clarkinhouston's Blog

I think you can really see some improvement on many of the comparison pictures, particularly the ones where I’m turned 45% and 90% from the front.  Seeing the results that only 13 pounds can produce makes me very excited to see how much improvement there will be at 225 lbs, 210 lbs, …, and finally at my ideal weight.  Thank you so much to those of you who have checked my site and given me comments and support.  I really appreciate it because that was exactly the reason for me creating the site, to be accountable to the many instead of just a few or only me.  For those who want to see what I’m talking about visit: http://www.LoseWeightWiki.net.  (Please excuse the site for still being pretty much under construction.)
 
What is really surprising to me is that I’m able to cut back so much on eating, still have decent energy, and I really don’t feel hungry. 
 
Feeling hungry has always been my problem with past diets and now I realize the problem wasn’t the lack of “enough” food but that the diet kept my focus on the food.  By giving myself something else to focus on rather than the diet and the food I find it much easier to make the right decision when it comes to snacking or portion size.  I’m not on any particular diet right now and I’m losing weight much faster than I ever have before…and I actually feel good about it!

The first goal I put on my weight loss website was to reach 240lbs by Oct 16th.  I had given myself 4 weeks to lose 11 pounds but instead I lost 12 pounds in 3 weeks!  I love making that kind of progress and I think I finally found a solution that works for me.

In the past I have had goals but the only one to know about them was me, or maybe me and my wife.  Once or twice it was me and a personal trainer I was paying for at the club.  But each time I might lose a few pounds, get a little bit stronger than when I start but never could keep it going long enough to see any real results.  

A few months ago I was almost 280 pounds, I felt terrible and my wife was worried about my health but had also honestly told me I was not very attractive to her anymore.  I decided I really needed to do something about it.  I started to watch what I was eating, especially not snacking at night.  Exercise was still very difficult, both to find the time and because my weight made my joints hurt when I would work out.  I had been making some slow progress, maybe about 15 pounds in 3 or so months, but I wasn't really feeling any better and was finding it hard to not snack in the evening.  

Then I had the idea, what if I made my goals available to anyone who wanted to follow my progress and what if I were not able to hide my weight behind clothes?  I also realized I couldn't be anonymous, I had to be clearly identified.  That would make me accountable to a growing number of people rather than to just myself and one or two others.    

So I started designing how I would create this site, went looking for domain names and over about a week I lost 10lbs!  Every time I thought about eating a snack in the evening I also thought about the pictures anyone could see of me all the way around.  Every meal as I dished out my serving I thought about those pictures and made the portions smaller and forget about seconds.  Tony Robbins has said we driven by pain or pleasure and what we focus on determines what we chose.  That's why I would gain weight because I would focus on the immediate pleasure of food instead of focusing on the pain of gaining weight.  Now I had a much stronger reason to take my focus away from the pleasure of food, knowing that from now until I reach my ideal weight people will see exactly what I look like without clothes.  So do I want too eat something unhealthy, or eat more than I need, or do I want people to see me making great progress toward my ideal weight?    

So on September 18th I took the Initial set of pictures at the weight of 251 pounds.  I also set the goal of being 240lbs by October 16th and the penalty for missing the goal would be that I couldn't blur any portion of my pictures.  Yes, I find that embarrassment can be great incentive to meet or exceed my goals, especially where exposing my privates, potentially to the world,  is concerned.  

Well, the incentive worked like a charm and today, one week ahead of schedule, I weighed 239lbs!   

I also think this could work for other people as well so I am continuing to develop the site to make it easy for others to use as well.  For those who would like to just check it out or would like to let me know you are holding me accountable to you as well, the URL is: http://www.LoseWeightWiki.net.  If you do check out the site, please let me know.  I'd really appreciate comments and feedback on how I can make it better and more useful.

My mood: very accomplished

When I signed up on EP I didn't know what to expect but now I'm starting to understand the difference between EP and Facebook or MySpace and it's major.

I've noticed that Facebook and MySpace kind of keep you up with what your friends are doing at a surface level and maybe some people make new friends there but for the most part I picture having them as friends before linking up on the social network.  

On EP people can really let other people know what is going on in their head and I see it as a place to possibly make real and deep friends who you may never meet in person.  And maybe you don't want your "local" friends to get that deep into your head.