Only logged in members can reply and interact with the post.
Join SimilarWorlds for FREE »

I Want to Lose Weight

I Beat My First Goal Weight By A Week And A Pound!... The first goal I put on my weight loss website was to reach 240lbs by Oct 16th. I had given myself 4 weeks to lose 11 pounds but instead I lost 12 pounds in 3 weeks! I love making that kind of progress and I think I finally found a solution that works for me.
In the past I have had goals but the only one to know about them was me, or maybe me and my wife. Once or twice it was me and a personal trainer I was paying for at the club. But each time I might lose a few pounds, get a little bit stronger than when I start but never could keep it going long enough to see any real results.

A few months ago I was almost 280 pounds, I felt terrible and my wife was worried about my health but had also honestly told me I was not very attractive to her anymore. I decided I really needed to do something about it. I started to watch what I was eating, especially not snacking at night. Exercise was still very difficult, both to find the time and because my weight made my joints hurt when I would work out. I had been making some slow progress, maybe about 15 pounds in 3 or so months, but I wasn't really feeling any better and was finding it hard to not snack in the evening.

Then I had the idea, what if I made my goals available to anyone who wanted to follow my progress and what if I were not able to hide my weight behind clothes? I also realized I couldn't be anonymous, I had to be clearly identified. That would make me accountable to a growing number of people rather than to just myself and one or two others.


So I started designing how I would create this site, went looking for domain names and over about a week I lost 10lbs! Every time I thought about eating a snack in the evening I also thought about the pictures anyone could see of me all the way around. Every meal as I dished out my serving I thought about those pictures and made the portions smaller and forget about seconds. Tony Robbins has said we driven by pain or pleasure and what we focus on determines what we chose. That's why I would gain weight because I would focus on the immediate pleasure of food instead of focusing on the pain of gaining weight. Now I had a much stronger reason to take my focus away from the pleasure of food, knowing that from now until I reach my ideal weight people will see exactly what I look like without clothes. So do I want too eat something unhealthy, or eat more than I need, or do I want people to see me making great progress toward my ideal weight?

So on September 18th I took the Initial set of pictures at the weight of 251 pounds. I also set the goal of being 240lbs by October 16th and the penalty for missing the goal would be that I couldn't blur any portion of my pictures. Yes, I find that embarrassment can be great incentive to meet or exceed my goals, especially where exposing my privates, potentially to the world, is concerned. Well, the incentive worked like a charm and today, one week ahead of schedule, I weighed 239lbs.

I also think this could work for other people as well so I am continuing to develop the site to make it easy for others to use as well. For those who would like to just check it out or would like to let me know you are holding me accountable to you as well, the URL is: http://www.LoseWeightWiki.net. If you do check out the site, please let me know. I'd really appreciate comments and feedback on how I can make it better and more useful.
CatLotus
Wow, this is wonderful. Congratulations on your hard work and making a decision to be the best you could be. I admire your determination. A lot of the time, people go into diet decisions halfheartedly, but, but you're an inspiration. Your wife must be so proud of you. :)

I, too, am on a journey to be a healthier me. I'm no longer overweight, but I'm trying to tone up and keep off the weight. (The heaviest I've been in my life was 160lb when I was in elementary/junior high!) I know how hard it gets sometimes when you just feel like you'd rather just skip your workout or go crazy on your diet, but what matters is how strong your will is to get back on track.

Once again, great job. I'm looking forward to hearing more stories about this! I'm so proud of you.
riyueli
Very interesting. I think that is a great idea. you might get famous someday :) . I went to the website but is just a little hard navigating through it and always brings me back to the home page. Hope you keep working on it. I think it is a great way to see the actual results in a extremely visual way. I guess the website should also allow you to set up private profiles maybe just for the people you approve to view the profile like " coach from website" or people you add. Just some thoughts. I hope you keep doing a great job on your diet and results keep showing.
stlmo8
I've also heard sparkpeople is a very good site for people trying to lose weight - kind of a "community" set-up, with lots of tools. http://www.sparkpeople.com/

I've heard it's easier/better to set up smaller, shorter term goals to make the task seem easier, e.g. 8 pounds per month, instead of telling yourself you'll lose 80 lbs in ten months.

What's been your biggest stumbling block? What are your greatest food weaknesses? Mine are laziness and ice cream!
HoustonClark · 61-69, M
Thanks for the comment and support. My wife just took a new photo set this morning and I have put them up on the http://www.loseweightwiki.net site. I also added a comparison page to show the difference between the two photo sets side by side. I think there's definite improvement showing after losing 13 pounds.
wanderingvine
Hidden danger when you view yourself in only physical value. What is thin enough? Where's the mental line drawn? I knew I was overweight at 200lbs, but is 109lbs and still losing at 5' 7" too thin? Perspectives is in the eye of the beholder. Don't feel so great, but look much better thinner. A dilemma.
HoustonClark · 61-69, M
Thanks for the feedback and I agree it's not the easiest to navigate so I setup a Personal Page for myself http://PhotoLogs.LoseWeightWiki.net where you can go to the Wiki or go directly to my photo log.

Thanks again for the input.
girlybird
yes, I too am holding myself accountable. Once I had started to understand how much stress I was putting on my heart, the choice became easy for the first time in my life. Congrats to you also...keep it up!
Elixirs
Congratulations!!!! I'm soooo happy for you, you sound like your taking back control of your life and i can't wait to see how things work out for you!!!! A big cheers to you for choosing you!!!! All the best :-)
EvesHarvest
Congratulations on beating your goal! An interesting way of going about it. It really helps to know yourself and know what will and won't motivate you.
valleygirl011
Congrats..its not easy to motivate yourself into loosing and you did it...i am working on the same thing..realizing it is time to take care of myself...you inspired me !!
geekoftheweek
keep up the good work dude
just make sure u keep a balanced diet tho
i had weight issues b4+wnet crazy overboard
be careful
hugs sophie
LoverInTheClouds
Wow that's so awesome!! I'm glad you are doing this for yourself. Keep at it. You're inspiring me to do this :)
amyleigh117
Brilliant! You are an inspiration to the rest of us, keep it up!
Marzbloxx
Hi I'd like to help u lose weight
goodtimes1000
I accept your help
RickiChickie
A really good idea!
eirbear028

 
Post Comment