Okay, so my last post was late September. That meant that my son, now almost 6, started kindergarten and I became Mr. Mom by being his chauffeur to and from school. I devoted my time at home to do housework which mostly consisted of laundry. And being that I’m still unemployed, that left a lot of time to sit around the house and do a whole lot of nothing.

It became a habit going into the holiday season and by the time they were all over in January, the combination of laziness and holiday indulgences proved to be a bad thing–a really bad thing.

As a result of this, I was almost up to 205 lbs. and had gained nearly 10 pounds by the end of January. Not only was I unhappy with what had happened, I was angry with myself. Not to mention that my size 36 pants were getting a little um…snug. It’s not like I immediately started eating bad foods again; I just couldn’t control myself during the holidays. And really, who can? It’s the ultimate test of wills.

Another factor was my choice of beverage. I got back into the bad habit of drinking diet sodas once again, something which I had put a complete halt to during my program. Needless to say, it had a negative impact on my weight.

Knowing I had had enough, I kicked myself into losing weight the right way and got back on the wagon.

I started to walk again, now covering between 3-5 miles each time I head out. When I’m walking not out in the great outdoors, I’ve been spending my time on the treadmill and again, running between 3-5 miles or 30-60 minutes at a time. When I’m not in the walking mood, I’m riding my bike at least 10 miles each trip.

I’ve also added something new to my routine. After we got our taxes done, my wife Ann and I decided to buy a birthday gift for each other. I was torn between a new bike or a 64GB iPod Touch and when I weighed the options, the iPod Touch won by a mile. The way I saw it, my bike was still in great shape and only needs some TLC to get it ready for…something. More on that later.

At any rate, my new iPod Touch has the Nike + iPod system built into it, something I had been curious about for some time now. So I went ahead and bought the iPod, the Nike + sensor, and a sensor pouch (since my feet and Nike shoes don’t quite get along).

My assessment as a non-professional athlete? It’s pretty cool. There a number of workouts to choose from (Basic, Time, Distance, Calorie) and each keeps track of your distance, calories burned, pace, and when you press the Home button, your stats are spoken to you so you don’t have to look down at the screen while you’re on the go. And if you’re really good and set a personal best, the voice of Lance Armstrong himself congratulates you on your achievement. It’s cool the first few times but after that it’s completely a novelty.

As far as accuracy goes, I measured the distance the Nike + iPod app recorded against Google Earth. I was surprised to learn that it was fairly accurate, provided I had it calibrated. All in all, it’s a great motivator/workout partner and I’d recommend it to anybody interested in an easy way to keep track of their walks or runs. In fact, it motivated me enough to join two Challenges on the NikeRunning site: 210 Miles in 2010 and St. Paddy’s Lucky Runner Challenge (10 miles in 10 days). And if you want to see my progress, check out my Nike + profile on the NikeRunning site.

Oh yes, the “something” I had mentioned earlier? Here’s what that’s about. Since my knees can’t handle the punishment of jogging out in the real world (but the treadmill is just fine), I have decided to not run in any 5ks. Walks, however, are still in the slate.

Taking all of those things into consideration, I have chosen to participate in the Long Beach Marathon’s Bike Tour, which is happening this October. Yes, 26.2 miles of riding my favorite bike through the lovely city I call my home. I’m actually ready for it right now but I guess I have to wait until October which, at this point, seems light years away. For fun, I will have my Flip Video camera attached to my bike and shoot clips of my progress, how I’m feeling, etc. as the race goes on.

No, I’m not in it to win it. This is something I’m doing to once again prove to myself that I made a lifestyle change, not participate in some fad diet that would have no doubt failed me by now.

Hope you are doing well with your programs!

Okay, here we go. As of today I’m at 193 lbs., which isn’t still the 190 lbs. I had planned to be at by now. That doesn’t necessarily make me a failure as much as the inability to run the Disneyland 5k does but hey, I’ve kept the weight off and managed to lose a few more pounds in the process. To me, that defines success.

As far as an updated picture goes, yes, I have one of those, too:

As was the case last year, we spent the day celebrating at Disneyland since we have Annual Passes. The only notable differences in my appearance besides weighing slightly less? I now have a goatee and yesterday, got my ears pierced. Yes, I did. Must be a Midlife Crisis thing

So there’s your anniversary update and as I’ve said many times over, if I can do this, I know that anybody can. All it takes is a commitment and the willingness to follow through with it.

Thanks, and I’ll post when anything changes—hopefully for the good!

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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In the process I came across an old negative of me and my brother at Disneyland, circa 2000 or so. And I have to admit that this is probably the most flabbergasted I’ve been about an old picture of me since my weight loss. At any rate, here it is and note that it was fuzzy to begin with:

Yeah, so um…I looked like a cartoon character that was run over by a steamroller or something. I was that big, people.

Now here I am last weekend at a birthday party for one of The Kid’s friends (who were cropped out not because I’m being mean, but just to show me a bit closer for comparison purposes):

I’m using that first picture as a reminder to never, ever go back to that lifestyle.

Gotta go. The treadmill awaits me…

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I am a regular listener of the Fat2Fit podcasts and hosts Jeff and Russ often read e-mails from their listeners, whether questions or success stories. I sent an e-mail to them over a month ago explaining how I lost over 100 lbs. and lo and behold, today it finally made the podcast.

You can give it a listen at their site or download it from iTunes. They begin reading my e-mail at about 7:12 but hey, don’t just listen for me. The podcast is fantastic and one of the few I subscribe to (in addition to Leo Laporte’s Tech Guy podcast). If you’re trying to lose some weight, Fat2Fit really does the job by speaking of weight loss in plain English, not some mumbo-jumbo.

Thanks to Jeff and Russ for reading my note and for giving my weight loss blog some notes. I appreciate everything and keep up the great work!

UPDATE: I forgot to mention this. In the podcast, you hear me mention that I take the train to work and walk during my lunch hour. Well, the job that afforded me such privileges has since laid me off so I no longer take walks while at work. This isn’t entirely a bad thing–I can ride my bike to my new job which is about 5 miles away by bike trail (or 3 miles by street). I plan on doing it every other day at first then possibly every day later. Staying fit while saving gas. Now there’s a winning combination if I’ve ever heard one!

And when I say “a case of diet soda” I meant a 12-pack, not a flat of 24 cans. Juft FYI.

The original e-mail transcript is after the break. Enjoy!

First off, I would like to thank you for the fantastic podcast you put together for your listening audience. I discovered it while roaming through iTunes for a weight loss podcast that spoke to me as a person and not a brain or someone who needed spiritual enlightenment to shed pounds. I’ve tried many and none of them ever got me to subscribe, but Fat2Fit hits the nail on the head and does it well.

Second, a special thanks to host (and fellow Long Beach resident) Russ Turley for stopping my weight loss blog, www.200by40.com, and leaving a kind comment on a post in which I gave the Fat2Fit podcast some kind words.

The result of all of this was a loss of just over 100 lbs. in a little under 3 years, which I have kept off for nearly 6 months. But to say that all of this was easy, even though it took years to shed, is an understatement. Believe me, there were times in my 230s when I thought I had plateaued and couldn’t go any further. But despite it all, not once during my weight loss program did I ever lose sight of my goal or tell myself that I couldn’t do this. It was at those difficult times when I really shined by telling myself that nobody was to blame for letting my body get the way it did. I got mad at myself and worked even harder to lose the weight because nobody was going to lose it for me. I turned the switch on, took no excuses and made no regrets. I moved on whenever times got tough and worked right through them.

Now, am I some kind of fitness nut that thinks he now knows it all? No, I’m far from that. I still have an occasional slice of pizza or a donut but in moderation (which is the key to success). I’m just a guy that was tired of being fat and decided to do something about it rather than sit around and mope about how his size 48 pants and XXL shirts were getting more snug. (By the way, I now wear size 36 pants and L shirts!)

P.S. My new goal is 190 lbs. which I will get to. But for now, I’m enjoying what I’ve accomplished thus far!

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Today is March 27, 2009, which also happens to be six months from the day I reached my weight loss goal of 200 lbs. (or as was the case on September 27, 2008, 199.9 lbs.). Can you believe it’s already been six months? I sure can’t!

So how much as changed since then? Let’s find out.

Today’s weight: 195 lbs. I am this much closer to reaching my final goal of 190 lbs.!

So as you can see, I not only managed to keep the weight off, I lost a few more pounds to boot. And keep in mind that was after Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day, my surprise 40^th birthday party, a St. Patrick’s Day potluck at work, my wife’s birthday and my son’s birthday party last week, where I consumed three slices of pizza, two hot dogs and a variety of other foodstuffs. As I told a friend not too long ago, the real struggle wasn’t losing the weight—it’s keeping it off. I seem to have done just that over the past six months.

As far as the 5k walks go, by rights I should have already completed a handful of events by now but because of unforeseen expenses, they had to be put off. I still have a few in mind, as well as the Disneyland 5k run. I still need to start running on pavement (versus the treadmill) to get a feel for it.

I do have a few other things to share with everybody, all of which happened within the last few days.

First, I was contacted by a reader that wanted to share a link with me. Those that have read this blog know that I’m pretty picky when it comes to sharing links, especially those trying to disguise themselves as weight loss blogs but are actually snake oil vendors.

While this page may advertise some colleges on its homepage, I was impressed with the articles they had already posted and the one that was sent to me: 50 Easy Ways to Lose Weight While at Work.

There are a lot of things on that page which I already do, such as walking during lunch, snacking on healthy foods, and taking the stairs instead of the elevator. It just goes to show you that even if you work the most sedentary job, you can do what it takes to lose weight while at work. In short, and as I’ve said over and over again on the blog, there are no excuses.

Also, I was contacted by a journalist / Facebook user about my thoughts on Wii Fit and the Wii in general. She had a list of interview questions for me that I answered and sent back, and they should be going live on her site within a few days.

And finally, if there was ever any kind of way to get you thinking about what you eat, I invite you to check out This Is Why You’re Fat. The site is nothing more than a collection of photographs featuring home-cooked items that are, above all else, creative to say the least. But just as its name implies, eating foods such as those featured on the site give you a good idea as to why you may be overweight. I admit that a few items on that site definitely look tasty, but most are things I wouldn’t even consider. No nutritional information is provided for obvious reasons. My God, I think I had a stroke just looking at some of those foods.

Well, that’s all I have for you until I get word that the story I was interviewed for goes live. See you later and stay focused! By the way, my Traineo badge on the right has been showing 46 lbs. lost instead of my actual total. I don’t know what’s going on there!

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.

• Weekly Weigh-In #4, Phase 2: 199.4 lbs.
• Last Week’s Weigh-In: 200.9 lbs. 
• Gain/loss of: -1.5 lbs.
• Phase 2 Loss: 3.9 lbs.
• Pounds to Go: 9.4 lbs.
• Weight Loss to Date: 97.7 lbs.

Well, those numbers aren’t exactly earth shattering but hey, I’ll take them loss nonetheless!

I feel better about this week’s loss when compared to last week’s weigh-in when, in case you couldn’t tell, I was pretty frustrated. There’s no doubt in my mind that I still won’t reach my goal of 190 lbs. by my birthday but I’m not entirely mad about it. Slow and steady wins the race, and I bit off more than I could chew with that goal.

Remember, too, that my original plan was in this order:

1. 200 lbs. by my 40th birthday (which I met)
2. 100 lbs. lost (not quite there yet)
3. 190 lbs. (whenever I got there)

So as you can see, I skipped a step and tried to speed up things without much success. That’s not the way I had planned so it’s back to Square One. Phase 2 is officially over; I will now focus on being at the 100 lbs. lost mark and then reaching 190 lbs.

Ah, exercise. I chose not to do my 30+ minutes of the treadmill last night because, quite simply, I needed a break (as we all do). I have been on the thing each night for at least 30 minutes and last night I was just too tired to do it and on Monday night, I think I pushed myself a bit too much and didn’t feel too good when I was done. So I decided to take a break.

As far as the 5k walks go, there’s a chance I might skip the one in a few weeks. Finances are a bit tight and we need the money to take care of other things, so I may bypass this one and work on the next few in March and April. No biggie. But if I do choose to walk, of course you’ll see it here.

And the Disneyland 5k run? Oh, you bet that’s still on!

See you later

• Weekly Weigh-In #3, Phase 2: 200.9 lbs.
• Last Week’s Weigh-In: 202.0 lbs. 
• Gain/loss of: -1.1 lbs.
• Phase 2 Loss: 2.4 lbs.
• Pounds to Go: 10.9 lbs.
• Weight Loss to Date: 96.1 lbs.

The bad news: it’s looking less and less likely that I will be at 190 lbs. by my birthday, so I’m officially lifting that as my goal date. It’s just not happening.

The good news: I ran 5k on the treadmill last night! 

More later…

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