Great link, Lynette. Here is his updated blog:
One Mans trip to the Half

It would appear, though, that he is still working towards his goal, if I'm reading it correctly. He must be a tall fellow--I don't think I was close to 500 and looked about like his "before" picture (I suppose I'll have to try and find one of me--I do tend to avoid cameras--and post it sometime) :eek:

I kinda wish I knew what weight I started at, but I was a) over my scale's capacity and b)too darned scared/embarrased to go anywhere else to weigh. After 6 full weeks at 1500 calories I was 393, so I gotta figure I dumped a good 20 to 30 pounds in that time period.

Anyway, I'm going to follow his blog--I'll be very interested to see how things so as he gets to his final goal. THAT will be the biggest challenge.

Regards,
Michael

PS It's a bit weird--he kinda resembles me--middle aged, short beard, balding, same weight. Perhaps I have a doppleganger!

Well, it's a class loosely based on boxing/martial arts. If you go onto YouTube and type in 'Body Combat' you should gets loads of videos up about it. The other class I do is called 'Body Pump' and you should be able to get loads up about that as well if you want an incite into my routine. :)

My gym also does Tai Chi classes, and I did go religiously when I was larger but to be frank I now find it a bit boring. :o I was thinking about doing a class called 'Body Balance' which is a mix of Tai Chi, Pilates and Yoga. I'm supple enough to now. :p
Definitely get yourself back to Tai Chi though. It has done wonders for my joints!

Was just messing around with my weight graph and FitDay still has my weigh-in from the last time I "sorta" decided to lose weight.

I was at 292 pounds on 08/02/06.

So, by the end of January, I'll be about where I was four years ago. [sarcasm] Yay me! :rolleyes: [/sarcasm]

I should get back into it. The second instructor I had made Tai-Chi into a "real" MA. We did open hand, sword, Taoist Temple Walking and "sparring" by speeding up the moves. His Tai-Chi was a far cry from the very nice Chinese lady's forms. It was never boring, that's for sure, though I can see how the traditional forms could be.

Regards,
Michael

Thanks Felicity for responding. It has been a rough 2 years for me. I have always been a curvy girl and I liked it that way, I am 5`7 and 2 years ago weighed about 150. I had a bunch of stressful things happen in my life that really messed with my hormones and with a family history of hormonal issues, all of a sudden everything shut down on me. I gained over 70 pounds in 2 months and my very curly hair went straight...etc etc. I had always been very active and very careful about what I ate and how much exercise I got. Once all that weight piled on i was unable to maintain my fitness level and unfortunately am starting from square one again. It took over 2 years for doctors to really figure out what was going on with me. For awhile there no matter what I ate was converted in sugar which was then turned into unwanted extra fat, mostly around my middle (which was devastating to me since I had always been proud of my flat tummy). Even since the diagnosis (of Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome) I got pretty depressed because I could not see any end in sight and started eating whatever I felt like, whenever I felt like, which in my life I was never able to do before. It was kind of freeing at first, not worrying about what I put in my mouth or if i went to the gym that day (if its only going to turn into fay anyways, who cares?) was my attitude. I`m mad at myself now because it is now just an extra 40 pounds now that I have to work off. but in the moment i had sunk so low it didn`t seem to matter to me anymore. Now my body seems to be getting back to working normally, i had hoped maybe the weight would just fall off....not excatly! So, i am working my butt off (literally) and trying to keep motivated. its been a struggle trying to not think about how my body used to react to things, foods i could eat and get away with, cutting calories thru the week so i could splurge on weekends...doesn`t work anymore. My body even loses weight differently now. Its so hard not to get caught up on how things used to be. Anyways, I just wanted to commend you on how wonderful you are doing. And I am definitely not downplaying how hard you have worked. Just wanted to let you know that you are an inspiration to many and hopefully that also helps you continue on your path. It sounds cheesy but honestly I have to remember that even the best tasting food in the world does not compete with how amazing I felt when I was in shape and looked the way I wanted to look. Nothing has ever been better than that.
And if anyone has any tips or advice I am happy to hear it! Thank you!

Thanks for that extra link, Michael. I didn't have time to go way into his stuff this morning, crazy day today.

IF you lose like those guys on biggest loser, you may have been 450, 475 :rolleyes: no telling. Did you know you can use two scales and combine the two weights? I learned that from the HealthStewards guy... what's his name, Dr. Nick. Lost hundreds of pounds on a liquid diet.

I would love to do Tai Chi!! One of the strangest things I've noticed since I put on this last 25 pounds (besides knees on fire, hips creaking, and a complete lack of stamina) is that I've lost my balance. I sort of careen through the world, crashing into things, onto things. I used to experience the same thing when I lost a lot of weight fairly quickly. Weird stuff. I've lost my center of gravity or something.

I've not ever watched Biggest Loser, but I have been to the website a few times. I was trying to figue out what time frame they lose that weight in. Just for fun sometime I'll try to figure out what a "typical" calorie intake for me might have been before I finally wised up and decided I wasn't quite ready for an early dirt nap (not that any of us are guaranteed to see tomorrow, but we CAN up the odds a bit).

I hear 'ya about the balance thing--I still use my walking stick when I go for my lunch time walk outside. Tai-Chi is great for improving balance, though it can be hard on the knees if you're heavy and try to do some of the move "correctly". I think it was "catch the swallow" that gave me problems--you CAN fake it, though, if you can't do the deep knee bend.

Regards,
Michael

I have full on flu. :( In bed, not knowing if I'm hot or cold, trying keep my lungs in my chest and my head from exploding. This is not how I wanted to spend the most wonderful time of the year!

That sucks bog water, Felicity. Hope you feel better soon! Take care of yourself.

Regards,
Michael

I do have a good question... Right now I weight 297 lbs... I am on 1800 calories a day based on the formula that is online to find out what the "right" amount of calories for me is... Does that seem right? What does everyone eat?

I am finding it hard to eat more then 1600 in a day!