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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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…

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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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 #1; Phase 2: 202.5 lbs.
• Phase 2 Starting Weight: 203.3 lbs.
• Gain/loss of: -0.8 lbs.
• Pounds to Go: 12.5 lbs.
• Weight Loss to Date: 94.5 lbs.

The scale was acting funny this morning, fluctuating between all sorts of numbers. My weight for today is an average of all of them and for the first few days I’d say that’s not too bad. We’ll see how things pan out over the next few weeks.

As I mentioned at the start of this post, I’m going to do things a little different this time around just to shake things up. First and most notably I have decided to abandon my Weight Watchers Point Excel chart for the month, and there are a few reasons for this: a) I need something different and b) after listening to a great podcast the other day, I discovered the importance of BMR.

What is BMR? It’s your Basal Metabolic Rate, or the amount of calories you burn by simply doing nothing–even sleeping. No matter what you’re doing, you burn calories and how many you burn depends on your height, weight and age. (To determine your BMR, go here.) After determining what your BMR is, it’s important to know that that number–mine is 1954.49–is what your body needs in order to maintain your current weight. If you want to shed some weight, simply take in less than your recommended BMR or exercise some more. 

My next change also goes hand-in-hand with the BMR thing. I discovered a fantastic (and free) iPhone/iPod Touch app on the iTunes store called Lose It! This app is probably one of the best I’ve come across because it keeps track of everything: weight, calorie intake, activities/calories burned, goal date, and also has a thorough database of foods to choose from when entering what you’ve eaten. If it’s not there, you can create your own data for it and save it for future use.

In my case, I was allowed 1,637 calories–just slightly lower than my BMR. Calories are tallied up as you enter your food intake and the app determines how many calories you have left to consume to stay in your safe zone. And if you add activities, the appropriate number of calories is subtracted from your total. Can it get any simpler than that? I don’t think so!

And let me tell you: seeing intake in calories vs. Points is a real kick in the gut. 

On the Wii Fit front, I have chosen to run the Island Lap while holding 5 lb. dumbells in each hand. I started that last night and noticed a considerable difference while “jogging” as I sweated much more than usual. Also, I found a little hidden extra in the “jogging” portion of the game. If you follow the different colored dogs, you run at a swifter pace than following a standard Mii. I tried it and yes, it does seem much faster!

Finally, I had mentioned earlier a podcast I discovered so I thought I’d give it a mention. It’s called Fat 2 Fit and it’s pretty much a couple of guys talking weight loss on a human level. Nothing complicated; no degrees in anatomy required. You just listen to what they have to say about their progress, answer listener e-mail, get tips from others, and discover Web sites or other valuable information. (That’s how I found out about BMR!) It’s a good listen and I’d recommend it to anybody who wants to lose weight but doesn’t know where to start.

You can give the Fat 2 Fit podcast a listen here:

I think that’s enough for today. If you don’t hear from me the rest of the week, I’ll see you here next Wednesday. Stay focused!

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But even after losing my weight, I’m not entirely satisfied.

If you recall, because I had reached my goal so far ahead of time, I committed myself to getting down to 190 lbs. I had referred to this next step as Phase 2–and it starts tomorrow.

Yes, after taking it easy and staying within a range of +/- 5 lbs. over 3 months after reaching my goal, I have decided that it is indeed time to take the plunge and get to 190 lbs. by my 40th birthday which is a little over a month away (February 14th). At my current weight of 203.0 lbs., that means I need to lose an average of 3.25 lbs. per week, slightly more than my doctors’ recommendation.

I’m not going to get too confident and call this a piece of cake. In fact I shouldn’t even try to lose it so quickly–13 lbs. in a month may be a bit lofty, but I’m going to try my best to make it. Even if I only lose 10 lbs. then I’ll consider it a success.

I started tonight by engaging myself in an hour of Wii Fit as opposed to my standard 30 minutes. My son and I also rode our bikes a little over a mile today and I drained, cleaned and waxed our spa. Hey, every little bit of activity helps, you know. My next step may be to buy My Fitness Coach since, even though it has proven itself as very efficient, Wii Fit’s activities can become quite monotonous after so long. Note that I said “may” about My Fitness Coach because I’m still up in the air about it, even if I do have a few gift cards to burn.

This also means that I will be breaking out the Weight Watchers Points Excel chart and that the Weekly Weigh-Ins are back if only for 4 weeks. I haven’t done either since reaching 200 lbs. so I think now is the time bring them back! About the only change there is that they will be posted on Wednesdays instead of Tuesdays as in the past. This Wednesday is the 14th–exactly 1 month from my birthday, which falls on a Saturday this year. I’m beginning with today’s weight and taking it from there.

So now I need to shift my focus and re-commit myself to losing the weight I promised myself I would lose. I’ve noticed some dangerous behaviors in the last 3 months–snacking being the real killer–and I know they must change. And while I’ve tried to keep myself busy I know I can do better.

I’ve already bought the right foods for at least this week’s lunch; I will buy more healthy goodies on Friday when I get paid.

There you have it. Again, My current weight is 203.0 lbs. and it’s time to get this rockin’. See you Wednesday!

Note: I’ve added a new button to the “Share This Post” clutter at the bottom. If you would like to e-mail this post, simply click on the “via e-mail” icon and your default e-mail program will open up with a link and some generic text. From there you just add recipients and whatver other text you wish–I did all the hard work for you

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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!

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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!

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