The Challenge: Lose 30 lbs in 13 1/2 weeks!

Alright, this is it. I'm officially going on a diet. Why should anyone care about some (almost) fat North American, when people around the world are starving? Well, you shouldn't, but I'm going to try to document the experience honestly, and to provide real data. Maybe you're another fat North American. Maybe I can inspire you.

I'm going to take a picture of everything that I eat and drink for the next 13-14 weeks, and I'll post my weight daily. It should be interesting to see what real data looks like. No BS!

I'm 6'3" (190.5 cm) and about 225 pounds (102 kg). I remember thinking that I should really lose weight, back when I was at 210 lbs, two years ago. Since then, my weight's been creeping up ... slowly ... slowly ... but look how far I've come!

I've been meaning to do something about my weight for a while now, and actually, over the last year I've reduced my weight from a high of 231 lbs. I got down to 216, but have now started to consistently gain weight again.

I'm newly inspired after talking to some guys at work. They've got a challenge going: they're going to get down to 185 lbs by October 20th. If they succeed, they're going to buy Nintendo Wiis. If not, no Wii. Not in October, not for Christmas.

Now, I'm taller than them, so I'll set a slightly higher target. I used this BMI calculator to get a target weight of 195 lbs. Since I have a large frame, and I'm fairly muscular, I'm aiming for the high end of "normal". So, 30 lbs in 13 weeks. That's pretty agressive! I've read that a sustainable rate of weight loss is 1-2 lbs per week. Well, we'll see.

GOAL

Reduce my weight to 195 lbs by October 20, 2006.

METHOD

* No surgery (not that I'd actually do this, but I should mention it)
* No weight-loss medications (multivitamins and fish-oil are okay, though)
* Only real foods -- no meal replacements
* Exercise

DATA

* Daily heart-rate measured manually, lying in bed, just after waking.
* Daily blood pressure measured by machine, lying in bed, just after waking.
* Daily weight measured after waking and eliminating waste, but before eating.
* Daily food, drink and supplement pictures (everything I eat and drink)
* A daily record of exercise, beyond my baseline daily routine.

BASELINE

* I live in a house with two floors and a basement. I go up and down stairs a lot.
* I walk 600m to the subway station, then walk 100m from tram to work, 5 days a week.
* In the subway, I always take the stairs, not the escalator -- two at a time.
* At home, I spend most of my time sitting at the computer. Same at work.
* I started this "Couch to 5k" running plan two weeks ago, but am resting after feeling like I was going to pull something on the last workout (6th: end of week 2).

Conclusion

Alright, that's it! Let the experiment begin!