Excellent.

Like Mike said, everything that goes in has to weigh something. In your case you definitely need to be consistent with when you weigh yourself.

I get on the scale every morning, but I try not to think about it when it goes up sometimes. If I’m keeping track of my calories, I know that it’s usually physically impossible to have gained weight at certain times. Maybe that pound was a late dinner from the night before, or maybe I’ve been drinking a lot more water lately.

Day-to-day changes are statistical noise. That’s why we only weigh in once a week. Even then, you might not see a huge change from one week to the next. But over a month, the changes might be much clearer.

Being off by 1,000 calories is a big deal, but we’re all allowed our slip-ups from time to time. Just don’t make a habit of it. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Losing the weight is about making a major lifestyle change, and none of us would be here again this year if it was all that easy.

You’re right, different people need different motivation. In this case (even before the end of the post) it seems education is more important than forfeit.

Pat: Colin makes a lot of great points about weighing in. Be consistent and weigh yourself at the same time every week.

For the best results do it in the morning, after a shower (don’t ask, I always seemed to weigh a little less after a shower), and before you eat anything or drink a lot. Everything you put in your body increases your weight, even water.

Remember, mass cannot disappear it can only be added and removed.

As for P90X (or any weight training/exercise) questions, hit me up via email mike [at] thehealthier [dot] me or AIM thehealthierme in a couple hours. That goes for anyone else reading this too.

I do have one question, for anyone reading this. I am not very familiar with weight-training, or anything of that nature. I mostly know how to run, bike, and climb stairs (not the hardest stuff to figure out!). I took at look at the P90X stuff, and it seems pretty intense, but that sort of focused intensity may be what will help me break this funk.

Is there a resource out there like P90X that doesn’t require the purchase of a set of DVDs? Something I could take to the gym and work on would be preferred!

Thanks!

I will never give up.

Glad to see that you are back on track and being motivated by this diet. I hope others learn from your experiences and are benefitted.

Thanks so much for this note. After this and a few emails, I do feel much more encouraged to stick with it. I wrote those words after a long day, and after what I feel has been a long fight.

Quite frankly, it’s hard to look back at when I first started. I was very out of shape, weighed 275 pounds, and had a horrible diet. Through the food plan my girlfriend set out for me, and the guidance of a personal trainer, I really hit the ground running (literally!) with my new journey. I lost 20 pounds in just over a month. Within 3 months, I had lost 40 pounds. This was obviously a result of going from no exercise, little sleep, over-exhaustion at work, etc. to having a balanced diet, sleep plan, training plan, etc.

As I was looking at my journal from last year, I noticed that I was wrong earlier about what I had lost and what I had re-gained. I had actually worked down to about 217, and then ended back up to 235. So, as you can see this has been a long, ongoing battle for me.

I do apologize for making it sound as though our competition is discouraging me. If anything, it is encouraging to me. I am motivated to keep going because I know I have at least one, specific person I am working alongside. I would like to extend an invitation to continue the competition between us. It was not the competition that discouraged me, but rather what seemed like a lost battle in what has been a long, hard fought war with weight.

So, while I appreciate your willingness to forfeit, I’m afraid I cannot accept that. I don’t want to be let off easy because of one lousy week. I need someone and some people who can challenge me and push me to give this 110%. I don’t need or want someone to give up on me.

Anyway, I very much appreciate your post. I am not giving up, and I hope you don’t either.