Today, I hit a significant weight loss goal. And I’m going to use this as the main event to start putting significant effort back into TheWalkingGuy.

So with this “reboot” of TWG, here’s a summary of my last four years.

Starting in February 2013, I lost alot of weight. It was awesome. It was preceded by years and years of trying and failing to lose weight. I found strength and motivation that I had not had before, and I lost 158 lbs in about 9 months. WOW.

Then, a few things happened (not all of equal impact, but all significant):

I almost gave up, got lazy, got off track – I’m not really sure how to characterize it. The net result was that I started gaining the weight back, eventually gaining back about half of what I had lost (approx. 80 lbs).

I never stopped walking, although I did lighten up and became less consistent. The big problem was that I went off track with my eating. Tracking my food is a leading indicator for me – if I stop tracking, I get off track (pun completely intended).

(BTW, I understand that this is TWG. But it’s not just about walking – it’s about eating and more as well. If I called this TheEatingGuy, that would just sound… weird).

So, I tried to restart several times. I tried the Inova Medical Weight Loss program again, albeit unsuccessfully. It wasn’t a problem with the plan (it’s a great program and was very helpful to me in 2013); because of travel for work, the weekly meetings didn’t fit my schedule. I realized that I needed to do this myself.

Throughout 2015 and 2016, I realized I was avoiding my annual physical because I knew that would be bad news – I’m sure this pushed me to get back on track. There is a particular very persistent receptionist at my doc who JUST WOULDN’T STOP CALLING. And when I didn’t call back, she would CALL MY WIFE. And that was all actually very very helpful.

Finally, in late 2016, I made up my mind to recommit to my weight loss leading up to New Year’s weekend 2017. I’m not sure what the final straw was, but the planets just lined up again, similar to Feb 2013. (Please note that I use that phrase “planets lined up” in the astrophysical sense – an extra pull of gravity due to the alignment of planets. I’m not 100% clear on the science behind this, but it sounds really cool. I am clearly not an astrophysicist, nor do I play one on television).

Once I was back on track in earnest, I finally scheduled that annual physical – 2+ years late – and it went well 🙂

In January 2017, I went back to a low-carb, low-cal regimen, consuming about 1500-2000 calories/day (keeping closer to 1500), limiting my carbs to fruits and vegetables (raw and cooked). I have been “informed” by Paleo plans, especially Whole30, but I can’t say I’ve been strictly following any particular plan.

I have really reduced dairy as well. That was not a goal, but it hasn’t been as bad as I thought it would be. I still love dairy

Oh yeah – and I’ve been walking ALOT.

Since making those changes in January 2017, I’ve managed to lose almost 60 lbs. I just hit the goal of 250 lbs that I set in January, and I am very motivated to keep going.

Lessons learned:

(0) Don’t ever give up. Ever. (Yes, this is the 0th entry in this list).

(1) I’m still learning how to manage weight (in particular, eating) through life adversity. It’s a skill I need to continue to develop. And those adversities are not accidental – they are all with purpose. More on that in future posts.

(2) Even when you fall off the wagon, getting back on will always reap benefits. I feel so much better this year. This time, I want to stay down and not have to lose it all over again. STAY DOWN.

I don’t like to toot my own horn, but I know many people appreciated and were encouraged by my stories in 2013, so I’m hoping to do more with this in 2017 and beyond. I’d like to create a place where people can share stories, helpful hints, etc. There is much to be gained by a community pooling ideas together here.

So – let’s get back to walk. That’s where I’m heading right now 🙂

Yours truly,

TWG