One Month Later

How the time flies! Donations are still trickling so I don't have a final tally yet, but I'm still optimistic that we may break the $6,000.00 mark! I have heard back from some of the people who were inspired to take action. Seven other people decided to lose weight, and lost a total of 145 pounds! Most of them did it publicly and raised awareness about hunger issues in the US and around the world, and a couple of them raised money and will be providing nearly 1,000 additional meals!

We also recently got some publicity in "The Advocate," a United Methodist newspaper in New York State, and I'm hopeful that more people might be inspired to continue this work In fact, I've already spoken to a pastor in the Finger Lakes area who's thinking about doing it =)

Official Final Weight

I probably shouldn't say "final"- there's so much finality to that... I just came from my doctor's where I got my last official weight for the Redistribution of Weight (for now, at least). When I first started I tried to post a video of my doctor saying how much I weighed- it didn't really work so this time I'm going to try posting a picture of the scale, hopefully you'll be able to read it. Here's the results:

Start Date: Wednesday, February 16th (2011)
Starting Weight: 369 pounds

Finish Date: Wednesday, August 17th (2011)
Final Weight: 287 pounds

Total Change in Six Months: lost 82 pounds!

It'll take a couple weeks to figure out how much money has actually been raised, but even with some people cashing out early I think we may have broken $6,000.00! I'll do a follow-up post with the financial update as soon as I can, and I'll try to do an update on wider impact even sooner :)

Here's the 'proof' picture:

Only 4 More Days

I can't believe that there are only 4 more days left! I'm not going to bother with the numbers right now- I'll have an official weight in four days and its going to take some work to figure out what the final total on money raised will be.

My attempt at a cleanse was... not good. I was planning to do it for 2 weeks but I got headaches all the time and less than a week in I started getting lightheaded a lot and almost fainting every time I stood up. I finished one week (without experiencing noticeable benefits) and then was sick for several days as I transitioned back real food- and, just to add insult to injury, I'm pretty sure I actually gained a pound or two throughout the ordeal. I'm planning on continuing to eat healthier beyond these 6 months, but I probably won't ever try doing that again.


Well, be sure to check back on the 17th for the "official final weigh-in" update and I'll post a final "money raised" update as soon as possible!

T-Minus 13 Days...

Wow, I can't believe there are less than two weeks left! Oh, and sorry- I just realized that I didn't post anything last week. The last two weeks haven't been super successful but I'm doing a cleanse thing right now and, if it works, I might have an impressive week next week? Here's where we're at right now:

My Current Weight: 293 pounds
Change Since Last Update: lost 3 pounds
Total Change: lost 76 pounds

My Current Pledges: $82.75 per pound
Amount Raised: $6,289.00 (over 24,000 meals)!!!

I think that if I lose 2 more pounds we'll break the 25,000 meal mark! Well, I guess that might not be entirely accurate- I'll have to figure out how many people are/have cashed out early... then I'll just have to lose some more to make sure that we get there :)

I have an official update too! Janet Garrison from Trinity UMC on Grand Island raised $6 per pound in pledges from her close friends and family and lost 22 pounds in 3 months. That may not sound like a lot when its posted right after a bigger more widespread update but Jan feels better, was able to get out some clothes that hadn't fit in a while, and will provide more than 500 meals to starving people! I think its a beautiful illustration of how one person can very simply (and pretty easily) have a big impact- 500 meals! If you're reading this I hope that might inspire you to do something too...

Official 5 Month Update

I just got home from seeing my doctor and the news was pretty good! Here is the official update:

My Current Weight: 296 pounds
Change Since Last Update: lost 6 pounds
Total Change: lost 73 pounds

My Current Pledges: $82.75 per pound
Amount Raised: $6,040.75 (over 23,000 meals)!!!

So I've officially reached my original goal of 70 lbs., a month early! I gave people the option to cash out early if they want/need to, so from here out calculating the amount raised may be a little complicated as I figure out who will be paying now and who will continue their pledges. The amount raised will get a little bump when I do a more accurate count too- two people made pledges with incentives for hitting my goal and I have one small bonus gift to add in.

The best part is that the impact has spread. In addition to the others mentioned last week, I talked to a woman who collected pledges and lost 20 pounds! I've also heard about several more who were thinking about getting involved, so hopefully I'll have a few more updates in the next couple weeks.

Week 21

My official 5 month weigh-in is one week from today! I don't want to count my pounds before they're shed, but there is an excellent chance I will have met my 6 month goal by then :)

My Current Weight: 302 pounds
Change Since Last Update: lost 4 pounds
Total Change: lost 67 pounds

My Current Pledges: $82.75 per pound
Amount Raised: $5,544.25 (over 21,000 meals)!!!

So I only need to lose 3 pounds in the next 7 days to hit my 70 lb. goal a month early. I'm pretty excited about that. I'm also excited to be able to share a couple updates about other impact: one person who was inspired to get healthy hit his goal of losing 30 pounds in 3 months; another collected pledges from friends and family and has lost 20 pounds (of her target 30) with about a month to go.

I'll try to get a few more updates from others in the next week or so, and look for my official 5 month weight on the 20th!

Week 20 Update

Its hard to believe that its been twenty weeks already! June was a bit of a rough patch but I'm back on track with my weekly posts and still losing weight. Here's where we're at now:

My Current Weight: 306 pounds
Change Since Last Update: lost 1 pound :(
Total Change: lost 63 pounds

My Current Pledges: $82.75 per pound
Amount Raised: over $5,000 (almost 20,000 meals)!!!

So, losing weight at a regular pace is for the birds. After 20 weeks, I'm averaging just over 3 pounds lost per week- which is pretty good, though it would have been better if it weren't for the occasional week where I gained weight. Either way, 1 pound in a week is kind of disappointing. Its an inopportune time too because I just announced (last Sunday, in church) that I expected to reach my original goal (of losing 70 lbs.) a month early, and that people could cash out after my July 20th weigh-in if they need to...

The good news is that I have 12 days til then and only 7 more pounds to lose. As long as I stick to my diet and get a little more exercise I should be alright.

New Milestone

Well, its been less than a week since my last post- so I'm back on track with weight-loss and blogging :)

This is an unofficial post, but my home scale has been pretty accurate so far, so I'm pretty excited about this:

My Current Weight: 307 pounds
Change Since Last Update: lost 7 pounds
Total Change: lost 62 pounds!

My Current Pledges: $82.75 per pound
Amount Raised: over $5,000 (almost 20,000 meals)!!!

Only 8 more pounds to my goal! Unless something goes seriously wrong, I should have no problem hitting it a month early. I'll have an official weigh-in in the middle of July and (since I'll probably already be over the goal) I'll give people a choice to either "cash out" then or stick with it for one more month with me.

Since recovering from all my dental work, I've been really good about not eating any junk food... at all (there's a delicious looking frosted lemon cake in my fridge right now that I haven't touched, and I skipped going out to ice cream with Angie and Asa last night) but I'm really craving it. I think when this is all over I'll lose an extra 10 pounds just so I can go eat 10 pounds worth of cake and ice cream :)

Official Month 4 Update

So the last month was rocky... I had to have some serious dental work done and had a lot of trouble following any kind of diet while I was recovering. Here's the numbers:

My Current Weight: 314 pounds
Change Since Last Update: 0
Total Change: lost 55 pounds

My Current Pledges: $82.75 per pound
Amount Raised: over $4500 (about 18,000 meals)

So, the bad news is that I haven't lost any weight since my last update. The silver lining is that I actually gained some weight while all I could eat was pudding and ice cream and took it back off, so I am actually moving in the right direction again. Now that I'm feeling better I'm hoping to up my activity level and maybe even reach my goal (of -70 pounds) a month early.

Overdue...

I apologize for not having posted an update this week or last.... Last week I had to go to the hospital because I had an infection in one of my teeth that spread down into my lymph-nodes. They put me on an aggressive antibiotic and sent me for an emergency tooth extraction. I'm fine now but my diet has been all over the place and I haven't weighed myself in weeks. I go back to dentist on Monday to find out if the tooth next to the infected one can be saved or if it needs to get pulled as well, either way I see my doctor again on Wednesday (I think) and I'll post an update after that.

Week #? Update

Well, I've lost track of the weeks... it's one week past my 3 month check-up, but I think one of those months had 5 Wednesdays... so, week 14 maybe...

Whatever week it is, I'm also not entirely sure what to write for weight-loss this week; do I go by the actually week or since the "bonus" update 5 days ago? I'll go by the actually week- it looks better :)

My Current Weight: 314 pounds
Change Since Last Wednesday: lost 9 pounds!
Total Change: lost 55 pounds :)

My Current Pledges: $82.75 per pound
Amount Raised: over $4500 (about 18,000 meals)!

Thank you to everyone has been encouraging and supporting me on this journey- together we really are going to make a difference!

Official 3 Month Update (plus Bonus)

So here are the numbers from when I saw my doctor on Wednesday:

My Current Weight: 323 pounds
Change this Week: 0 pounds
Total Change: lost 46 pounds

My Current Pledges: $82.75 per pound
Amount Raised: same as last week :(

Still on the plateau... Obviously what I had been doing wasn't working, so we (my doctor and me) talked about what changes I could make to get back on track. I've been doing a new program for 48 hours and here's the numbers as of this morning (from my home scale, so maybe a 1 pound margin of error):

My Current Weight: 318 pounds
Change Since Wednesday: lost 5 pounds!
Total Change: lost 51 pounds :)

My Current Pledges: $82.75 per pound
Amount Raised: $4220.25 (over 16,000 meals!)

The program is not Atkins but it is a low carb program that reduces insulin production, and its working very well right now (don't worry- I won't be sustaining this rate of loss, I know that would result in my body breaking down stuff that's not fat...) and can be translated into lifestyle changes that will help me keep the weight off. I'm excited to not be standing still anymore, and really excited to have broken the 50 pound mark! 20 more and I'll be under 300 for the first time since (a few months after) my accident :)

2 More Weekly Updates...

Well, apparently I never actually posted last weeks update... sorry, here it is:

My Current Weight: 321 pounds
Change this Week: lost 1 pound
Total Change: lost 48 pounds

So, the plateau continued. Unfortunately, that was the good news- this week the change was small enough that I can pretend I'm still stalled, but in truth I started drifting the wrong direction:

My Current Weight: 323 pounds
Change this Week: gained 2 pounds
Total Change: lost 46 pounds

My Current Pledges: $82.75 per pound
Amount Raised: $165.50 less than last week :(

For a while, I was hoping that I might hit my goal in 3 months (instead of the original 6 month time frame), but I only have one week left to 3 months and it seems pretty unlikely that I'm going to lose 24 pounds this week. Obviously, dieting with my wife hasn't really been working so I'm going to go back to my old program and look for other ways that I can help/encourage her. I still haven't had (or made...) the time to add significant exercise (which is probably what I need to get off this plateau) and, with the semester drawing to an end, it will probably be 2 more weeks before that's a real possibility. Hopefully, the weeks in between will be productive and I might still be able to reach my goal in 4 months.

Official Two (and a half) Month Update

I just came from my Doctor's office and here's where things stand after Two Months (and 10 days):

My Current Weight: 322 pounds
Change this Week: 0 pounds
Total Change: lost 47 pounds

My Current Pledges: $82.75 per pound
Amount Raised: $3889.25 or over 15,000 meals!

So, some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that I didn't lose any weight this week. The good news is that, inspired by the success I've been having, my beautiful wife has decided that its time to lose the baby weight. We've been working on using the same plan- which is basically just eating healthier stuff and kind of watching how much of it we eat. So, its more practical as a long-term change and it'll be great to be doing it together; unfortunately, I didn't lose any weight in our first week of doing it together. Part of that was splurging a bit on Easter (and occasionally since, thanks to the giant basket of candy in the kitchen), but I do need to make some kind of adjustment. I'm going to try to accomplish that by increasing my exercise (from "barely any" to "some"), but time is still my most scarce resource so we'll see how it goes.

Hopefully next week I'll be over the 50 pound mark (which will be over $4000)! Oh, and I think we may have picked up one or two more people, maybe. If I can make time, I'll try to put together an update of how much weight everyone connected to the program has lost (and a rough idea of money raised) for one of the next couple posts.

Another Update

Well, I don't have any time this week- so here's a quick update:

Current Weight: 322 lbs
Change this Week: lost 4.5 lbs
Total Change: lost 47 lbs

hopefully i'll break 50 by next post. I'll try to write more then. Have a good Easter, and keep up the good work!

Week 8 Update

Wow, I can't believe it's been 8 weeks already! Here's where things stand now:

My Current Weight: 326.5 pounds
Change this Week: lost 8 pounds
Total Change: lost 42.5 pounds

My Current Pledges: $82.75 per pound
Amount Raised: over $3500 or over 14,000 meals!

Well, I'm back on track. This was a decent week and I wasn't really even all the way back into my program until part way through it. I'm still averaging over 5 pounds per week and if I can keep this up I'll hit my original goal in 3 months instead of 6! I'd still love to hear how other people's weightloss is going (whether you're participating in the redistribution or not), so please post some stories.

and the damage is...

So, here's an overdue update:

Current Weight: 334.5 pounds
Change this 'Week': +4.5 pounds
Overall Change: -34.5 pounds

I feel pretty bad about putting almost 5 pounds back on, although the good news is I'm feeling better and, starting today, easing back into dieting. Being sick was a setback but I'm still averaging 5 pounds lost per week and that means I'm still almost on pace to reach my goal in 3 months (instead of the original 6 month timeline). Hopefully next week will be a good one, and I'll try not to let so much time pass between updates.

Respite...

...for your wallets.

After weeks of being the only healthy one in our house, I have finally succumb to the illness that has been afflicting my wife and children. I can't afford to still be sick on Sunday, so I'm going to give my body a bunch of easily accessible energy from foods that will be easy on my throat and stomach. All that is to say- I'm not going to be following any kind of diet this week until I get better. I'm hoping not to really gain much weight, but I'm not expecting to lose any this week. Hopefully I'll be better quickly and can get back to work soon.

Week 5 (Unofficial)

Well, my 'weeks' are a little off... I had been doing updates on Wednesdays but then my official weigh-in was on Saturday and I don't even know what day of the week I'm ending on... Maybe I'll start keeping track of the days and just label the posts that way, or maybe I'll just starting using the date instead of the number of weeks. So, however I end up doing that, here's an update:

My Current Weight: 330 pounds
Change this Week: lost 10 pounds
Total Change: lost 39 pounds

My Current Pledges: $82.75 per pound
Amount Raised: $3227.25 or over 12,000 meals!

After 5 weeks, I'm more than halfway to my 6 month goal! (And almost down to where I thought my starting weight was.) My overall weightloss goal is about 120-130 pounds; I thought that was going to be like a 1 or 2 year goal but, the way things are going, losing 100 pounds in 6 months seems like it might be a real possibility. I think after 3 months I might give people the option to pay their pledges on what I've lost up to that point and (hopefully, but optionally) make a new pledge for the last 3 months. Some people were very generous, even sacrificial, with their pledges and, while I'd like to challenge people to be engaged in fighting hunger, I don't want to overburden anyone with a total that's 50% or more higher than they anticipated.

Also, if you're trying to lose weight and/or doing something to help the hungry eat, I'd love to hear about it- I think hearing about each others successes and sharing our failures can be a huge encouragement for all of us (and maybe for people who are thinking about doing something but haven't yet.)

First Official Weigh-in

I had my first official weigh-in after 1 month (on Saturday 3/19). Thankfully, my home scale turned out to be pretty accurate and my official weight was 340 pounds, which puts me down 29 pounds! I've lost track of how many people are raising money/awareness while losing weight (I think there's 9 or 10 of us, maybe more) and I've been encouraged to see others who aren't doing that part but have been inspired to lose weight.

1 Month Update

So, I was supposed to have my first official weigh-in today but, unfortunately, I had a meeting that prevented me from making it to my doctor's office. So this is another unofficial update. I rescheduled for Saturday and I'll post an official weigh-in when I get home.

My Current Weight: 339 pounds
Change this Week: lost 2 pounds
Total Change: lost 30 pounds

My Current Pledges: $80.75 per pound

Number of Participants: at least 8...

For some reason, following my diet this week was just drastically more difficult than the three previous weeks, and had the smallest payoff. I'm thinking I might change things up for a month and try a different program then after the second month either switch back or stick with the new one (or maybe even try another new program)- you know what they say, variety is the spice of life.

I'm actually thinking of trying the Atkins diet... All my favorite foods are meat or cheese (or both- i <3 you, cheddarwurst) and the more I learn about the science behind our metabolism the more Atkins seems reasonable. I'd appreciate comments from people who have tried it, or have close friends or family who have.

Week 3 Update

Well, I splurged a little on my birthday (and Sunday at lunch with my parents) so, not surprisingly, this was the smallest week so far- still a good one though.

My Current Weight: 341 pounds
Change this Week: lost 4 pounds
Total Change: lost 28 pounds

My Current Pledges: $77.75 per pound

Number of Participants: 8! (I think...)

To reach my goal I need to average 2.5 to 3 pounds per week (with a little wiggle room, thanks to a big first 2 weeks), so really this was a pretty good week. We're upto $2177 or 8708 meals so far! I'm really excited too about the growing number of participants- I wrote 'I think' with 8 because there are two people I talked to that I'm not certain have started yet, and (most excitingly) I've heard about a person I've never met or been in direct contact with who wants to start!

By Popular Demand...

A bunch of people have asked for details about what I'm doing so here goes...

My program is all about keeping your metabolism up but your calories down, and being strategic about what you eat. I eat 5 times a day, once every 3 hours, around 300 calories each time. It's not really low-carb, but all my carbs come from whole grains, fruit, and vegetables (no refined carbs, no 'white' foods- no sugar, no white flour, no potatoes, no white rice; definitely no junk like chips, cookies, or cake) and I try to get them all by lunch (3rd meal) and then switch over to greens and lean protein in the afternoon. here's a quick(ish) summary of what I'm doing and some examples:

- start eating first thing when you get up (7-9am): a 1/2cup of whole grain cereal and 1/2c skim milk and a piece of fruit; or, 2 eggs, and 1 slice of whole grain toast (dry).
- 3 hours later (10-12): a piece of fruit (or 1c of berries), a piece of whole grain toast (or whole grain pita), and 1/2c of low-fat cottage cheese or 1c of skim milk (or either breakfast option)
- 3 more hours (1-3pm): 1 can tuna (drained, nothing added) and 1c raw spinach (or 1tbsp hummus) in whole grain pita; or, 3 whole carrots with 2tbsp hummus, and 1c low-fat cottage cheese; or, 4oz of pork or whitefish (broiled or grilled) with 1c of corn or peas
- 3 more hours (4-6pm): 4oz chicken or tuna steak (or, occasionally, shrimp), 1c of broccoli or green beans or cooked spinach, and 1c of skim milk (or extra 1c of veggies); or, 8oz chicken/tuna and 1c of greens (and water instead of milk)
- 3 more hours (7-9pm): same options as previous meal, try not to do exact same thing both times too often.

And don't ever add butter, margarine, or salad dressing to anything (or at least barely any low-fat dressing, try lemon juice instead). You can add black coffee to any of these (or even coffee with a dash of skim milk), but really the key is to always be drinking water. Always. And, your last meal should be at least 3 hours before you go to bed- though, if you sleep 8 hours and actually start eating right away in the morning that will be no problem. Hope this helps!

Week 2 Update

The second week wasn't as huge as the first week, but it was still a great week. Today is my birthday and I'm going to splurge a little for cake and whatnot, so hopefully next week will still be a good week. Thank you to everyone who's involved in one way or another- and, if you're not involved yet, there's still plenty of ways you could get involved!

My Current Weight: 345 pounds
Change this Week: lost 6.5 pounds
Total Change: lost 24 pounds

My Current Pledges: $75.75 per pound

Number of Participants: 6!

These weights are still unofficial- I'll get another official weight 3/16. Right now we're providing 303 meals per pound, so we're over 7,200 meals so far!

Unofficial Update

I didn't own a scale. After my initial weigh-in I thought it might be hard to find one that went high enough.... My wife found me a "Biggest Loser" scale that claims to be accurate up to 450 pounds. I haven't had a chance to see how close it is to my doctor's scale, but its consistent so I'm assuming it's fairly accurate. We'll call these unofficial weigh-ins, but it's been a week already so here's the update:

My Current Weight is: 351.5 pounds
Change this Week: lost 17.5 pounds
Total Change: lost 17.5 pounds :)

Thank you to everyone who's supporting this, that's over $1200 already! Actually, it's over 5000 meals already!!!

Wow (Again)

More pledges came in throughout the week and, after sharing at the 3rd service this morning, I'm just over $73 per pound! That means that if I hit my goal of 70 pound we'll raise over $5,000! That's over 20,000 meals! More good news too- two more people have joined! Fred Claus and Pam Kristich will both be losing weight and raising money and awareness to help the hungry. Hopefully we will be the first 5 of many!

And Then There Were Three...

My friend in Texas, Rebecca Minter, has officially joined the movement! She has her own blog and access to all kinds of people whom I never could have gotten involved. If you're thinking about sponsoring someone feel free to contact her, and if you're on the fence about joining, follow her example ;)

It's Spreading!

I officially have my first partner! She has waaaaaaay less to lose than I do, but a big thank you to Jan Garrison who is going to get healthier and help feed some starving people! Hopefully she'll be the first of many. And, actually I have a friend in Texas who, I think, is about to join, and two in Rochester and one in NYC who are thinking about it....

If you need or want to lose weight, even if it's not a really big amount, please think seriously about joining with us- I can already say from experience that it's touching, and humbling, to see how people will get behind your efforts to get healthier and you'll gain a whole new perspective on food and eating when you're aware that those who don't have any food are impacted by your decisions.

Official Weigh In

Yikes. Well, apparently, this was long overdue... I got my official starting weight today: 369 pounds. I'll post a video below of my doctor confirming that weight (though, it's running inconsistently on my browser...).

 My original goal for the next 6 months was 50-60 pounds, but, since I'm like 40 pounds heavier than I imagined, I'm going to set my goal at 70 pounds (which would take me below 300...). I'll keep you posted....

Wow...

I was able to share at two (out of three) services this morning and we're already upto $38 per pound! I'll share again next week (at the biggest of the 3 services) but I'm already blown away by the response... Right now, for every pound I lose, we'll supply 152 meals to people who need them- if I hit my goal of 60 lbs., that's nearly 10,000 meals! Wow.

First Sponsor

Tomorrow morning at church I'm going to share this plan and look for sponsors there- I already got my first sponsor though. A big thanks to Joe (and Bobbie) Ludwick who pledged $2.00 per pound! Email me if you want to be sponsor number two :)

Official Dates

I'm going to have an official weigh-in on Wednesday 2/16/11. I'll post a video or some pictures afterwards. I'm going to do this for 6 months, so I'll schedule an official final weigh-in for as close to 8/16/11 as possible.

How It Works

Have you ever been in, or supported someone who was in, a walk or race where you raise money by asking for donations by the mile (like- you pledge 5 dollars per mile and then they walk 8 miles and you donate $40)? Well, the idea here is basically the same, only I'm looking for people who will pledge by the pound instead of by the mile (and so could you).

I'll get a starting weight, then see how much weight I can lose in 6 months (though you could do 1 or 3 or 12, whatever you can find sponsors for) and at the end we'll multiple the pledges by the number of pounds lost and start collecting donations (of course, if people want to just make a set donation instead I wouldn't turn it down). Once its all collected, I'll submit it to Feed My Starving Children so they can do their work. You can do the same by mailing contributions to:
 Feed My Starving Children
  401 93^rd Avenue NW
  Coon Rapids, MN 55433
or you can email me if you'd prefer to make other arrangements.

It only costs $0.24 for each meal, so if you can get 20 people to sponsor you for just a quarter per pound then you'll be paying for 20 meals with every pound you lose! Together we can not only get healthier, we can give the gift of food to those who desperately need it.