At the time of this writing I am a 53 year old married engineer. I have been battling weight issues all of my adult life. But after repeated failures in trying to lose weight I've decided to try this website. I've read many weight loss stories over the last year and many of them mentioned this website. I hope this Can work for me.
11/16/2011
So far its been working. I have dropped around 23 pounds and have had no cravings. But I haven't hit my first plateau. I know one is coming. ...

At the time of this writing I am a 53 year old married engineer. I have been battling weight issues all of my adult life. But after repeated failures in trying to lose weight I've decided to try this website. I've read many weight loss stories over the last year and many of them mentioned this website. I hope this Can work for me.
11/16/2011
So far its been working. I have dropped around 23 pounds and have had no cravings. But I haven't hit my first plateau. I know one is coming. When it comes, we'll see how I handle it.
11/21/2011
I am now 27.5 lbs down! And quite frankly, it hasn't been all that difficult. Has it taken work? Yes. But anything worthwhile takes work. I am so pumped now! I haven't changed my workout all that much but tracking and monitoring what I eat has been the key. I went to Ruby Tuesday's yesterday and automatically I scanned the menu for their healthy choices. I feel that this lifestyle change is becoming a mindset. And although I'm 'pumped' by the success, I am careful to not become overconfident for I believe overconfidence can lead to problems. What I have to keep reminding myself is that this is not a diet, but a lifestyle change; especially since I am still in the beginning of this. I am a little concerned about how I will react when I reach my first plateau; which I know will come. But I'm hoping the tools on this website will help me get through it when it does.
11-28-2011
It looks like I've hit my first plateau. My weight is up about 5 pounds from last week; although I have been recording everything and making sure I had a calorie deficit for the week. Its not all bad news. I have been checking my % body fat and noticed that I have gained 3 pounds of muscle over the last month. That could be the reason for the weight gain. I am staying positive and will change a few things. I have been riding my bicycle trainer 5 to 6 times a week at 30 minute clips, while averaging 21 mph. At that vigorous pace I noticed my heart rate got up to near (and over at times) 150 bpm (my metabolic resting rate is 59). That can have the adverse affect of burning muscle; so I will try to slow my heart rate down (decrease intensity slightly) and ride longer (40 minutes). I plan on changing my normal elliptical workout at gym after weight training to the stair climber; at least once this week. Hopefully these changes will shock my body and start my weight going down again.
12/5/2011
The plateau remains, but I'm a little more optimistic. I gained 4 pounds between my Friday and Monday weigh in. But I also checked my fat percentage and body fat weight both days. I discovered that I did not lose or gain any fat. It read 94 lbs both days. So the weight gain has to be increased muscle and/or water. I can't believe I gained 4 pounds from water so the majority must be from muscle gains from my weight training. I will focus more this week on doing what I need to do to lose more fat. I will lower my caloric intake but try to keep my protein at the same level and see if that will have an effect.
1/9/2012
I can safely say I've busted through that last plateau. I am now 256.75 lbs and dropping! It is no longer a passing fancy. I am not totally ensconced in this lifestyle. I don't feel right if I don't get my weekly exercise in and I always am careful about what I use to fuel my body. I track everything I eat and that is coming normal to me. I plan on keeping it up!
1/17/2012
After an up and down couple of weeks weight wise, I weighed in yesterday at 255. I wasn't too concerned about the weight going up and down a a little since I was still fitting my clothes better. I figured I was gaining a little muscle. I have 4 more pounds to go to reach 40 total. When I joined SparkPeople I put in as my goal weight, 244 lbs by April 2012. I selected that weight because that is what I weighed when I got married and I selected that date because that is when I plan on going back to Brooklyn to visit my mom and siblings. But at the rate I am going, I will reach that weight well before then. If that happens, I'll select another reasonable goal. Thanks to all of the folks here who have motivated me to continue in this lifestyle change. PS. It is about time to post some pictures showing my 35+ pound loss.
1/30/2012
I'm reaching heights I haven't been to in a long long time. This morning I weighed in at 252.75 lbs. That means I am 1-3/4 lbs from 40 pounds lost since joining SparkPeople. Hopefully I will reach that goal by next week. I am starting to get a lot of comments about my weight loss from friends and colleagues. And when asked what I'm doing, I let them know about this site. I believe I mentioned in an earlier blog post that I started P90X at the beginning of this year. I started week 4 this week and this morning did the plyometric workout. It has gotten easier, so I know my fitness level has improved as well. I promise to post some pictures soon. If I keep this up, my interim goal of 245 by April 1 will be reached sometime in late February or early March.

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