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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Keep in mind that this is in addition to everything else I do: eating right, walking, etc. That long stretch downward was the week I was sick; the sudden spike afterwards was Father’s Day when I obviously felt good enough to eat plenty. The red dot is a note: “I ate too much.”

Also know that the Wii Fit scale seems a bit off at times, nowhere near what my bathroom scale reads.

A nice investment so far. Now if I can only get my employer to reimburse me for it…

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This entry is a SimulPost and can also be seen at HolographicMeatloaf

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• Over 1,000: Total number of blog hits so far since March, for which I thank each and every one of you! (It’s not that amazing but shows me people are interested.)
  
• Over 100: Total number of Weight Watchers Points Excel chart downloads so far (both versions)
• Zero: Total number of donations since adding the link. Hey, it had to be said

But perhaps the most important one of all…

• 70: Total lbs. lost to date!

I feel incredibly thin today and I like it. In fact, I may have to hit Old Navy soon because my 42 pants are starting to get, um, bigger. Ann tells me that they have some men’s jeans on clearance so I may have to check it out this weekend.

Recognition is beginning—finally! A co-worker told me I was starting to “wither away” since my pullover jacket is getting baggier by the day. (Note to self: look for smaller one of those at Old Navy, too.) When I told her I used to weigh nearly 300 lbs. she had to push her eyes back into her head.

I’ve got another post in the works that may hit the blog tonight. It’s about what I had for lunch today and, despite how tempting the food may look because of its ingredients, how you should always read labels when you’re trying to lose weight.

On the exercise front, I think I’ll give the Wii Fit a night off. I need a change, so it’s back to the sit-ups (at least for tonight).

Oh, and Anthony picked out some new, smaller clothes for me as an early Father’s Day gift: size 40 shorts and two XL shirts. I tried them on and yes, they both fit. I’m amazed

Watch for the other post later. Until then…see ya!

1ST UPDATE: I hope you dig the new template. The place needed a fresh look!

2ND UPDATE: After tinkering with the new template, I realized it cropped my pictures. So I’m back to this one. Sorry…

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But I was good. I sampled just about a little of everything, including the wedding cake, and it sustained me until dinnertime when I just had a few healthy munchies instead.

There was turkey, ham, fruit salad, rolls, and a delicious salad. And even after all of that, I gained such a minimal amount that it’s not worth mentioning. I also have an updated picture that you can see on the Photos page (scroll to the bottom, of course).

Today we literally spent the day in the backyard after a trip to Lowe’s for some plants and other goodies. I stayed active the entire day between yardwork and laundry so I’m sure I’ve maintained and not gained. Lunch and dinner were of the chicken variety. Because of all of the activity, I’m skipping my Wii Fit routine for the night.

Oh, and here are a few Victories for the week:

• I can now wear size 40 pants!
• I can now fit in an XL dress shirt!

That’s pretty much it for this post. Weekly Weigh-In #11 is a few days away and I’m excited about it! See you then.

Despite a Memorial Day filled with eating, I kept all in moderation and stayed focused. In addition to eating right in terms of both food and quantity, I stayed active.

You see, we bought a new washer and dryer set and barbecue on Saturday, rented a truck from Big Box Home Improvement Store, hauled them home and with the help of my father-in-law, unloaded them, removed the old units, and replaced them all. There wasn’t much time to think about eating during those times so I took advantage of it and savored the moments knowing that they would only help me lose weight.

And you see the results: 2.3 lbs. dropped this week for a Weigh-In of 230.7 lbs. The 220s are definitely in sight!

Today’s walk was cut short to one mile as my left knee and back are a bit sore. It started last week when our cat Ozzie decided he’d start sleeping on top of me after months of not doing so. As such, my sleep movement is restricted (as I tend to be a restless sleeper). That fuzzy little guy needs to find another bed…

The Weight Watchers Points Excel Chart is still being worked on as of now. It’s almost done–promise!

Ah, and now onto some critiques about Wii Fit. It’s a long piece so I’ll add a break here…

The Wii Fit is turning out to be a fun purchase despite the naysayers and parents who get offended when it calls their snowflakes fat. But even with the fun factor, I’ve learned a few things (the first two being from a previous post):

• If you have carpeting, place a piece of wood underneath for an accurate weight measurement. At first I weighed 146 (!) lbs. but after placing a piece of wood under the platform, my weight was correct. The little extensions that come with the unit are supposed to be designed to make up for having a thick carpet but are pretty much useless in that respect. I suppose that you could, however, use them to make the board higher (when placed on a piece of wood) for the step aerobic routine.
• The Weight Loss Goal only goes up to 22 lbs. so if you plan to lose more, you’ll have to start at 22 lbs. and once you reach that, start again with the remainder. In my case, it’ll be 22 lbs. plus another 10+ lbs.
• The “Total Playing Time” on the Wii Home Page for Wii Fit is not the same as the total amount of time spent exercising. For example, I exercised for an hour last night but my Total Playing Time was nearly 2 hours. Think of it as a(n American) football game: it may take hours for only a small amount of action. The rest of the time is spent on taking pee breaks, catching your breath, choosing the next workout, etc. So if you plan to workout for 30 minutes, make sure you have at least a solid hour.
• I’d recommend wearing socks while using Wii Fit. I wore flip-flops all weekend and if I hadn’t worn socks, I can imagine what the board would have looked like.
• Even if you have carpeting, I’d recommend wearing running shoes for the jogging routine, especially if one is on the large side. With this workout I had a tendency to land on the balls of my feet which is not the norm if you are running (in which case your feet would land heel-toe). It became rather uncomfortable after a few tries.

That’s about all I have so far. But here’s the real question: is it fun?

Yes, it is most definitely fun. Just about all of the aerobics workouts are worthy of a drop of sweat, the yoga poses are challenging, and the strength workouts can be tiring. In fact this week, in exchange for my nightly sit-ups, I will be using Wii Fit for at least 45 minutes. I want to see if the results are any different and naturally, I’ll post my thoughts here.

See you later, and have a great week!

I’m a Wiik (ha!) late to the party, but I got my Wii Fit at Target this morning! Watch for an interesting follow-up later today.

UPDATE 7 p.m.: My experience at Target when purchasing my Wii Fit is about as interesting as anything.

I arrived a bit before their 8 a.m. opening time where the usual group of Hot Wheels Dorks was congregating in the hopes of finding the latest Treasure Hunt vehicles. When the doors opened, I bolted to the Electronics Department and stood in line.

That’s when things got, um, interesting. There were about two groups of men speaking in a foreign tongue that I could not decipher (or even take a guess at). And at the risk of offending anybody I won’t even venture to give their native tongue a name. But these guys all had a few things in common. They all:

• Had California Reseller’s Permits, which means you’ll see plenty of overpriced Wii Fit units on the street real quick;
  
• Worked in teams, speaking with their cohorts at a blazingly fast rate of speed during the checkout process so as to confuse the cashier(s);
• Bought Target Gift Cards in addition to the units, one of them for $1,000;
• Paid in cash;
• Bought the same brand pre-paid cell phone with their Wii Fit unit.

It all seemed rather strange to me and their transactions were pure and utter chaos. One of them claimed he gave the cashier $150 and not the $120 she had tendered, one claimed he was charged too much, and once they were all done and trying to sort out their take in this little con, one of them actually tried to take the unit I was paying for as it was being rung up. By then I had had enough of their bulls***.

“That one’s mine, f***er,” I told the greedy bastard. His hand retracted quicker than he could speak.

So to the Electronics Department at Target T-195 in Long Beach, CA (my former store, BTW), if your registers are off at the end of the day, this could very well be the reason why. Those guys worked fast, talked fast, and seemed ready to swindle.

Anyway…I’ve only had a few minutes to spend with the Wii Fit. Here’s a few helpful hints:

• If you have carpeting, place a piece of wood underneath for an accurate weight measurement. At first I weighed 146 (!) but after placing a piece of wood under the platform, it was correct.
• The Weight Loss Goal only goes up to 22 lbs. so if you plan to lose more, you’ll have to start at 22 lbs. and once you reach that, start again with the remainder. In my case, it’ll be 22 lbs. plus another 10+ lbs.
• I “jogged” and did the Hula Hoop exercise. It’d definitely fun!

I’m sure I’ll be adding more to my other blog so check it out for more info and results. I begin using it tonight so we’ll see how things go!

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This entry is a SimulPost and can also be read at HolographicMeatloaf.com

As of today, at 231.9 lbs. I have officially reached the 65 lbs. lost mark! This comes after weeks of struggling in the mid-230s so it’s a Milestone that’s definitely been earned. I was beginning to think I’d plateaued and couldn’t lose any more but I chose to add Wii Sports to the regimen a few nights ago, so that may have accounted for something.

Last night’s dinner was rather sinful but still within my Points range for the day. I had a McDonald’s hamburger and cheeseburger, no fries, and a bottle of water. I had been craving those mundane burgers for a while now so having them last night was definitely worth the wait.

And I’ve noticed just that: when you don’t eat certain foods while trying to lose weight, when you do have them they are especially tasty. Yesterday I also had some salted-in-the-shell peanuts and a few cashews, and it was as if I’d never eaten them in my life. Very satisfying.

Well, it looks like rain here in southern California today and possibly tomorrow. Hopefully things will clear up by Memorial Day, when I will be manning the barbecue for some barbecued chicken and ribs. Should be fun.

Have a safe and fun holiday, guys. And eat some good stuff–in moderation, of course

With those results, you would probably think I’m a bit upset. That attitude is a startling contrast to my previous entry in which I was annoyed at not being able to crack the 230 lb. mark.

The reality is that I’m not upset when I look back at the week of eating I had. On Friday we wished one of our co-workers off to a happy retirement by taking him to lunch and then having some cake and ice cream in his honor. Then on Sunday, we celebrated a belated Mother’s Day with a smörgåsbord of Italian foods courtesy of a friend’s pizza restaurant.

And I’m not gonna lie–I indulged. Celebrations happen.

So taking all those factors into consideration, I’m not entirely upset at my results for this week, all of which which leads me into the next topic.

In case you didn’t notice, there’s been yet another change to the Weekly Weigh-In stats. The “At my current rate…” number has been omitted because, in all honesty, I felt as if I was pushing myself to lose more weight in a shorter amount of time. That whole mentality was going against why I was trying to lose weight in the beginning: to be at 200 lbs. (or less) by my 40th birthday. Even by losing a mere 1 lb. a week, at this point I will reach 40 at less than 200 lbs. So I decided to eliminate the pressure of trying to get it done sooner and sticking with my doctor-recommended plan of 1-2 lbs. per week.

Time to pick up and move on–gradually.

Oh, and Wii Fit hits the shelves tomorrow! I’m hoping to get my hands on one (which is highly unlikely on the week of release without a reservation). If and when I do, keep an eye out here for commentary and results. Even if it doesn’t claim to do what people are expecting it to, it sure looks interesting–and fun

As part of my exercising last night, I chose to take out all of the old carpeting in the garage and cut it into small squares for disposal. It took a good couple of hours and it got all of us out of the (hot) house for a little while. I got a bit dusty but I’m sure I burned off quite a few calories in the process.

And yesterday I decided that after my lunchtime walk, I’m going to take the stairs and walk up to the top (5th) floor and back down for more exercise.

Well, I hope you all had a better week than I did. Let’s make this one even better.

I tried it last night and ouch, it definitely inflicts serious pain on you (at least if you’re the out-of-shape type like me). I managed to do all of the recommended exercises for flattening the abs and obliques, and in the end I felt about the same as I did when I do all those sit-ups only with less of an impact. Whether it truly works remains to be seen but I was just happy to try something different. Sit-ups are, let’s face it, boring. I also played 30 minutes of Wii Sports to top it off.

Ah yes, and Wii Fit will soon be hitting the U.S. market. I will be getting that as well. If anything it just looks like fun.

To make up for not walking my daily 1.5 miles, I rode my bike for 5 miles this morning. Thanks to my slightly outdated Garmin eTrex GPS unit mounted on my bike, I can keep track of distance, MPH, direction and everything else pertaining to my ride. I dig it.

I’m aiming for a solid 245 lbs. for my next weigh-in. We’ll see how it goes.