We seem to still be on basically the exact same pace/trajectory.

I'll be interested to see what happens when I get to 220. My "hey, I look great in clothes" weight is right around 220. But I want to head to 199 this time. I have a feeling I will find motivation more difficult to come to when I get to the point where every person is doing the "wow, look at you" thing. Those last 21 pounds will be a challenge.

Yea, I totally understand where you are coming from. The last time I dropped weight, I got to around 225 pounds. I was able to comfortably fit into my nicer clothes and people were really noticing the progress. As a result, I got complacent and decided to start maintenance around that weight.

My goal this time around is 220 pounds, but similar to you, I'm going to try my best not to get too comfortable and see how far I can push myself past my original goal. I'm hoping these posts will help with my accountability and keep me motivated. So far so good...

Starting Weight - May 1st, 2017 @ 273
Current Weight - June 17th, 2017 @ 241 (-32)
Goal Weight - 220

Saw a nice drop in weight this week after a slight stall last week. Very happy to see the progress, as I tweaked my knee this week and wasn't able to do much in the way of physical activity. That being said, my food intake has been really consistent and I know that is most of the solution.

Seven days out from my WSOP trip and I'm only six pounds away from my mini-milestone of 235 for Vegas. I'm not going to push to hit that mark, but I should be within a couple of pounds going through my usual routine. If I continue seeing similar progress, I am hoping to hit my goal by the end of July. Gotta keep focused!

LDT and Making the Move, where you guys at? I hope you both are still trucking along and making progress. Let us all know how things are going!

252
-28 total
Had a slower month. Continued to eat the same as I have but didn't lose as fast or as much previously. Super happy with the results so far and feel better than I have in a long time. Getting below 250 would put me at the lowest weight I have been since high school. I just turned 50.

Way to go decoop! 3 more pounds and you hit a major milestone. Keep it up!

Hey guys, just wanted to give an update and post a question. I got back to pre-cruise weight last Thursday, but gained a whopping 8 pounds this weekend.

Does anyone else see really large fluctuations in their weight like that? Is this a sign of something maybe I should be getting checked out? I ate lot a pig Friday night, but ate pretty reasonably Saturday and Sunday. I hope fluctuating my carb and sodium intake is doing this to me, but I feel like crap after I gain the extra weight for at least a couple days.

Maybe just maybe my body is getting to the point that it doesn't want me to have cheat evenings or cheat weeks, it just doesn't like filth anymore! Hopefully the stuff will stop tasting so good soon then. I am still a sucker for some mexican food.

Hey LDT,

While I don't know if everyone reacts the same to certain foods, I do know that my weight can fluctuate pretty significantly around cheat meals/days. Typically for me, these cheat meals include foods higher in sodium, in addition to alcoholic drinks.

As a result, I either weigh myself the morning prior to a cheat meal/day or 2-3 days after a cheat meal/day. Even in the latter case, I could still see a variance in weight, which results in somewhat inaccurate weigh-ins. I try not to let those measurements get me down, as things will return to the accurate results the following week if I stick to the healthier food options that I've been working on.

Like you said above, sometimes seeing the fluctuating numbers can get you down. Remember that the numbers can be misleading sometimes, so try not to focus too much on them. Having more good days than bad and continuing good habits will get us where we need to be eventually.

Yeah, that has happened to me too. I have not 100% figured out the trigger but I'm fairly certain that salt plays a significant role in it. Salt is in darn near everything that is prepared by others / prepacked. I also tend to fluctuate when my soda pop levels significantly increasd after an extended period of little to no soda.

It could also be a food sensitivity. E.g. not enough of an "allergy" to make you feel ill after eating it, but may be just enough to cause some water retention / bloating for a few days. I started a new eating program May 1 and lost 11 pounds that month. Then on June 1, I also stopped eating wheat for a week and noticed a general bleh feeling after the first big wheat meal. Not sick by any means - but a general bleh feeling. I stopped eating wheat again and "seem" to feel better. Also, maybe TMI, I notice that my "digestive issues" are LOTS better when I don't eat wheat.

So, maybe track the specific foods that you are eating on cheat days and try to see if there are common ingredients (wheat, corn) or a lot of sodium.
Note: If you haven't tried it yet, the My Fitness Pal app is a fairly easy way to log meals and it will show you how much fat, sodium, carb etc is in each food item. When, I started logging my food, I realized that I was consuming FAR more salt than I thought that I was.

Great thread. Thought I would hop in as I have recently started to make a serious effort to drop some pounds.

Currently - 251 pounds (6'4"). It's all in the gut. Too much bread. Too many cookies.

I divide my time between two offices and spend a lot of time in the car. So much in fact that my wife and I were eating way too much fast food. So, we started ordering meals from Freshly and their portions are just enough but not too much. Plus it is a helluva lot cheaper than fast food and Door Dash.

I've always walked a lot and do about half and hour to 45 minutes per day. I'm also easing my way into sit-ups, push-ups and things I haven't really done since my military days. My goal is to get down to 230 and then reassess.

I look forward to keeping up with what everyone here is doing and using that as part of my inspiration.

Welcome to the thread grdred! Looks like your goal is right around the corner, so keep up the great work.

#1 reason for weight fluctuation is water weight. Sodium and alcohol not only make you retain more water, they also make you thirsty which leads to more drinking and more water weight. Soda and other high sugar drinks also create thirst.

One more reason to not weight yourself too often and also make sure you always get on the scale under equal conditions.

Starting Weight - May 1st, 2017 @ 273
Current Weight - June 24th, 2017 @ 238 (-35)
Goal Weight - 220

The day has finally arrived for my WSOP trip!

One of my mini-goals was to weigh between 230-235 for this trip. This morning, I weighed in at 238, which I'm going to chalk up as 'close enough' and consider it a victory. My eating has been going really well, while my exercise has scaled back a bit since tweaking my knee playing volleyball. Still, I'm happy to continue to drop the pounds which is just further indication how important food intake really is.

For the next week, I'll be in Vegas for the WSOP and then New Orleans for my bachelor party. Given the circumstances, I have already come to terms with the fact that I will be gaining some weight back from all of the delicious food and booze. Knowing that, I'm going to enjoy myself and not worry too much about weight over the trip. Once I get back, it will be back on the grind with the final countdown to my wedding in September.

Let me know if anyone else in this thread is planning on playing the Monster Stack on Sunday. I'll be around, so DM me if you want to meet up and talk about cool things like weight loss!

Not a weight loss update, but somehow managed to luckbox into Day 2 of the WSOP Monster Stack!

Looking for some rungood today.

Gl! I was not fortunate enough to make day 2 of this one...

My focus has been on da pokerz and have let my health and fitness routines slide too much. Looking forward to getting back to better routines at the close of the series!

Thanks for the tips, reassurance and pep talks again team. I hope everyone had a good weekend and has a good week in store. I'm going to avoid the scale until September but just wanted to check-in with everyone and let you all know I'm rooting for each of you!

I kinda wanted to elaborate on my post here to mention that there is no coincidence that my mental and technical poker game tends to weaken when my health and fitness routines are way off. Therein lies the true irony. If my focus is on da pokerz CORRECTLY, then my health and fitness wouldn't be slipping or even overlooked. I journal about this often in my PG&C, but felt it applicable to mention here as well, to hopefully better align my goals and reasons for being in this thread in the first place.

I'm with ya LDT, wishing all the best of luck in this health and wellness journey, and will continue to follow and update as the summer marches on!

Starting Weight - May 1st, 2017 @ 273
Current Weight - July 8th, 2017 @ 244 (-29)
Goal Weight - 220

Well, after a very long and enjoyable week split between Las Vegas and New Orleans, I am back on the grind with the final two months to my wedding. All told, after a week and a half of excessive drinking and eating, I only gained back 6 pounds (some of which may still be water weight).

As of today, I am exactly eight weeks out from my wedding. Looking forward, there aren't any major events that should derail the progress I am looking to make in the near future. My goal of 220 is only 24 pounds away, which is totally reasonable over a two month time period given the approach that I've been using so far.

Let's keep the good times rolling and the pounds melting off!

How's it going gang? I have a good news situation, but I need some help from the brain trust. As some of you remember I went on a cruise the week of Memorial Day. My gambling action led to a comped cruise in October. My brother also bet pretty big and they just comped him a cruise in August and he's taking me . Unfortunately, LDT has a hard time turning down ratchet girls or free (included) food. I'm going to make an effort to eat better, but I know myself and am going to exercise double or triple time to try to build some muscles and offset calorie intake.

Does anyone have a good workout program (lifting) that I could do on vacation? I want something really hard, but low weights/high reps. Total body that I could do every day for a week would be ideal. I've got a wrist issue from an accident earlier in the summer that is limiting my ability to do heavy weights still unfortunately so dumb bells work best for me. I know my protein intake is going to be high from the steaks and seafood I'll no doubt be eating so would like to use that to build some muscles.

Thanks for the help folks!

I have an unrelated question or comment. I've got my walking/jogging up to 10 miles per day some days. I feel great when I'm doing it but my toe nails are starting to feel weird. My main girl does a lot of marathons and half marathons and she used to lose nails when she first started. I am deathly afraid of that happening, sounds painful and gross. Does anyone know how to avoid nails falling off from putting in big miles? I wear sandals and flip flops when I'm not working out or in the office so maybe I could start wearing them to run/walk to ease the pressure? I used to only work in flipflops in college so I'm not worried about dropping weights or anything, blisters could be an issue though.

Nice work on the free cruise(s)... I didn't realize that you could get those sort of promos from the onboard casino? Without divulging too much detail, what sorts of games and dollars were you wagering on to receive these sorts of comps if you don't mind me asking? The Mrs and I don't gamble too much, but knowing how to get a comped cruise out of it could certainly change that while cruising on vaca? (We do a cruise every other year pretty much). Thanks for any info!

As far as the toe nail situation, that's super common among all runners and I've had issues from back in my softball days where it almost solely comes down to wearing too small or too tight of an improperly fitting cleat (or running shoe in this case). Google also has these quick tips that you can follow to help protect/avoid further damages while running:

Tips to protect your toenails
Try silicone toe pads. They may help absorb some of the pressure from running.
Find a running shoe that fits. When shopping for running shoes, visit a store that specializes in the sport to get a professional fitting. ...
Tie your laces properly.

Enjoy the ratchetous and gluttonous seafaring adventures! (I am not sure how many of those words are actually words, but the sentence seems to make sense to me).

Happens to a lot of long/ultra distance runners, but usually not on shorter distances (up to marathons). As always, bodies are different and some people are more prone to things like that, but for most people that shouldn't happen on runs shorter than 3 hours or under 60-70 miles/week. First thing to look at with almost any running related injury are your shoes. Go to a specialty running store, not somewhere like Dick's or Foot Locker where nobody has any clue, and get a gait analysis. The right shoe is very important for all runners, but especially for bigger ones. Everytime I see a 200lbs+ runner doing 10 minute miles in a lightweight trainer, I wonder who sold them that shoe.

I thought I had already said thanks but it looks like my post from a last week didn't save, so thanks again madlex and Rossi.

Update: I was using smaller than normal shoes and I think that is what contributed to the problem originally. I rested for a few days and started walking in flip flops to avoid any further irritation. Unfortunately, the constant flipflop use led to me drilling my big toe walking in an unfamiliar hotel room and having an under the toe bruise. Half of my toe nail is red but it seems to be fading away. Then to add insult to injury, I was in the airport yesterday and some teenager was sitting across from me at one of those charging tables and stepped on my nail and split it. Having really bad luck with it.

Rossi- What cruise line do you use? We were on Carnival and I was betting 10-75 per hand in pretty terrible blackjack conditions, playing 2-4 hours per day. I won a little playing blackjack. Unfortunately I also played craps for about 6 hours over the cruise and lost about $500-$600 for a net -$300 for the trip. My mom got the same offer as me from slot play and had 12-15k coin-in and lost around 1k.

I also always pocket bigger denomination chips while playing and believe the casino thinks I lose more than I actually do.

I think that being really friendly with dealers, pit bosses and casino manager helped me out a bit. I've played more significantly in the past but the pit bosses/mgmt and I didn't click and I didn't get anything. My brother ALWAYS is the most popular guy in the casino with the staff and other patrons (just his personality I guess) and he always gets good comps for another cruise either on the cruise itself or when we get home.

Started at 267, currently 234 after 5 months. Just started with a really good personal trainer yesterday so that should help. Goal was to be 199 by June 1, 2018, but I'm going to try to get there by the end of the year.

That's interesting in regards to the "networking" with the dealers and ideally the pit bosses should help. I guess it makes sense in a "it shouldn't matter but it probably does" sort of way, haha.

I don't spend time in the pits very often, but I pretty much assumed they just clicked buttons sporadically to monitor the numbers, without giving zero ****s about if you are a nice guy or not. Jaded Vegas perspective here I suppose. I like the idea of pocketing big chips for sure, as that will play into the numbers game much better for us.

I have been cruising Princess the last few years, but have a history of many Carnival cruises as well. Moving forward I think we want to try Norwegian and Royal Caribbean some more as well(have cruised RC once a long time ago before the age of all these amazing new big ships in their fleet).

End cruise derail, for now

Nice work man! I would assume if you are really pushing the gym and working with a trainer and have a solid macro split diet in conjunction with weights and what not you will have no problem pushing it close to the Magic sub 200 number by years end.

I'm hovering in the low 220s and my goal is the same 199 by January and I don't plan on getting crazy with the gym or trainer, although I have a buddy and fellow 2+2r trying to get me into the gym more with him so we shall see about that!