Week 30
August 10
My life has changed a lot over the past year.
Around this time last year, I found out I was going to be a dad. A few months after that, I found out I was going to have a little baby girl.
In November, I switched careers.
A few months after that, in January of 2009, I decided to lose weight. I started a little blog, joined a local gym and got on the elliptical machine.
In March, my little girl was born and I became a daddy.
In June, I was interviewed by Newsweek about my little blog.
In July, I lost 100 pounds.
Last week, due to a disagreement with my landlord, my wife and I gave our 30-day notice. We’ll be leaving the home we have loved and lived in for the past two years in just a few weeks. I’ll also be leaving my gym.
Saturday, I bought pants with a 34-inch waist — down from 48.
As of today, I’ve lost 109.8 pounds. My daughter goes to daycare for the first time. I found out we’ll be moving into a new house on August 29th.
I just thought you’d like to know how my life is changing.
August 11
I have loose skin from losing weight. The problem areas (at the present time) look to be my stomach, upper chest, upper arms and my upper thighs.
I traded 110 pounds for probably 2-3 pounds of loose skin. By the time I’m done losing 150 pounds, I’ll probably have 4-5 pounds of loose skin.
From what I’ve read, loose skin is a physical imperfection that I have no way of fixing anytime soon. I’ve been researching the topic for months and have found a variety of methods to deal with loose skin.
With that being said, a lot of options are marketed and sold by charlatans and snake oil salesmen.
A few real possible options for removing loose skin includes:
- waiting
- muscle building
- surgery
- creams & lotions
Waiting. Skin is fairly elastic and can simply retract to fit your new body over a few years. However, the more weight you lose (and the quicker you lose it, ala tummy tuck surgery or something similarly rapid) the less likely your skin will ever look like it “fits” you.
Muscle building. By building muscle, I’ll make myself large again with weights instead of cookies. My loose skin will mold around my new muscles.
Surgery. I’ve seriously considered surgery to remove loose skin. Typically, surgery is the first option people think of when they decide to lose loose skin.
I’m not sure why. While it is extremely effective in removing loose skin, it also gives you a permanent scar for the rest of your life. I’ll go further into depth about my reasons against surgery to remove loose skin later on, but the main reasons include its cost (high $X,XXX), permanent scar(s), and its seriousness.
Creams and lotions.
There are countless sites featuring reviews of stretch mark creams and other lotions that are designed to tighten loose skin and erase the effects of rapid weight loss.
Most loose skin products have reviews right in the middle of the road, with some people seeing results and other people seeing nothing at all.
I might try a lotion or two, but I’m not investing too much time or money — it might just be one of the other countless scams out there.
My ultimate plan for losing loose skin? Build muscle over the next 1-2 years.
I want to build a lot of muscle. I’m not going to hover around 194 pounds for long, I plan on turning right back around and going into the 200s again. I want to add about 30 pounds worth of lean muscle to my frame.
Do you have any advice or ideas for removing loose skin?
August 12
Yo. Yo.
August 12 weight: 233.6
August 05 weight: 234.4
July 29 weight: 239.2
July 22 weight: 238.8
July 15 weight: 241.4
I’ve lost 0.8 pounds in the last week and 110.6 pounds in 29 weeks. Want stats from past weeks? Check out my entire 29 week weight loss progress.
I don’t enjoy this yo-yo weight loss. One week I lose 4.8 pounds, the next 0.8
It’s not good for morale.
The frustrating part is that I watched my calories and worked out with the same intensity and motivation this week as I did the week I lost 4.8 pounds.
I guess it’s time to boost my intensity.
So, for every comment about this post I’ll do 30 seconds on the treadmill this evening at the gym. And tomorrow. And Friday. I’ll stay on the treadmill for (0:30 x # of comments) every day until next Wednesday.
You don’t have to add me as a friend on twitter or Facebook like usual, nor do you have to link to me. This workout pledge is much less gimmick and much more treadmill.
All I want is your support — just a comment — it’s worth 30 seconds.
We’ll see what the scale has to say about that.
Update 8/14: New comments will no longer add time to my workout. For the next several nights, I’ll be on the treadmill for 56 minutes (112 comments). I will post on twitter during my workouts!
Week 31
August 14
I’m currently looking for a gym in Columbia, South Carolina.
As I sadly reported on Monday, I’m leaving my current gym (Better Body Fitness) in Elgin as my family is moving closer to downtown Columbia.
I hate leaving Better Body Fitness, but the drive is simply too far from our new house.
And, as someone said a few days ago, if I don’t find a gym before I move I might be too busy to find one once we arrive at the new house. I could foresee going a week or two without the gym. That’d be bad for progress.
That being said, my new gym needs to have the following:
- Membership under $50 a month
- Wide selection of cardio equipment (elliptical is a must!)
- Late hours, open until at least 11 p.m.
Does anybody live in Columbia and have any suggestions? Anything I should look out for when joining a gym? While I might have lost a lot of weight, I’m not very experienced in joining gyms and knowing what to look for/avoid.
August 19
My weight loss is as inconsistent as my posting these days.
August 19 weight: 233.2
August 12 weight: 233.6
August 05 weight: 234.4
July 29 weight: 239.2
July 22 weight: 238.8
I’ve lost 0.4 pounds in the last week and 111 pounds in 30 weeks. Want stats from past weeks? Check out my entire 30 week weight loss progress.
I’ve lost less than 6 pounds in the past month.
Not even last Wednesday’s impromptu workout pledge could save me from this slump. At this pace, it’ll take me another seven months to reach my goal of 194.
What am I doing wrong? Anybody have any snake oil to sell me?
