I have started this blog to show people like me that they can lose weight simply by following some simple rules and applying a little bit of effort. You don't need to use the diet that's in vogue for the month or starve your self to death. Losing weight does not require you to spend a lot of money on expensive supplements or pre-packaged food. You don't have to run out and join the local gym either. You only need to accept some very basic and simple truths that apply to everyone.

• If you burn more calories then you consume, you will lose weight.
• If you consume more calories then you burn, you will gain weight.
• Animals (all human beings are animals) drink water, so drink a lot of it.
• In order to burn calories you must get off your ass and do something.
• There is no magic pill that will cause you to lose weight.
• Starvation causes your body to go into "conservation" mode and you burn less calories.
• It is better to eat 5 or 6 small snacks a day then 2 or 3 big meals. (this elevates your metabolism)
• Getting at least 7 hours of sleep is very important if you are trying to lose weight.
• Caffeine inhibits weight loss.
• Stress not only inhibits weight loss, it encourages over eating in a lot of instances.

OK, that is more than just a few basic truths but I was on a roll. I am going to keep a journal of what I do and what I eat every day on this blog. If you really want to lose some weight then I would go ahead and click on the orange RSS button at the top right of this page and sign up for my RSS feed. You can also sign up to get a notification by email every time I make a post. (If you don't see a place to do this, check back in a day or two)

Lets start with a little info about me. I am 46 years old, married with 5 children. Two of my children are in their twenties and are from my first marriage. My oldest daughter will be giving birth to my first grandchild in June. The other 3 children live with my wife, Yvonne, and me here in Fort Myers, Florida. I am 6' 4" tall and currently weigh 337 lbs as of this morning. (See Photo) I weighed in at 350 lbs after the Christmas holidays which is the most I have ever weighed. My target weight is 250 lbs by the end of the year.

Ten years ago I allowed myself to get up to 325 lbs. I got serious about losing the weight and by the end of the summer was able to get down to 250 lbs. That was a total of 75 pounds in about 9 months. I am going to use the same methods as before to drop the weight this time. Just so you know, I did not gain the weight back quickly. It was a gradual 10 year process. The last 50 pounds occurred last year when I gave up smoking for my New Year's resolution.

The other weight gain was a result of the lifestyle that went with my job. For 7 years I worked as an electronics technician working on automated welding machines in the power and petroleum industries. The job required me to travel all over the USA and I also did a lot of work in South America and Europe. I even made a trip to new Zealand and South Africa. It sounds like a lot of fun and it was to some extent. The problem was that the jobs were outages so we worked 12 hour days 7 days a week in most cases. This doesn't leave much time for sight seeing. It also means that you end up eating a lot of fast food and most certainly don't feel like exercising when you get off work. As a result, I gradually put on weight and let myself go.

Let's fast forward to 2008. My New Year's resolution for this year is to lose 100 lbs by the end of the year. Oh, and by the way, I have not smoked a cigarette in a year and don't want one. I can usually accomplish my goals when I set my mind to it and you can too. That is going to be your first step as well. Set your goal. Look at yourself in the mirror and say it, mean it, believe it, and I will help you do it. Hell, we'll do it together. So far, I have lost 13 pounds this year. That puts me 3 pounds behind for the year. (I need to lose 8 lbs per month to reach my goal) That's OK. Think about the big picture. I will work harder this month to get back on track.

The first thing you have to do is stop gaining weight. Here is a tip that can halt your weight gain right now. Stop drinking sodas, and alcoholic beverages and start drinking water. What? Quit whining! Do you want to lose weight? This doesn't have to be a permanent adjustment. Only until you get the weight off. You need to realize that right now, you probably feel lethargic and don't have a lot of energy. In 4 or 5 months from now, you are going to notice a big difference in your energy levels because your bodies metabolism is going to be increased from the exercise and the healthy eating habits we are going to employ.

Once you drop the weight it will be easy to maintain and you can go back to drinking your 6 pack while you watch football. Hopefully your routine that you develop will be ingrained in your psyche and you will not regress to your old self. Let's get back to the water drinking. Drink a gallon of water every day. I know it sounds like a lot and yes, you will have to go to the bath room a lot but after a week or so your body gets used to it. Water cleanses your body of toxins and lets your systems function properly. It is like changing the oil in your car. Drinking a lot of water keeps your belly full and you don't feel as hungry.

Now you need to pick some sort of exercise that you can spend 15 minutes a day doing. That's right, I said 15 minutes. You don't want to start with a drastic change in the norm. If you do, it will be very hard for you to stick to it. You want to start small and add on as your body gets accustom to the new routine. I like to start with the target area. If you are a man, this is more than likely your gut. If you are a woman, probably hips and thighs. I started with sit ups, actually crunches. I was an athlete when I was younger and ran track and played football for the University of Georgia. These days, I have a degenerative lower disc and sit-ups make my back hurt. My solution is a little piece of workout equipment you can pick up for $40 called the Ab Roller. It supports your head and neck and you only do a crunch instead of the full sit up.

I used an Ab Roller to lose the 75 pounds ten years ago, so I am using it again. When I started my program in January I could only do 25 crunches at a time without stopping. After two months of using it almost every day, I can do 150 with out stopping and do this 2 or three times a day. I usually do a set of crunches in the morning before I go to work and then I do another set while I am watching TV at night. Your belly will get a little sore at first but tough it out. The pain goes away after a week or so. I also have started walking at night after dinner. The street I live on is a circle that is exactly one half of a mile around. My wife and I just recently started doing 2 or 3 laps after dinner. By the way, directly after you eat is the best time according to doctors.

That is the extend of my exercise program right now. the walking is something we just started and I can't do it every night because sometimes my feet really hurt if I have to stand all day at work. This is a direct result of being 100 pounds over weight and one of the reasons that I need to lose weight so badly. The next thing you have to address is your eating habits. Once again, drastic change is not going to work, but there is one thing you must change. You need to start eating something for breakfast. I am not talking about bacon, eggs, and pancakes! I have a bowl of Cheerios or Special K with 2% milk. You could also have a bagel with cream cheese not butter.

You want to eat a snack during the day before lunch and one before dinner. I recommend your favorite fruit. I usually have an apple or a pear. Make sure you eat something but don't eat a candy bar! Losing weight is really about common sense. If you have to eat something, eat something that is healthy. Fruit, carrot sticks, a granola bar, any of these will work. For lunch and dinner you want to stay away from red meat. Eat chicken and fish with vegetables. If you must eat potatoes or rice then have a small portion. If you eat your daily snacks and breakfast, you will find that you don't feel as hungry all the time. Show some restraint. Think about your goals and how you are going to achieve them.

The above has been my strategy so far and I have lost 13 pounds in 2 months. Starting tomorrow, I will post what I did the previous day towards achieving my weight loss goal. This will include what I did for exercise and what I ate. If you follow my lead, you can have the same results. I have done this before and I am determined to make it happen again. Do not get discouraged. Sometimes weight loss occurs in spurts. You will reach a plateau and stay there for several days, then the next morning you are 3 pounds lighter. Be prepared for your weight to fluctuate a lot when you first begin, this is normal. I actually gained 2 pounds the first week I started.

To keep up with what I am doing and what kind of progress I am making, you can click on the "blog" link at the top of the page or look in the right hand column under "recent posts". The best way to stay up to date is to subscribe to my RSS feed or to the email notifications. Good luck with the weight loss.