Meet Tyler

I used to wear pants that had a 48-inch waist.  That’s sagging, too, as I had to wear them on my hips below my gut.  Today, I wear pants (or shorts if it’s hot!) with a 34-inch waist — right below my belly button.

My name is Shawn Tyler Weeks and I lost nearly 150 pounds in about 15 months, starting in January of 2009.  I lost weight and continue to live a healthy lifestyle by counting calories — eating less and moving more, basically.  No restrictions, no fad diets, and no gimmicks.

Want the cliff notes?  Get em’ while they’re hot:

• I live in Columbia, South Carolina with my wife, daughter (who takes our silverware and puts it into our hamper), and two dogs.
• I lost weight by keeping my intake of calories around 2,200 a day.
• I was born in 85′ and have the auto insurance premium to prove it.
• I visit the gym 4-5 times a week for 60 minutes (20/cardio, 40 lifting).
• “Diet” has a lot of steak, chicken, veggies, fruits, and graham crackers.
• I use gel to spike my bangs because of two horrible cowlicks.
• Lots of graham crackers.
• No food is off limit.  None.  It’s only consumed in moderation.
• My weight loss has garnered a lot of attention, starting with the local boys and girls at our Columbia CBS news affiliate (WLTX) all the way to CNN, Newsweek, and a lot of other fancy acronyms.  Governor Mark Sanford even wrote me a letter to congratulate me on my weight loss.

Here’s one interview with WLTX (early 2010):

When you’re done with the cliff notes, you can read the entire story on my blog at 344Pounds.com. It’s there where I recorded my entire weight loss journey starting with week 1 and continue to do so as I try to live healthy.

When I’m not on the blog, you can find me on Facebook, our weight loss community, or Buffalo Wild Wings.