Lose Weight by Blogging!

How's that for the title of a new diet book? Seriously though, I've decided once again to try and lose some weight. I'd like to take off 20 pounds by my birthday. That's about 2 pounds a week. My long term goal is a lot more, but let's just try to make this first milestone. I actually began a couple of weeks ago, but my efforts have been half-hearted. Many times in the past, I've made the decision to change my eating habits (we don't call them diets anymore), with varying degrees of success. Usually it is a conscious decision I make by myself, without telling anyone, and typically it lasts for a few weeks until I fall off the wagon, and quietly resume my former habits.

I've heard lots of conflicting weight loss tips and advice, and tried many of them. Count calories, don't eat fattening foods. Eat anything you want, but only eat 18 points a day. Watch your fat calories. Watch your carbs. Drink lots of water. Eat small amounts all day long. Don't weigh yourself. Weigh yourself every day. I haven't tried any of the "eat only our food" plans like Jenny Craig, or Seattle Sutton, but I know people who have had success with those plans. But truthfully, all the dieting advice in the world really boils down to 4 words. "Eat Less. Move More". I'll deal with the 'move more' part later. That's a whole 'nother initiative in my case. For now, I'd like to delude myself by thinking I can get by with just 'eat less'.

I have tried and had success with the Weight Watchers plan. I don't think it was due so much to their "points" system as it was to their "accountability" system. To truly participate in the program you needed to write down everything you ate. That meant everything. If I popped 4 jelly beans or a couple of pretzels into my mouth on the way through the kitchen, those weren't invisible calories. I had to write them down and account for them. The other part of the accountability was the weekly meeting and weigh in. You didn't necessarily have to announce your weight to the group, but you did have to weigh in and have your weight recorded by a WW rep.

So this time, instead of joining a group like WeightWatchers, I'm planning to use this blog for the accountability factor. Each week, probably on Mondays, I'll post my current weight and progress (positive or negative) towards my goal. I wont make you read my daily food consumption, but I do plan to track it and may post daily calorie totals. I need to stay around 1800 a day. I'll also comment on how I face some of the challenges I forsee. And, so you can monitor the changes in my physical profile, each month I'll put up a picture of myself in a Speedo.

Ok, maybe not.

Doctor Oz say's don't measure your weight, measure your waist. I have 2 waists. One where I buckle my belt, and another where I button my shirt. I'll report both of them.

Date	Weight	Gain/Loss	Upper Waist	Lower Waist
3/31/08	237	---	48.5	43.5