As soon as I pulled into the parking lot of the gym today, shear panic struck. I remembered that I took my headphones out of the car and inside the house with me yesterday — and I didn’t return them!
Instead of having a workout fueled by my deafening rock music, I was going to have to listen to women gossip on the treadmill, 13-year old “bodybuilders” grunt profusely, and 80′s alternative rock funneling through the gym’s sound system.
I was doomed — or so I thought.
I got on the elliptical, cranked it up to level 14, and probably had the easiest 45-minute workout I’ve had thus far. I had a lot of motivation to workout with all the new visitors that came today from Consumerist (among others). I spent the entire workout on my iPhone reading all the new supportive comments and e-mails I’ve received today — I really appreciate every single one of them.
You’re all my motivation. Keep reading — I promise you’ll be impressed.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Found your site off of The Consumerist and wanted to wish you luck! I hit 305 pounds at 15 years old (and 5 foot 7). By 18 I’d lost 160 pounds, going from a size 48 waist to a 28. I’ve kept it off for six years now. I think you’re headed in the right direction by putting yourself out there to keep accountable. I was on TV quite a lot for my weight loss right after the fact and it definitely kept me on the right path, knowing that people were watching me!
Make sure as you continue losing weight that you ramp down your meals out. I know you’ve already cut them way down, but when you’re nearing your goal you should eliminate restaurant food entirely to get to it. The last 40 pounds or so are VERY tough to take off and you honestly can’t trust a restaurant when it comes to them. I’ve worked in several restaurants and you can throw all nutritional counts out the window. If there is oil in the kitchen, it is in your food, regardless of the calorie count they have on the menu. Trust me, restaurant kitchens are high stress environments where a cook will do anything to get your plate out. A grilled chicken breast is most likely cooked side by side with a greasy burger. Ordering a vegetable without butter will sometimes mean throwing the vegetables back into boiling water to just get most of the butter off (and by butter, I mean liquid “butter” that is mostly just trans-fats). Worse yet, I’ve seen the deep fat fryer frying things that should be nowhere near it just to save some time. (I got a cook fired over “sauteed spinach”)
The good news is that you can get away with more in the beginning, because it’s still such a huge shock for your body. The other good news is that, for me anyway, though losing the last few was a PAIN, maintaining has been incredibly easy and I can get away with eating things I never dreamed of eating while losing weight. I must have really jilted my metabolism into high gear and THAT was a very pleasant surprise at the end of it all.
Look into different skin treatments you can start using today, as you lose the weight, like cocoa butter and so on. Don’t know if they make a difference, as I wasn’t thinking that far ahead to worry about excess skin, but I can tell you that excess skin was a huge shock for me. I’ve spent years trying to get the word out there to younger, overweight children that you cannot wait to lose the weight. We only get one skin to live in and once you grow into it, then stretch it out, there is only so much you can do for it without surgery. I’ve learned to be happy and live with it without getting the surgeries, but even at 145 pounds, I still won’t take my shirt off at the beach. I implore you to look into the issue and raise it on your blog one day, because as I said, it adds an entirely new level to childhood obesity and when the right time to intervene is. Just as we shouldn’t let preteens rot all of their adult teeth out drinking sugar before they’re even 15, we shouldn’t let preteens stretch their skin irreparably until they know the lifelong repercussions!
Of course, I have a beautiful wife and she don’t mind, so I’m happy! What else matters?
Keep up the great work, both for yourself and all of those who will stumble across your blog!
-Christian Stella
Hello!
Congrats! You should be really proud of yourself for all of your hard work, dedication, and strength!
So my boyfriend is a doctor, and he recommends linoleic acid (CLA) as a supplement you can take during this process. I told him that you were doing this without pills or gimmicks, but he promises it’s a natural and healthy thing that can make your workouts more efficient. If you do a google search, you can read up on the pros and cons and see if it’s something that’d be good for you.
He’s also trying to lose weight and appreciates all of your ideas. :)
Good luck!
Your site is wonderfully motivating.
I’ll keep reading until you’re minus 100 pounds, and beyond.
Keep up the great work, Tyler!
Hi Tyler,
I spent last night reading through your entire blog, and you are REALLY an inspiration. I relate to a lot of what you say on here – especially the parts about your childhood and how horrible it is constantly getting teased about your weight. I’m proud of you and your accomplishments so far! I hope this will be the extra kick of motivation I need too.
I need to lose about 80lbs to be healthy, and I am starting now. I’ve realized that’s all I want, more than looking good and fitting in to cute clothes – I want to be healthy. And I am determined this time to stick with it.
You make me believe I can do it!
Honest, humorous and intelligently written.
This is on of the few blog sites I read now where I hold a genuine interest in the content of the update. Keep up the great work.
Congrats! Saw your story through Consumerist, and you are doing great. There’s some excellent wisdom in the comments; grab some Palmer’s Cocoa Butter lotion now, which will help the stretch marks. I’ve lost 55 lbs. since September, doing it old school with just diet and exercise and I have 45 lbs to go. The first 30 just fell off in two months, mainly due to a healthy diet change and exercise. You are likely to hit a plateau as your body adjusts to the workouts–don’t get down about it, just throw in some other kinds of workouts. I switch up from gym workouts to a brisk hour-walk around town; I also added weight training, which really seems to help. Keep going, don’t give up, because you are not alone. There’s a lot of folks cheering you on!
i am female with 260 lbs. I am reading your block since past two days and motivating myself to read it more and more and follow ur foot step.. Yesterday was my first day and i walk on treadmill for 20 min and did weights for 5 min. I was tired but I am going to do walking again today. I bought treadmill and weights since past 3 years but use it once a while but after reading your blog, i felt i should do it too.. Your blog is really giving me inspiration..
You’re incredibly inspiring. I love reading your posts, I feel that you’re somehow cheering for me, even though you’ve no idea who I am.
I too, am counting my calories and had lost 13 pounds. Halloween weekend hit and I stopped counting, and now I’m paying for it. But tomorrow’s a fresh start at the gym and eating right.
Keep going man.