opportunity to try and review these products.
• All of you who have linked to me on your own blog. There are quite a few and while I can’t name them all here, thanks for reading 200by40 and adding a link to your blog. It’s really appreciated.

And believe it or not, there are a few people I’d like to NOT thank, including:

• My high school art teacher, who was probably one of the most arrogant people I have ever known. He once told me I’d never accomplish anything while I was working on a project in class. Over 97 Well over 100 lbs. later, I beg to differ.
• To a reader calling themselves Web Lover, who left an insightful comment in this post about my weight / pants size. I’d love to see what they look like when they are not behind the guise of the Internet.
• All of those so-called blogs that stole my content and posted it on theirs in the hopes that my success would push sales of their diet pills/snake oil. I hope you got NOTHING in return.

Yes, on one hand it can be a bit of an ego this writing about your weight loss on a blog and damn near bragging to the world that you’ve reached goal, but I prefer to see it as being an inspiration to anybody who’s been turned off at the thought of losing weight or, dare I say it, go on a “diet.”

A diet won’t get you where you want to be in the long run; they are only temporary solutions. Only a change in lifestyle will yield the results you wish for, and will maintain for good.

I’m glad all of you went along on this journey with me, but there is still much left to do. No, there is! The next few milestones on the slate are:

• Reach the 100 lbs. lost mark. With only a few pounds to go, that shouldn’t be too difficult. I will not be setting a time frame for this; it will happen when it happens.
• Reach my new weight of 190 lbs. No, I’m not changing the name of the blog; being 200 lbs. by my 40th birthday was the original goal. I changed my goal to 190 as a way to get past those last few pounds that didn’t seem to want to go away and it worked like a charm.

With those two goals in mind, it means that the blog will obviously continue as will the Weekly Weigh-Ins until I deem they are no longer necessary to post. By then, maintenance will be the big challenge but if I’ve made it this far, it shouldn’t be much of a problem.

So again, thanks (or no thanks) again to all! Next up on the Thank You list: products.

See you soon

—
Bookmark this post:

: : : : : : : : :

Finally!

The finally tally:

• Starting weight: 297.1 lbs.
• Today’s weight: 199.9 lbs.
• Total weight lost: 97.2 lbs.
• Total time: 2 years, 9 months, 27 days

So what’s next? I’m going to Disneyland. No seriously, I am! The family and I are heading out not to celebrate my victory but to just have some fun. Lots of walking to be had.

But I thought I’d leave you with this before I go out for the day. The video below is for the song “Limelight” by The Alan Parsons Project. While it may seem cheesy, almost akin to Michael Bolton’s “When I’m Back on My Feet Again,” the songs lyrics are what often carried me through this journey. I swear, if it were a record I would have worn it or the needle out. (Kids, go ask your parents.)

So meaningful were they that I quoted a portion of them on my banner. But please, don’t let me tell you what to think. Check out the video and lyrics below to see what I mean.

I can see the glow of a distant sun
I can feel it inside
Maybe this day could be the one

I can hear the roar of a distant crowd
They are waiting for me
Calling my name
Shouting out loud

Holding on isn’t always easy
I ain’t gonna change my mind

Limelight, you were all I ever wanted since it all began
Limelight, shining on me, telling the world who I am
Limelight, don’t let me slip right through your fingers
There’s a long way to fall
After the years of waiting
I’m gonna show them all

I can see the world in a different light
Now it’s easy to say
Where I went wrong
What I did right

I can hear the beat of a different drum
Take it all in my stride
Hold my head high
Second to none

Holding on wasn’t always easy
Nothing can change my mind

Limelight, you were all I ever wanted since it all began
Limelight, shining on me, telling the world who I am
Limelight, don’t let it slip right through your fingers
There’s a long way to fall
After all the years of waiting, I’m gonna show them all

Maybe the role’s not easy, maybe the prize is small
After all the years of waiting, I’m gonna show them all

My next post or update will be my acceptance speech, if you will, in which I thank everybody who played a part in this. And if you’re reading this, what else is there to say?

I thank you very much for the support. It is most appreciated. I hope this blog has served as an inspiration to you in your quest to lose either 5 lbs. or 95 lbs. Whatever your goal, keep in mind that you can do it with some hard work, sacrifice, patience, exercise and an education on eating right. You have to want it–simple as that.

I’ve said this a million times here but I’ll say it again: if someone like me can do it, I have no doubt that ANYBODY can.

Comments as usual are welcome but since I will be out today they will not be moderated, so don’t be surprised if you see lots of spam or otherwise. I will weed through it all when I get home are now being moderated as usual!

More later, and definitely in the future. I’m not done yet

Your friend,
Dave

—
Bookmark this post:

: : : : : : : : :