Are you really hungry?

Weight Watchers Online has a good tip that I have kept in mind since I have been involved with the program.

Tip of the Week: Studies have shown that it takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to let your brain know it's satisfied. Start with smaller portions and then wait 20 minutes before digging in for seconds. You may find that you're no longer hungry.

This has been a big one for me. I have learned that most of the times when I thought I was hungry, I really was not. Maybe I was more thirsty than hungry.

Weight Watchers emphasizes paying better attention to your body's signals. Knowing when you're hungry and when you're not is an important part of the battle against the bulge.

Focusing on phytonutrients

I've been researching phytonutrients as part of my quest to lighten up and get healthy. Phytonutrients, also known as pytochemicals, are organic components of plants thought to promote health. Fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, and teas are rich sources of phytonutrients. WebMD answers some frequently asked questions.
Cooking can lead to nutrient loss. The longer a food is exposed to heat, the greater the nutrient loss, according to the World's Healthiest Foods site. The USDA also has information on phytonutrients.

Thirty pounds down, twenty more to go

They don't call it Weight Watchers for nothing -- you are really expected to watch your weight. In fact, when you're on Weight Watchers Online, you weigh-in every week to track your progress.

My weight tracker started March 14, 2010. I had already begun losing weight on my own before I joined Weight Watchers, so at the time I put in 220 pounds. Trying to lose weight strictly on my own, I had lost about five pounds.

The cool thing about Weight Watchers Online is that the tracker calculates your average weekly weight change and even generates a chart. I really love this because it is reassuring to see that descending line. That does a lot for me psychologically.

My initial goal weight of 209 pounds was achieved April 4, 2010. From then on, I have consistently lost weight through the rest of the month, into to May, June, and now, July.

I have lost an average of 1.7 pounds a week. At this rate, I should reach my goal weight much quicker than I originally though I would.

Keeping track in California

Greetings from sunny southern California! I have been enjoying a few beautiful days (which I've been told the weather is like this all the time) in the Los Angeles area with SaveGasBurnFat.com creator Vinnie.

He has been kind enough to show me around, and offer a few tips in my continuing effort to lose that extra 50 pounds I had packed on. I now weight 198 pounds, so that means I have only about 15 pounds more to go. I feel like I'm coming around the home stretch, as the first 30 or so didn't seem that difficult. After all, I have never gone hungry this entire time. I have simply educated myself on eating properly. My body has rewarded me by slimming down. I've never felt better.

Just this morning we had a free hour, so we went over to the gym to squeeze in a workout. Now that I have my diet under control, thanks in large part to Weight Watchers Online, I am ready to focus on getting fit. By eating right and working out, I hope to lose even more weight. I have been consistently dropping about a pound or two each week. With an added workout routine, I expect those figures to double.

Today we did some arm exercises. Yesterday we worked on legs. After working with the weights, we hopped on the treadmill. I'm not in the greatest shape of my life, so I jogged for only a couple of minutes and walked the rest. Vinnie keeps himself in tip-top shape, so he easily jogged the entire time.

The time we spent in the gym both days only felt like a small sliver of the day. It's really not a huge commitment. Many people sit in front of a television for hours each day. Why not take just one of those hours and spend it in the gym? It's really worth it when you consider the benefits. I've started from scratch with working out after taking several years off, and I already feel great. I know I'll only feel better as I work toward my target weight.

As for the food here, it has all been exceptional. Just because I'm on vacation doesn't mean I have to fly off the handle when it comes to my diet plan. I have been able to find healthy options everywhere we've gone. My only deviation was a small one. I had to try the Artie Lange cupcake at Crumbs Bake Shop in Calabasas. Baba Booey has one, too. Vinnie and I split it and made sure to leave some on the table. After all, it was only meant to be dessert. We also each had a cup of Starbucks coffee to work on. Of course, we focus on the coffee and leave all of the add-ons out.

All in all, I have had a wonderful time here in California. If you'd like to check out some photos from my trip, go to my "California" album on Facebook.

Chipping away at weight loss

I was checking out my uncle Vinnie's latest blog post at his site, SaveGasBurnFat.com, and I realized that it is had been quite some time since I've last checked in on "The 50 pound guy" blog.

I have been plugging along with my diet. I'm now down to an even 200 pounds, which means I'm more than halfway to my goal of 180 pounds.

I feel like I've come a long way from my days of 230 pounds. Clothes are fitting a lot better. People are starting to notice a change. And I really feel great every day. I'm glad I decided to do this, and I'm looking forward to even better things in the days to come.

It's just a matter of having a plan and sticking to it. Sure, I want to fall off the wagon sometimes, but I know it will only set me back on my goal. I'm not overly strict. I'm simply realistic. I'm ticking away at about a pound or two a week. That way, it's not a dramatic change in my lifestyle. As I see it, I'm easing my way into a healthier, better life.

I've discovered that a little bit of change, when applied consistently to my everyday life, can make a whole lot of difference in the long run.

I feel like I cannot afford not to do this. When I'm at a grocery store and I'm trying to decide between cheap junk food and more expensive healthy food, it's a no-brainer. I guess it's a matter of paying now or paying later. I'd much rather front the additional few cents it takes to eat good food, especially if it means saving me from a hospital bed and those sky-high medical bills in the future. I don't take any prescription drugs now, and I don't plan to take any in the future. I guess when you look at it that way, it's sort of like a savings plan for myself.

Let's face it, the spare tire I used to carry around my waist didn't earn me any style points. And it certainly didn't do anything good for my health. As far as I see it, that flab was a ticking time bomb. Sooner or later, I was going to have to pay the piper.

As we all figure out at some point, there is no free lunch.

Healthy food tastes better than junk food

In some strange way, I have come to notice that healthy foods now taste better than junk foods to me.

The other day I was eating at a restaurant and someone had an entire glass of Dr. Pepper that they decided they didn't want. Being from the school of thought that no food or drink should be wasted, I decided to take a few sips of the soda. I guess I just couldn't stand for the perfectly fine beverage go straight from the table to dishwasher.

It didn't take long for me to feel funny after having the drink. I suppose I have grown accustomed to drinking only water, milk, coffee and tea. I felt downright bad after drinking just a few sips of this soda.

It has been so weird lately. I don't find myself craving an afternoon run to the vending machine. I actually find myself eating fruits and vegetables...and enjoying the experience. I never thought I would consistently choose, say, an apple, over a handful of jelly beans.

I have noticed that a bag of jelly beans has sat untouched right next to my computer for going on two or three months now. In that time, I have gone straight for real fruit, rather than waste my time with whatever is in the candy.

When you buy fruits and vegetables, that is the one and only thing you get. When you buy junk food, you get a paragraph of stuff that you can't identify, and sometimes can't even pronounce. It doesn't take an expert to know which would be the wise choice.

Does 'Precious' have a problem?

"I woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and thought: 'I look like Precious'"

David Alan Grier's statement on a recent Adam Carolla Podcast caught my attention.

For those who may not know, Precious stars Gabourey Sidibe as Clareece "Precious" Jones, an overweight, illiterate African-American teen in Harlem. The actress has been nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of Precious.

The critically-acclaimed movie has brewed a controversy over its star's weight.

Is big and beautiful a bad thing?

Well, I've come to find out that what people think looks good, or at least is tolerable, doesn't always mean it's healthy. Put another way, so many people are so used to seeing overweight and obese people that they have come to look past it. I know I have a tendency to do that.

Oh, there's a 300-pound person...maybe it will all work out for him and he'll become an NFL offensive lineman.

Go to the CDC's Body Mass Index Calculator to see for yourself. Take my starting weight when I proclaimed myself The 50 Pound Guy:

Height: 6 feet, 1 inches; Weight: 230 pounds...

"Your BMI is 30.3, indicating your weight is in the Obese category for adults of your height. For your height, a normal weight range would be from 140 to 189 pounds. People who are overweight or obese are at higher risk for chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol."

What the hell? No, man, I'm "pleasantly plump!" Chicks dig guys with multiple chins, right?

If I was juiced up like a "Jersey Shore" guido, maybe I could justify the 230 pounds. Sure, I wouldn't mind playing middle linebacker for the New Orleans Saints, but I'm not in that kind of shape. Some fat guys like to wear T-shirts that read, "I'm in shape...round is a shape." That's the shape I was in, and it was getting worse.

Now that I weigh 213 pounds, I'm merely Overweight, according to the BMI.

Once I get down to 189 pounds, I will be in the Normal category.

What does all of this have to do with Precious? Who knows, I just needed a hook for this article.

Thanks for readin'!

Why does everyone call it a diet?

Let's face it, there is nothing cool about a guy on a diet. Yet, that's what everyone seems to insist on calling it. I know it's just a word, but words hold power. It must mean something to me after all since I took the time to write about it.

I don't like to call what I'm doing a diet. That word, at least to me, tends to conjure up negative connotations. High school girls who want to fit into their prom dresses a month out to prom go on diets. That same diet might be thrown out well before graduation rolls around. Diets don't suggest a change in long-term behavioral change.

Weight Watchers Online doesn't feel like a quick fix to me. It's a long-term strategy for stopping the progression of my unhealthy ways and weight gain.

I was thinking the other day about how the program is a lot like the bumpers used in the gutters at bowling alleys. Without the bumpers, the worst case scenario would be rolling a gutter ball. But with the bumpers, the ball will always stay in play.

EveryDiet.org lists Weight Watchers as one of its most popular. WebMD also evaluates a variety of programs. I took a look at a few other options out there, and I feel like I made the right choice for myself.

Getting familiar with Weight Watchers

Weight Watchers Online has really opened my eyes. I haven't been using it a full week yet, and already I'm learning that all foods are not equal. I'm learning that portion sizes matter. I'm learning that I don't have to pig out to feel full. And, most importantly, I'm learning that I don't have to ever feel hungry to lose weight.

I really like that the POINTS Tracker has a function that allows users to think about their hunger level before and after eating. I find that it really makes me think about how hungry I actually was prior to eating, and how satisfied I can be after eating even a modest portion. Plus, Weight Watchers marks filling foods with a green icon. It's always nice to have the green light to eat, and that's precisely what these filling foods are.

I'd say the single best thing about Weight Watchers I've found is that it teaches you how to eat in a more healthy way without losing track of the realities of everyday life. Nothing is off limits. I like that about the program. But, as I've learned, certain foods just aren't worth having. Sure, I could have a piece of cake, but it's just not worth it when I consider the alternatives. There are so many other foods that I could have more of for that amount of points.

I'm finding that the system can actually be enjoyable. I'm a sports guy, so I really get into games and competition. Weight Watchers is a strategy to eat and live better. The online program is pretty much a daily scoreboard. It calculates a daily points target for one's height, weight and other factors. Points can be traded for activity.

The other day I was thinking about how this is like fantasy games. Many people like to play fantasy sports online. Well, this is sort of the same deal. If anything, the stakes are much higher because you're dealing with your health. What do you get if you win your fantasy baseball league? Maybe a few dollars, maybe just bragging rights. Losing weight and being healthy easily trumps that for me.

It didn't take long for me to become familiar with the interface for the tracker. Help messages frequently popped up to help me get the basics down. Before long, I was just as nimble with the tracker as I am with Facebook. The layout is clean, and everything I need is easy to find.

I've already banked a number of favorite foods. I'm also working on adding favorite meals and recipes. Some of my favorites are zero points, as long as I stay within the portion limits. For example, I like black coffee without any sweeteners added. That's zero points. Uncooked carrots are also zero. I have already found many foods that I've always liked are only one, two or three points when consumed in moderation.

I've known for some time which foods were good and which were bad, but now I have the knowledge to track my intake of these foods. I'm not guessing anymore. I'm not going hungry, and I'm not doing anything unhealthy. In fact, the tracker has a section called healthy checks. It allows me to check off liquids, milk products, fruits and vegetables, multivitamins and whole grains, to name just a few.

Weight Watchers could have easily been named "Weight Watchers for Dummies." It couldn't be any easier. I'm already feeling better. My clothes are fitting better. And the scale tells me five pounds have already disappeared. Five pounds, gone in thin air. All I have to do now is follow this insanely simple program, and that five pounds will turn into fifty.

Does Weight Watchers work?

That is the question that I'll aim to answer.

Last night I signed up for Weight Watchers Online. They offer a month-to-month subscription plan, or a pay-up-front plan for the first three months and the initial registration fee. I chose the latter deal since it saved me some money. I figured if I'm going to be in this for the long haul, I might as well start acting like it.

It was fairly late at night when I started the sign-up process, so I haven't had much time to look around the site yet. But from what I've seen, things looked laid out nicely. It may take a little getting used to, but I can see getting the hang of the site. It seems to be very user friendly.

In just the few minutes that I'd been on it, I have learned several tips. Now I can be confident that I'm losing weight in a much healthier way than simply guessing my way through it. The online program gives me the tools to precisely track my progress.

As far as the price, I think it is reasonable. Not to sound like a blowhard, but I can't afford not to drop a few dimes on Weight Watchers. The price I pay for the online program is close in price to what I pay for Netflix.

My uncle Vinnie, who is a professional fitness trainer in Los Angeles and creator of SaveGasBurnFat.com, turned me on to Weight Watchers. He has been a great coach along my journey to dropping extra weight. I was fortunate enough to have him tell me about the program before I jumped into it. Now I want to pay that advice forward and share it with the world through this blog.

Vinnie often breaks down to the simplicity of what it takes to be healthy and fit. We call his one-liners "Vinnieisms." One of my favorites is "You have to pay the piper somewhere." This really rings true when I think about the ticking time bomb that is my midsection. It's only a matter of time, and the health problems will start to manifest. My goal is to cut those problems off with a proactive approach.

How emotions drive weight gain

I have been thinking a lot lately about how emotions affect one's weight. I understand quite well how I let a lean 180-pound high school teenager turn into a bloated 230-pound young man. And I would be fooling myself if I pretended that my emotions didn't have something to do with the transformation.

This morning, I stepped on the scale to find out my "true weight" at this point in time. Note that I referred to it as "true weight." I didn't call it an estimate, and I didn't dock any pounds for my wallet (not that it weighs much since there's so little money in there) or shoes or anything else draped off of me.

I believe it's important to be precise about how many pounds I weigh, especially as I monitor my progress. That's why I follow the advice that my uncle Vinnie gave me. He's a professional fitness trainer and creator of SaveGasBurnFat.com. I take his pointers to heart because I know his tips are tried and true. I've seen him literally turn lives around over the last 25 or so years. He's living proof that his methods work, and so are the clients he's guided to success.

One of the many tips that he's offered that has stuck with me is the importance of monitoring my true weight. To find this, you've got to be totally naked, and you've go to weigh yourself after a night's sleep. The idea behind this is that all of the foods and liquids you took in the day before will not be much of a factor. Also, one seeking their true weight should urinate prior to stepping on the scale. After all of those steps are made, the reading on the scale will reveal one's true weight.

This morning the scale read 219 pounds. That figure is fine by me. It means that slowly but surely weight is coming off. I have been eating far less than I have in the past, and I have been paying more attention to what and when I eat. Little rewards are already popping up. My clothes are fitting a little better already. And I'm feeling well most of the time.

Along with improving my diet, I am working in some exercise. This is a vast difference from what I had been doing, which was virtually no exercise.

One tip that I picked up myself has been beneficial to me so far. I began to notice that no matter where I went between home and work, I would tend to see people walking on high school tracks. I figured a few laps around the track wouldn't hurt.

I've learned that a brisk walk doesn't have to take hours out of my day. A lot of times I find myself "killing time" while waiting to do something. Why not use that time wisely and fit in a little workout? For a novice such as myself, a walk around the track is about as grueling as it gets anyway. Just the other day, I had about an hour to kill, so I hit the track and walked until the time was through.

Walking is easy. It can be quite an enjoyable workout. I usually make it a habit to load my Ipod with podcasts in case I'm ever bored and in need of some entertainment. That hour or so where I walked the track wasn't such a drag because I had more podcasts than I could listen to at my disposal.

Just the simple decision to take a walk can be preceded by a range of thoughts and emotions. It's just like those little battles that come from the temptations of junk food. Sure, it's comforting to indulge, but there is a price to pay down the line.

Many of us learn that food can bring comfort, at least in the short-term, so we often turn to food to heal emotional problems, according to Web MD article Emotional Eating and Weight Loss.

The article lists the five main categories of emotions that trigger eating:

- Social. How often do we eat only because others around us encourage it? For me, simply living in south Louisiana adds a degree of difficulty to eating right. For those who don't know, eating heavy meals is practically a religion. It would be blasphemy to turn down someone's cooking. I'm not joking. If you turn down someone for food, don't be surprised if they stop talking to you. In many ways, it's social suicide to decline food that someone's offered to you. For many people, food is love. Their offering of food to you is sacred. If you don't take it, you must be some kind of freak.

- Emotional. I've been known to eat out of sheer boredom. Many nights I would nestle into some food just because that's what I've always done at night. It just became a habit. Sometimes eating relieved stress, tension and anxiety. The food fills a void, if only for a little while. The only problem is that it comes back to haunt you.

- Situational. A lot of times food is simply there. Well, someone went through all the trouble of making this food, so I might as well eat it. Pretty pitiful excuse, huh? Let's see, I'm at the movies, so I must have popcorn, candy and a soda. Oh, and don't forget to drown it in butter! And if you're at a baseball game, by law, you must have a hot dog. Why? As far as I know, the movie and the game will not be affected by what you're eating.

- Thoughts. Excuses, excuses, excuses. We've all heard them. I know I've made them. I often hear about dieters referring to "cheat days" where they pick a day of the week to eat whatever they want. They basically give themselves a free pass to pig out. I've always been skeptical of this. Why make a deal with yourself? Eating right should not be negotiable. Before you know it, you'll start making other deals with yourself. Things will likely unravel, and before you know you'll be right back to your old ways. I'm not a fan of "cheat days." It's not like I do the right thing every day except one. What if Saturday was the day where we could all break laws? That sure would change things.

- Physiological. Eating in response to physical cues, such as increased hunger due to skipping meals or eating to cure headaches or other pain.

I found a great tip in the Prevention article Weight Gain and Emotions: Set a timer for five minutes, then allow yourself to feel whatever you sense that you are avoiding on that particular day. If you are sad, allow yourself to cry. If you are angry, allow yourself to feel the anger in your body. When the timer rings, get up and go on with your day.

In other words, don't let your emotions seep into your eating habits. Eat for nutrition, not for a broken heart or loneliness or any other emotion.

Inspiration from Taylor LeBaron, the boy who 'cut himself in half'

I found a great Huffington Post article by Taylor LeBaron, a young man who went from 297 pounds at age 14 to 145 pounds.

LeBaron, co-author of "Cutting Myself in Half: 150 Pounds Lost, One Byte at a Time," has quite an inspirational story, and has some great tips to turning one's life around from obesity.

"My life did a 180 when I lost 150 pounds," LeBaron wrote. "Now every day is filled with amazing opportunities."

While I don't need to "cut myself in half," I do feel like I have an up-hill battle in dropping 50 pounds. Knowing that others have lost even more than a measly 50 pounds, I feel like I can do it.

Water, coffee and tea

Earlier today as I finished off my usual morning brew of coffee (Louisiana's own Community Coffee is my favorite), I thought about something that I had heard a time or two in the past. From what I remember, one may drink as much water, coffee and tea as they'd like while dieting as long as nothing is added. So I set out to find some answers. Have a look at what I found.

Is coffee cool?

The Web MD article 'Coffee: The New Health Food?' certainly caught my interest as I searched Google for any health benefits of water, coffee and tea.

If you'd like to, by all means, go ahead and read the article linked above to catch all the specifics. But if you'd like the Reader's Digest version, I'll spare you the boredom of sifting through a bunch of studies and medical mumbo jumbo in the early part of the article. Basically, coffee might not be so bad for you.

Bottom line: People who already drink coffee (like me) don't have to feel guilty since there may be benefits in the long run.

In a Mayo Clinic Q & A article, Donald Hensrud, M.D., answers the question 'What does the research say about coffee and health?'

"The best answer may be: It doesn't seem to hurt, and it may help," Hensrud wrote, which was music to my ears to read.

According to Web MD, black coffee is calorie-free and rich in antioxidants. Studies have shown that consuming moderate amounts of coffee (about 3 to 4 cups a day) may improve mood and concentration, and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and several types of cancer. Yippie!

This is great news for me since I like the taste of black coffee.


Tea time all the time

Don't drink your calories. That's a saying I recall hearing a few times over the years. And it really makes sense to me. If I'm going to take in calories and sugar, I might as well get the satisfaction of chewing. Come on, it's really not that weird when you think about it.

Bearing that in mind, I have always chosen tea over soda, especially at restaurants. As long as I didn't get sweetened tea, I was alright. Plus, the whole sweetener packages thing was never for me. It all clumped to the bottom of the glass anyhow. It requires stirring every time you take a sip, and when you do get a taste of the sweetener, it's not all that great.

The sweeteners don't really improve the taste enough to bother with adding, so I pretty much always drink tea plain.

Due to my taste for tea, I raised a curious eyebrow when I found the Web MD article 'Drinking tea may trim men's waistlines.

"A new study shows that men who drink more than two cups of tea a day have trimmer waistlines than men who drink coffee or nothing at all," Jennifer Warner wrote. "But the same doesn't hold true for women."

Sorry, ladies. Apparently the jury is still out as more research is needed, according to the article.

Easy going green

More often than not, when I go for tea, I make it green tea.

"Green tea is another excellent choice when you’re looking for a little caffeine," according to Web MD. "Not only is it calorie-free, some research suggests green tea extract may stimulate weight loss through the action of phytochemicals."

This works just fine for me. Green tea is easy to make, and it tastes good. Overall, it's a winning combination.

The power of water

Last but not least, water has been an important part of my living well renaissance. In fact, it's probably the most important aspect of the whole deal.

"Replacing carbonated soft drinks with water will cut hundreds of calories per day, and the benefits don’t stop there. Drinking two glasses of water before a meal may encourage the stomach to feel full more quickly, so you don’t eat as much," according to Web MD's Skinny Sipping slideshow.  In addition, new research suggests drinking plenty of water may have a positive effect on your metabolism."

I make sure that I have plenty of drinking water around me, especially at the office and at home, where I'm most prone to seeking out snacks. Keeping hydrated wards off hunger and promotes feeling of well-being for me.

Hands down, my top priority is getting in enough water. If I can complete that objective, the rest can fall into place much easier.

Maybe I'm ahead of the curve

I found this article on Reuters, headlined "Tax soda, pizza to cut obesity, researchers say."

U.S. researchers estimate that an 18 percent tax on pizza and soda can push down U.S. adults' calorie intake enough to lower their average weight by 5 pounds (2 kg) per year.

If this happens, I won't be able to afford to eat like I used.

It's National Nutrition Month

 

March is National Nutrition Month.The American Dietetic Association's EatRight.org has some helpful hints about making better food choices.
For me, this site will come in handy. I've added the link to my list so I can return back to the site often.
In the battle of the bulge, every little bit counts. Anything that I can fit into my arsenal of tips and tricks is welcome.

So far, so good

I reached 29 years old recently, and I must say things have been going well for me lately. I received a promotion at work, and I have a great family and wonderful friends. Even the weather is getting better here in Louisiana. The cold, dark winter days are slowly but surely giving way to brisk, sunny ones.

Dare I say it would be tough to complain about anything. Of course, just like Adam Carolla and his "What Can't Adam Complain About" segment from his radio show, and now, podcast, I'm sure I'll think of something.

Ah, here's something...Wendy's. That's right, the burger joint with the cartoon ginger kid. I pass by that place at least twice a day when I'm going to and from work. Do you know how hard it is to pass a place that you know has bacon double cheeseburgers, fries and a soda for around five bucks? For a guy like me, it's rough. I didn't get up to 230 pounds by not eating, I can tell you that much.

Right now I'm running on will power, but soon I'll be running on Weight Watchers.

My uncle Vinnie over at SaveGasBurnFat.com gave me the tip to look into the program. I figured he knows a thing or two about staying fit, after all he's been living out in Los Angeles for years now working as a professional fitness trainer. When he talks fitness, I perk up my ears.

I'll have to admit, I was caught off guard when he suggested I check out Weight Watchers. To be honest, I thought it was only for women.

Educated as a journalist at Louisiana State University, I tend to be good about putting in research. This is no different.

What is the Weight Watchers diet?

 According to Web MD (reviewed by expert Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD), since the early 1960s, Weight Watchers has been the gold standard for successful weight loss programs.

"You don't have to eat less, just smarter, on the Weight Watchers diet," Zelman writes. "No foods are prohibited. Instead, each food is assigned 'points' based on its calorie, fat, and fiber content."

That's what I like about it - Weight Watchers is really not a diet, it's more of a way of life. It's not about gimmicks to lose weight to fit into a swimsuit and then balloon back up in time for Christmas. I'm not interested in that. I'm interested in the long haul. I don't want to have a spare tire belly hovering around my waste when I'm 40.

Football and Weight Watchers

So can I still watch football with my buddies and stick to Weight Watchers? First of all, there will be lots of buffalo wings and greasy pizza to go around, so that will make it tough. And secondly, there is the whole announcing that I'm not eating the dip and chips because I'm on Weight Watchers.

As Althea Zanecosky, MS, RD, writes in the Web MD article, the Weight Watchers online program provides "anonymity that some people need (especially men), and the convenience called for by those who cannot attend group meetings."

Sure, making it to group meetings may be tough, especially with the nature of my work. But as far as needing the anonymity? I'd say it's not a requirement. For crying out loud, I'm writing about this for all the world to see, so I'm beyond the "admitting I have a problem" step.

I really like the idea that my favorite foods are still allowed as long as eaten in moderation. Living in Louisiana, food is a way of life, for better or for worse. At least I won't be the oddball at the crawfish boil who's only having a cracker, or the weirdo pushing aside the jambalaya bowl for some celery stalks.

Here we go, just found a whole section of the site just for men. At least I know I won't be the only one.

I've got a feeling I have my work cut out for me with this project.

The humble beginning of 'The 50 pound guy'

In the beginning

Something had to be done.

A full ten years removed from the day I received my high school diploma, things were changing. Probably the most visible differences were in my appearance, from the sagging double chin I saw in the mirror to the bulging belly that began to hang over my belt. Closing in on my 29th birthday, I wasn't looking so hot, to put it mildly. A little fat here and a little fat there added up to a quite a lot -- 50 extra pounds, to be precise.

The ugly truth

A guy my height (just over 6-feet tall) shouldn't tip the scales at 230 pounds. According to the CDC's body mass index, I should check in at closer to 180 pounds.

Height: 6 feet, 0 inches
Weight: 230 pounds

Your BMI is 31.2, indicating your weight is in the Obese category for adults of your height.For your height, a normal weight range would be from 136 to 184 pounds.
People who are overweight or obese are at higher risk for chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol.

That's where "the 50 pound guy" thing comes in. I'm hoping to shed those 50 pounds and return to the weight of my high school days, when I was in a healthier 180-pound range.

Sure, we've all seen the folks who are morbidly obese. Unfortunately, we all know someone in that situation. They weigh in excess of 300 pounds, and many times want desperately to lose weight. Many of them resort to extreme measures, such as gastric bypass surgery or other medical procedures.

Of course, I'm not that guy. But I am the guy who is teetering on the edge of overweight, and dangerously close to falling into the obese crowd. Television shows are done about the folks at the extremes, meanwhile there are thousands of people out there who don't need to lose hundreds of pounds but merely need to drop about 50 pounds or so, such as I do.

How did this happen?


It really crept up on me. It seemed like yesterday that I was sitting on a doctor's table listening to options on how to bulk up. Could it be that a teenager who was deemed too skinny could possibly become an adult who was overweight and headed to obesity?

That's not just a yes, that's a big fat yes.

When I was a teenager staying in shape was much easier. School afforded more opportunities to exercise and stay active, at least more than office jobs do.

As a teenager there are many different sports and athletic activities available to you. School starts in the morning at the same time every day, and the final bell dismisses you at the same time every afternoon. After that, there is still plenty of daylight to enjoy.

Even when not playing on formal teams or with organizations, I was always able to find a basketball goal or a bicycle to use. Moving around wasn't so much of a problem, so excess calories taken in at the lunch room would eventually get burned.

Then college came and things changed. Going to a university typically means moving out of your hometown, living in a new place and meeting new people. Simply going to and from classes on a big campus could be enough walking to keep a person slim.

After earning a degree, every job I had involved writing in some sort of way. Unfortunately for me, writing doesn't involve any aerobic activity. I found myself sitting much of the day jabbing away at a keyboard. Most of the time, the only exercise I would get was back and forth from my car. Now I'm not expert, but I can tell you that simply walking a few steps per day won't burn many calories. And due to that, all of the food I ate turned to excess body fat.

I'm not completely innocent here. I knew exactly what I was doing. I can't play dumb. I knew full well where the candy machine was located, and I made a point to visit it every day. This is embarrassing to admit, but sometimes I made it my lunch. A bag of Zapp's potato chips, Butterfinger candy bar and Barq's root beer makes for a tasty meal, but not a particularly healthy one.

My uncle Vinnie, who is a professional fitness trainer in Los Angeles, calls me often and gives me tips, especially since I've expressed interest in stopping this freight train headed toward obesity. I've learned a lot from him, and I frequently check out his advice at his Web site, SaveGasBurnFat.com. He's had so many success stories with clients over the years, I figured why not hear him out and give it a try myself?

It won't be easy

I can tell already that it will be work to get this 50 pounds off of me. I feel like writing about it will be cathartic. I will get all of my emotions out there for everyone to know. Will it be embarrassing? I'm sure it will be, but it's not like it's a secret that I'm overweight. What would truly be embarrassing is going about my life and increasing my weight more and more while pretending like it's not happening.

I suppose it's true that you have to admit that you have a problem before you can go about fixing it. That's what I'm doing. I'm announcing my problem to the world. I want to be vulnerable. That way I can truly tackle this problem, and move on. In a way, losing the 50 pounds is on my checklist of things to do, just like any mundane thing on my grocery list.

I can do this, and I will. Thanks for reading.