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Tony commented on my Week 30 post:

Nice job John! Keep up the great work. 30 weeks is along time. It’s very impressive and inspiring to see how dedicated you still are.

He is not the first person to say something along that vein. I have mentioned the diets I’ve been on, the money I’ve spent and the tonnage that I have lost and gained. If Tony is impressed, the comments I am getting from people that have known me for any length of time are slightly less than encouraging.

I have posted on my personal blog, the list of mini-goals I have placed in front of me, currently working on losing 25 lbs. between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Yesterday I heard a comment at Weight Watchers about “being successful in the long haul“. To tell you the truth, I am surprised that I am still having success 30 weeks into this journey. So I made some calculations as to just how LONG the long haul is going to be.

Over the last 30 weeks, I have lost an average of 1.8 lbs. per week. At that rate, it will take 78 weeks to reach my goal weight of 196 lbs.

78 weeks sounds like a LONG time!

But there is something else that is only going to be around for another 78 weeks.

Something that is a bit MORE in the public eye.

I removed  the link/animation I had here… I’ll give you a hint… 78 weeks takes me up to around January 20, 2009.

There will be a MAJOR event taking place that day.

251.8! That’s what the scale said this morning. A loss of 5.4lbs.

I apologize for any whining I may have done last week. My perceived disappointment at what was a great loss last week helped me really kick it in gear for an amazing loss this week.

Thank you everyone for the encouragement.

Have a great weekend!

Tony
7/27: 251.8 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
31.8 lbs. to go

Cross published at Guess How Much I Weigh

I am noticing that many of my favorite blogs have been kinda sparse lately. I am guessing that they, just like me, are also spending every spare moment reading… The Deathly Hallows. Now that I have finished my work week, I should be finished with it by the weekend.

This morning, I took a break from Harry, Ron and Hermione to check in at Weight Watchers and was rewarded.

Anton, a drum roll if you please…

Starting Weight (Dec. 22, 2006): 392 lbs.
Starting BMI: 51.7
Weight Today (July 26, 2007): 337.0 lbs.
Current BMI: 44.5

Weight Change This Week: -3.6 lbs.
Total Loss: -55 lbs.
NEXT Goal: Lose 25 lbs. by Labor Day (7.0 lbs to go!)

Cross-Published on I Reject Your Reality

According to this recent study it could be dangerous to be my friend, at least for another couple of months. I found this study to be pretty ridiculous, but what I find even more ridiculous is the media hype. This was the lead story on the front page of the paper this morning.

This is pseudo, headline science. It will be talked about on Letterman and Leno for two days and then disappear, never to make a real impact on any ones life. Meanwhile, for the next two days the story will feeds the stereotype the fat people are weak willed and have no control over thier own bodies. And that is what really bugs me about this whole thing, it’s just one more brick in the wall of our “don’t blame me, I’m not responsible” culture.

For those of you who were spelunking or doing ostrich imitations yesterday here is the gist of the Study.

“People who notice their friend packing on pounds might want to steer clear if they value their sleek physiques.”

Sorry to interrupt, but what a horrible way to start an article on supposed science. Talk about feeding our anti fat culture.

The study, published in the July 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, suggests that obesity is “socially contagious,” as it can spread among individuals in close social circles. The likely explanation: A person’s idea of what is an appropriate body size is affected by the size of his or her friends.

Conversely, the researchers found that thinness is also contagious.

Taking a look at my friends and my family, many to most of whom are at the worst mildly overweight, I’m think neither one of the above statements are true.

Here is my favorite part of the article.

“But when the person on the receiving end did not label the first person as a friend, there was no “obesity contagion” effect in the other direction. The distinct variable here is who calls whom a “friend.”

In other words, if I’m fat and your not you must not really be my friend. I think this means I only have like 2 friends. All the rest of you skinny, so-called friends, I’m not talking to you until you start packing on some pounds. ..or I lose another 30.

Tony
7/25: 257.2 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
37.2 lbs. to go

Cross published at Guess How Much I Weigh.

As a dedicated calorie counter (I try to limit to 1200 calories per day), I’ve found a new favorite (chain) restaurant.  It’s Uno Chicago Grill.  Now, I admit may seem like an unusual, and possibly terrible choice for someone on a diet.  After all, their signature single serving deep dish pizzas start at 1700 calories, and go as high as 2330 calories per serving!!  Talk about a great way to blow a diet.  By the way, that 2330 calorie option is the “Farmer’s Market Vegetable” pizza – so don’t pick that one thinking it’s the most healthy…

Given that information, what could I possibly like about this place?  Two things: they have a lot of other good choices besides those calorie stuffed pizzas, and they make the nutritional information of their entire menu available from a little computer kiosk at the front of the restaurant.  I know exactly how much of what I can have, and still stay 100% on target for my diet.  Perhaps more importantly, it simply lets me enjoy myself while eating at a restaurant, which is extremely difficult when I have to worry about what and how much I can or can’t have to stay on target. 

I was even more thrilled the last time I went to Uno’s, because they had a new “summer fresh” menu, which was just a two page menu addition with some new salads.  Certain items on this menu had a “under 600 calories” designation right on the menu.  I didn’t even have to go check their in-store computer.  I knew I had enough calories left for the day to allow for at least 600, so I happily picked one, and thoroughly enjoyed my Asian Chicken Salad, to the last bite.

As far as I’m concerned, if Uno Chicago Grill can make their dish’s nutritional information readily available on location, anybody can (and should!).  I know a lot of places don’t agree though.  Some business are throwing fits about a New York Board of Health requirement that calorie information be printed on menus, in the same size as the menu item description.  I’m not sure that dictating exactly how the information is provided is a good idea, but the backlash from some business is ridiculous.  Coldstone Creamery is apparently so angry about this, they have simply stopped providing nutritional information altogether, unless you e-mail them and wait about 5 days for a response.  They don’t publish the information online at all anymore.  That pisses me off.  Just because I’m on a diet doesn’t mean I don’t want some ice cream sometimes.  I just want to be informed and smart about it.  Now they’re forcing me to make a uninformed decision about my diet, or to eliminate me as a customer. 

The worst of the worst however are the large chain restaurants that don’t provide nutritional information at all.  In the case of small places, I understand that may be a cost they can’t afford to take on, but the big guys really have no excuse.  Case and point, Red Robin.  Apparently they’re so ashamed of their food, they won’t tell you a single thing about it.  Not online, not in the store, not via e-mail, not anywhere.  I recently had the unhappy experience of finding this out only AFTER I had dinner there one night.  I did my best to eat reasonably, assuming I’d be able to check and confirm my choices were ok online after I got home, but there was no information to be found.  Searching for it only turned up more complaints and dismissive form-letter-type responses from folks requesting their nutritional information. 

I have to admit I never expected I’d get so worked up about nutritional information at restaurants, but being serious about my diet means I really have to take this kind of stuff seriously.  Dieting is hard work.  Anybody that makes it easier gets gold starts in my book.  I guess anybody that makes it harder just doesn’t care for my business.

I had every excuse not to get out and walk/run yesterday. I had a 2 hour lunch meeting which knocked out my usual workout time. I was home alone with my two girls last night. It was 90 degrees out. It was raining.

I was settled in for the night playing with the girls when I realized, even though those are really good excuses, they are still excuses. So, I loaded the girls into the stroller and ventured out into the rain. The girls love playing in the rain and it was 90, so I wasn’t too worried about them catching a cold or being miserable. We ended up having a fun outing and I got my workout in.

I’m not sure if this is dedication or bad parenting. I’m going with dedication.

Tony
7/25: 257.2 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
37.2 lbs. to go

Cross published at Guess How Much I Weigh  

You may remember a film from a few years back called Supersize Me.  A guy named Morgan Spurlock decides to eat nothing but McDonald’s for a whole month, and then chronicles his health and well-being throughout the process.  I have to confess I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I did pick up a copy of Don’t Eat This Book, which he wrote after the film was made.  We haven’t done any book reviews done here on FatBloggers, so I thought this would be as good of a time as any to include one.

After comparing the big tobacco settlements from a few years ago to the need for similar tort against the junk food industry, Spurlock delves into our current national Fat predicament.  Marketing, super-sizing, getting “more for our money” all go into how we got so obese in this country.  He calls this the “Super-Size Nation”:

Instead of trying to get people to buy two burgers, they put a bigger patty on one sandwich, called it a Whopper, and charged you a little extra for it.  Instead of two Cokes, they started offering larger cups.  Who could forget the birth of the Big Gulp at 7-Eleven?

Spurlock spends much of the book describing how he felt through out his “McMonth”, which took place in Feburary 2003.  Along the way, he defends his project against his obvious critics, the fast-food industry.  The physiological changes that took place are nothing short of scary:  Almost 25 pounds gained, and his cholesterol went from 165 to 230.  That was just one month; and a short one at that.  He also reported a general feeling of lethargy, some uncharacteristic mood swings, and debilitating headaches during the process.  What are all of those Big Macs doing to us long-termers?

I’m enjoying this book.  Yeah, he gets a little preachy when he gets off-topic about American consumerism, but those are few and far between.  I especially appreciate his advocacy for healthier food and more physical education in the schools.  After I finish this book, I need to go find the dvd and see what I’ve missed.  I’ll keep you posted. 

We now have a presence over on Facebook.  If you’re over there also, feel free to add us to your groups.  Just do a search for “Fatbloggers.net” in groups and we should come up first thing.  You can see my own page by searching my email address, which is rickscheibner {at} gmail dot com.  Feel free to add me to your list, and once you’re on my page, you should see a few other of us FatBloggers.  See you over there!

I’m moving in about ten days, so I had our DSL turned off yesterday.  We had some withdrawals for a while, but I think we’re feeling better now.  Anyway, I’ll only be on here itinerantly during that time, just whenever I can duck into a coffee shop or hit the library for the next week and a half. 

For those of you who do Weight Watchers, it’s amazing how closely I’m tied with the online points tracker.  I’ve been eating well, but haven’t been keeping track of my points, even for a few days before I turned off the DSL.  I’m not too worried at this point.  I may go up a few pounds, but I just need to stay below my goal weight by the end of my maintenance phase.  What I’m really feeling is that I need to get on my bike more in the mornings.  That will have to start up again Monday.  I have to make a one-day trip to Seattle and back tomorrow, so that will pretty much take the entire day. 

Hope you’re all having a great weekend.  It’s beautiful here in the inland Pacific Northwest. 

Me a year ago                                    Me this morning

257.2 That’s what the scale said this morning. A loss of 1.2 for the week.

I was tempted to be disappointed in this loss. I have been very fortunate to have some good size losses in the past 5 weeks. But I quickly realized that was a pretty stupid way to look at it. Any loss is a great thing and I am really proud that I have managed to lose 6 weeks in a role. I continue to be inspired by all the amazing things you guys are doing here. Thank you!

Tony
7/20: 257.2 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
37.2 lbs. to go