Wanna see a guy lose 100 pounds? Tobin's weekly weigh-in thread.
This thread is foremost a weight loss tool for me. Having it out here where a lot of people can see it and follow it will help keep me motivated. I'm sure there will also be an entertainment aspect to all of this. It might also motivate other people who find themselves in the same boat as I am as I'm writing this. That is morbidly obese.
I weighed myself for the first time in several months on Wednesday and found that I'd put on 20 pounds since I quit smoking putting me at my all time heaviest: 321 pounds. I'm a damn sexy 321, though, as I will illustrate later with my before picture. And I will definitely take those 20 pounds if that's what it took for me to quit smoking. Seriously, at 5'10" I've been down to 180 before and I was too thin at that weight even though the height/weight charts say I should not weigh more than that. I had low blood pressure and would just about faint every time I stood up. People told me I looked good when I was at about 220, but I'm going to try to get a little lower than that. My goal is 200.
I'll be posting my weight every Friday. The way I'm doing this is not all that complicated. I'm just cutting calories and exercising. I looked up what it would take for a guy my age (40) and low activity level to maintain 200 pounds and it turns out to be 2150 calories a day. I say "low" activity level because when I get down to my goal I'm probably going to feel like laying around a lot for a while after all the walking I'm about to do. So if I keep my calorie count daily between 1500 and 2150 plus exercising, this weight should come right off me. I was looking to see about minimum daily calorie intake and found that men should consume at least 1500 calories a day to avoid slowing their metabolisms down. If I don't eat enough it will make it harder to lose weight. So 1500-2150 a day it is.
I started this on Wednesday, but I weighed in this morning, too, for my first Friday weigh in. I'm at 319.4.
Short term goals:
1. Under 300.
2. Walk one hour on the treadmill at 3 mph.
Here I am a little while back at about 300 pounds. I don't have a more recent picture of most of my body, but this is pretty close. The pretty woman is my wife Jen.
= new reply since forum marked as read
I know you can do this!
It will be great seeing you lose the weight...
It's good to see you this evening. 
Damn, I wish you two lived closer!
Hell, ANY excuse to hug your girl is a good excuse. 
Try eating smaller meals more often throughout the day, rather than the standard three big meals. It helps to keep the metabolism going and stabilizes blood sugar.
You can do this...you're a strong person! 
BTW, was the great picture of you and Jen taken at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum?
We'll all be here to cheer you on!!
As well as checking in here so we can motivate you (you can motivate yourself)
You can do it; you've done it before. All it is is time and attitude. And try the "hara hachi bu" deal - stop before you feel full and wait before going back for seconds...
Don't get discouraged if you plateau for a bit - it's perfectly normal, as your body adjusts to the changes in calorie intake and activity.
You're right, it won't always be like that, but you're doing it right!
I'm proud of you!
Way to go! We'll be here for you every step of the way.
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First of all, I'm sorry I missed this thread the first week. I guess it's because my life has been so "crazy" 
lately.
I'm so happy for you that you have decided to be proactive about this. And honestly, I do agree with you, I think a temporary 20 lb weight gain, if that's what it took to help you quit smoking, is well worth it. The weight will come off in short order without any health effects, smoking would have killed you sooner or later. And you deserve a long and healthy future.
You mentioned how you felt at 180, with low blood pressure and dizzy. As you approach a lower weight, you say you anticipate perhaps the same problems. Makes me wonder if it's more than just a question of your weight, but some other medical issue, perhaps hypoglycemia? Because you really should gain stamina, strength, and endurance with weight loss and exercise. Just something to ask your doctor about if it happens again. It may not. Take all that for what it is, God knows I'm no doctor, but you should discuss this with your doctor if it happens.
You are absolutely right about not eating enough. As you may know, over the summer when things were, um, "difficult" I had days when I would eat 400 or 600 calories tops. I should have been dropping pounds like crazy, but I was really struggling to drop a few, and that was with a dramatically increased activity level. Eating MORE calories was actually the answer. I still struggle to get above 1500 a day many days. The dietician I worked with for a couple of hours over the past month came up with 1800-2200 for me depending upon exercise intensity. I can do 1800 if I really work at it, I've had one or two days out of the month of October when I hit 2000 because I ate very calorie dense foods like salmon sauteed in a little bit of coconut oil. 1500 is more typical. The weight is coming off pretty well, so I'm happy with it. Of course, the rate of weight loss curve normally looks like a descending track on a roller coaster, it comes off fast at first and is progressively slower and harder as you approach your goal weight -- that's just physics and biology, it takes more calories to move more mass, it actually takes more calories just to maintain your body at complete rest.
Now, the other thing the dietician came up with was a diet very low in starches and sugars, and high in non-starchy complex carbs. In other words, no pasta, no rice, no grains to speak of, no potatoes or sweet potatoes, no corn, peas, winter squash. No sugar of any kind except the rare teaspoon of honey or maple syrup as a flavoring agent or sweetener in tea. She also advocates using "good" fats -- coconut oil, olive oil, avocado and nut oils, and real butter, but all in limited quantities, like a tablespoon to saute something.
High in lean proteins, she really didn't seem to think it mattered if it was "red" or "white" meat. She does advocate eating 4-5 servings of oily fish a week, salmon is really the only one I care for, not big on tuna or swordfish only because it's so hard to get something truly fresh that won't be too strong and fishy. I found some great, boneless, frozen individually portioned salmon at Costco that was pretty reasonable in price and really fresh tasting, not the least bit fishy.
Her recommendation was pretty standard when it came to calorie ratios by source -- 30% fat calories, 40% carb calories, and 30% protein. She also strongly advocates food journaling. I bought and iPad app called MyNetDiary for $10 that has great food, exercise, and vital statistics journaling, tracking, and report features. It gives you all kinds of reports on things like nutrients based on your entries. There is a online version that costs $5 and up a month. I'm not saying you should do this, but it can be helpful, especially if you do get stuck on a plateau beyond the typical one to two week timeframe.
I'm damned happy for you and proud of you. You and Jen make a great couple. I know how hard things have been for you in the distant and very recent past. And you never let it take you down, when you could have. If I had a tenth of your fighting spirit I would be alright forever.
Do you and Jen walk together?
My husband and I walk the dogs 6 or 7 days a week. It's a great way to talk about everything for an hour or so.
Keep up the good work!
I'm rooting for you from over here.
Don't forget we do have a weightloss group here on DU.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1154
jump in anytime.
Hope you guys are doing well.
talk to you soon.
kesha
He's doing great.......A couple pounds a week is a very good speed for losing.
to you both!
to you and Tobin.
2-3 pounds per week is a good pace.
I'm sure you know that. Next week: 
And any loss is good.
