Month two prize revealed

I would like to announce the prize for winning month two of the competition. The winner of month 2 will get 3 club level tickets to the Sunday March 13th Capitals game vs the Chicago Blackhawks.

With a winning month this could be you:

Although avoid cabs....

Good luck in the upcoming week and the month to follow.

Weigh-In Week - Gargantuar

So right now everyone should be hearing Europe's "The Final Countdown" blasting in your head. Everyone should be on the edge of their seat in anticipation of "The Big Weigh in" this sunday. I know there is some silly football game on as well, but who really cares about that. I'm pretty stoked about what I think will be a huge day for both Psychotron and myself, but a little less huge than a month ago.

Week 3 Diet Goal - Get back on track

I had a really good week last week getting back on the wagon. I did have one meal out at a restaurant that was pretty unhealthy. A big bacon cheese burger and fries. BTW...it was delicious. I think its pretty ok to have a meal or two a week that is not part of the diet. It keeps you from going insane and it helps that little craving. All in all it was a great diet week. I even was able to drink a lot on Saturday night as I ate really well earlier that day.

Week 3 Exercise Goal - Do More

I have been in the groove of walking at work again which is definitely a good thing. I also went to the gym twice this week, which is better than in the past. Last Sunday, I went to the gym by my brother's house and used an Arc Trainer. It's kind of like an elliptical but a bit more intense. The motion it has you do is almost like doing stairs or running uphill. I could only use it for five minutes before I had to switch to the treadmill. My upper thighs were killing me as they don't get worked out really on a treadmill. It seems pretty cool and I definitely liked it, I'm just not there yet. I did do some lifting and added a bunch of leg presses to try to work my thighs. Who knows, maybe the Arc will be for me in a few weeks.

Weigh-In Week Diet Goal - No more than 2100 calories on Superbowl Sunday

So this week's goal is about a single day. And 2100 calories may seem pretty easy, but anyone who has dieted now knows about how loaded with calories the junk food we eat during the Superbowl is. Also, it's just so readily available and delicious, it's hard to stop eating. I was originally going to say 2000, but what the heck, I have 100 calorie safety net now.
So in order to stick to the 2100 calorie Sunday I have implemented an action plan:

1. Don't drink any calories - That mean no alcohol, but that's ok as it's Sunday and I have to work the next day.
2. Make my own food - I am making a trip to Battle Marshal Eddie's house early that day to watch the Caps vs Pens hockey game. While there I have a few recipes I will make that will cut down on my caloric intake. If the food in front of my face is healthier I can eat more of it.
3. Know what I'm putting in my body - If I don't know how to calculate the calories, clearly I will lose track and that leads to bingeing.

Weigh-In Week Exercise Goal - 10,000 steps 4 days this week

While visiting my brother he gave me a pedometer that he had but never opened. It's used for counting steps. They say that 10,000 steps a day is approximately 5 miles. I went to bed wearing the pedometer set at zero and will monitor every step I take. I tend to walk a good amount for work, and have been walking during work so I think I can get to 10,000 pretty easily. I'll keep you guys updated about how many steps I am doing.

So there is the game plan. I want this week to go well so I can dring home to gold in the first weigh-in. I will update later this week, and try to get some pics on Sunday for the Weigh-In special post.

Psychotron - Daily Diary 5

In case you forgot who Psychotron is:

LOSE YOUR MIND HERE

So we're a week out from the first weigh-in, and finally, for the first time since we started this whole thing, I don't feel like I have a cold. You might not think that's a huge deal, but I've gotten hardly any exercise over the first three weeks of this competition. While that doesn't help me for this first weigh-in, it gives me a great reason to remain motivated going forward. Any weight loss so far (and I'm sure there's been some) has been without the benefit of exercise. So once I add in some running around, I should hopefully be able to make new strides.

My first physical in a long time was on Wednesday morning, and I don't mind saying I was a little bit nervous about it. The procedure went fine, which I guess is to say that the doctor didn't find any lumps, and I didn't cry when she drew blood.

The really scary part was the lab work. I've always seen lab work as this mysterious way to discover everything that's wrong with you. You could feel fine, and you get some lab work done, and BOOM, you've got diabetes. Also, the lab work doesn't come back for a couple days, so you're left to your own devices, left to wonder if Friday is gonna be the end of an era, and the beginning of a much worse era.

The lab results were scheduled to be ready on Friday, but I elected to wait a day to check them. My doctor's office uses a voicemail login system to deliver lab results over the phone, which is kind of nice. Basically you get to choose when you get the news. Anyways, I went up to Joey G's house on Friday night, watched the NHL draft (go here to see what my brother and I wrote up about it), played Dominion (a card game), and had some brandy, wondering to myself if my life would change the next day.

Well, I've listened to the message.

And...we're good. Better, in fact, than I had expected. Every single number my doctor gave me was followed by something along the lines of, "That's very good, you want to be below (insert number noticeably higher than the number she said)." Honestly, I was shocked. There was literally nothing from my lab work that prompted any change in my current lifestyle. I mean, obviously I'm trying to lose weight and get healthier, and a lack of medical prompting won't dissuade me from that, but it's a pretty big relief to not have something looming overhead.

On to the daily diary.

1/26/2011

Calories: 2,612

This is one of the kinds of things Anthony was talking about when he said it's important to post your results, even if you don't meet your goals. While it's tough to not look at that number and see it as a failure (even though it kind of is), it's good to have it posted here for me to look at and say, "Alright, gotta do better today." And I aimed to do better.

1/27/2011

Calories: 1,817

And...better. And actually, I had a lot of food on Thursday. Salads are pretty much a lock for having a good day, unless you butcher the salad with french fries like those lunatics in western Pennsylvania. I had a salad for lunch, and another as part of my dinner. What's even better is that they were both pretty good. Croutons are worth every calorie.

1/28/2011

Calories: 1,850

Not much to say about Friday. Had breakfast, had lunch, had dinner, had a couple drinks up at Joey G's.

This is where this diary will break. I've got some of the information for Saturday, but I have to look up one item to get the calorie count, and go over the day again in my head. The reason, of course, is that I went on a last-second trip to Atlantic City. So we've got some cleanup to do. But, at first glance, it looks like I actually did alright. Shocking.

Psychotron - Daily Diary 4

So we're back to the regular, everyday grind of dieting. I made a trip to the grocery store and bought some good stuff going forward. Among other things, I bought some make-your-own salads, some frozen Lean Cuisine meals, lunchmeat, sandwich thins (basically half-size rolls, 100 calories per roll), and granola bars. They're 100 calories apiece, and they give me something sweet to start or end my day on.

My first physical in like a decade is tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM. I'm not ashamed to say that I'm a little bit nervous; I've resigned myself to the fact that I'll discover three noteworthy problems with my body (not weight...that one I know about). I expect to be told to cut the salt, eat more fruits, and ____. The blank is the scary one, obviously, but maybe it'll be something like, "have more sex." How's that for a pickup line? "Hey babe. My doctor says I need to be more sexually active. Are you part of the problem or part of the solution?"

Daily diary GO!

1/21/2011

Calories: 2,565

So here's what happened. I had framed things pretty well by dinner time. I had a slice of pizza for lunch (500 calories), and some wings and a salad from Hard Times Cafe for dinner (total of 1169 calories). I was all set for a quiet night at the PC when Joey G invited me to Dave and Buster's. Four glasses of brandy later, I stumbled back into my house. The only solace I can take is that it's possible I burned a few extra calories protecting Rachel from dinosaurs on The Lost World. Being a hero is hard work.

1/22/2011

Calories: 1,770

I don't know if it was that I was still full from Friday night, or if the guilt of a night of caloric debauchery drove me to it, but I managed to drop my intake by almost thirty percent. I've found Saturdays to actually be pretty workable when it comes to dieting. There's something beautiful and satisfying about not having work the next day. I think it lets you keep your personal focus.

1/23/2011

Calories: 2,482

Of course, that also means that after two days off, looking at the calendar and seeing that the next day is a work day can do some damage to your plans. The biggest hunk of calories on Sunday was a mixed drink I made, with 1/3 creme de menthe and 2/3 Bailey's. I don't know if the 622 calories were actually worth it (the same amount of whiskey is only about 400 calories), but it was definitely good.

1/24/2011

Calories: 1,837

I had a plan come together over the weekend. I did some math and figured out that I could have a good-sized dinner of spaghetti and meatballs for about 1,000 calories. I kept this in mind all day, and had just 500 calories between breakfast and lunch. That meant that I could have my big dinner with room to spare. I used a little bit of that room on a small glass of brandy. Overall, a very satisfying day.

1/25/2011

Calories: 1,776

I looked at today's plan basically the same as the yesterday's. I had an equal amount of leftovers from Monday's spaghetti and meatballs showdown, so I tried to keep it light during the day. Additionally, with my physical tomorrow morning, I have to fast starting at, well, now. So I'm done for the day as far as calories go. Also, 1776 is a pretty neat number to stop on. :)

Analysis

I've been reading over my food log, and the thing that strikes me most is the lack of fruits in it. I've always been wary of fruits, though, because I know they've got some sugars, which translates to calories. Anybody have any suggestions on good, low-calorie fruits I can try to integrate? Please don't say grapefruit; that stuff is gross.

Also, for those of you unaware, the first weigh-in will be February 6th. That's right, Super Bowl Sunday. What better day for a milestone in this epic confrontation?

Vegas Recap/Week 3 Goals - Gargantuar

This is how I feel after 4 and a half days in Las Vegas, Nevada. Let's just say me and "Mr. Jameson" are not on speaking terms for a while. I did have a lot of fun, won some money, drank quite a bit and ate lots of delicious food but lets see how the diet and exercise goals came along.



Diet Goal - No eating after 10pm

I am surprised to say that I never did eat after 10 pm the whole trip. Sometimes that meant eating dinner at 9pm or sometimes that just meant I was too busy drinking and gambling to think about eating. The Tron and spoke briefly about this last night. I never really noticed how much I ate out of boredom or just because it was there. Keeping yourself occupied/not having the food around keeps you from eating when you shouldn't. But when I did eat in Vegas, it was almost always not healthy. Big steak dinners, greasy breakfasts, and other such foods. This plus the almost constant alcohol drinking while awake caused my overall calorie count to skyrocket. Hey, it's Vegas baby.

Exercise Goal - Go to the Gym 3 times this week

So as you may recall, I went to the gym the Tuesday before I left. It was awesome and really felt great to be there and I felt great afterwards. I got to my hotel on Thursday and immediately scoped out where the gym was so I could make my way there Friday morning. As I unpacked I realized I had forgeotten my gym shoes in my car at home. I knew they were in there and was supposed to grab them on the way out the door. I did end up goig to the gym Saturday morning and just wore my brown shoes. I walked on the treadmill for about 20 minutes before I decided to call it quits.

One good thing about staying on the Strip in Vegas is everything is so close. My dad and I decided that if it was within a mile of our hotel on the strip, we would walk there. So when we went out to eat or check out a bar or hotel, we walked there and back. It wasn't the brisk walking I do for exercise, but it still was something that I felt good about.

Week 3 Diet Goal - Get back on track

Like Psychotron and his "Do More" goal, I myself can be vague about my goals. Really what I'm trying to this week is get back in my pre-Vegas routine. This is the time in a diet plan that can easily get derailed. I had a fun five days and it was great, but it's time to get back in the mindset of dieting and maintaining my smaller, spread out meals mentality. Before Vegas, my average per day calorie intake was around 1550 calories per day. I was eating well and not feeling hungry in between meals. It's time to get back to business.

Week 3 Exercise Goal - Do More.

Ok, so this one is a tribute (ripoff) from The Psycho one himself. But for me this means keep pushing myself in the gym. Making sure I'm trying to jog more than walk, or longer distances, or more weight when I lift. When I lift again next week if I can do a little more weight, or jog half the time I am on the treadmill I will feel like I am "Doing More."

So that is the latest from me. The first weigh in will be in two weeks on Superbowl Sunday. I know both of us have lost at least some weight, it will come down to who wants it more. Feel free to leave your predictions/thoughts/telephone number (if you are a single female) in the comments below.

Psychotron - Daily Diary 3

So it took me some time to get the data together, and I'm sure it's incomplete/inaccurate here or there, but I've done the best I can to accumulate the data on everything I ate while I was on vacation from the 13th to the 20th. I'm not going to outline my activities each day, since they were all pretty much the same: walk for miles around the parks. I went swimming one day, and didn't go to the parks one other day.

If you're interested in how my trip actually went, you can check out my personal blog. Though, I only really talk about the things that were different on this year's trip from previous Disney trips. If you want the whole low down, you probably want to check out my history of posts on the subject.

The week's results are below:

1/13/11

Calories: 2,593

This was a travel day, which often finds me snacking on stuff I shouldn't be having. I did alright overall, considering the circumstances. I was in a seat on a train basically straight through from 4:00 PM until the next morning. So, not a lot in the way of "exercise." (I put it in quotes to confuse you).

1/14/11

Calories: 2,607

Also kind of a travel day, and then our first day in Disney World. I did well at lunch, electing to get a chicken sandwich, but I regressed at dinner with a couple slices of pizza. As they say, when in Rome...

1/15/11

Calories: 3,127

Bad day. And you know, I knew it was going to be a pretty bad day going in, but I didn't do a very good job of psyching myself up to eat well. We went to a Moroccan restaurant at Epcot, and it was good, but too much. The real problem, though, was us stopping for food later in the day at the Magic Kingdom. I knew I wasn't hungry, but I got chicken nuggets and fries anyways. I am glad that this was my only day this bad, though.

1/16/11

Calories: 2,249

For having gone out to dinner at a fancy restaurant, I'm pretty glad at how the calorie count shaped up. I ordered fish (with a potato shell, but still, fish), and got my only "dessert" of the trip: a pumpkin martini with Bailey's. It was good. Very pumpky.

1/17/11

Calories: 2,520

While the calorie count was near my daily goal of 2,500, the actual quality of food I had on this day was miserable. Eggs, bacon, toast, chips, dip, pretzels, wine. It was 2,500 awful calories.

1/18/11

Calories: 2,490

What's amazing/awesome is that I was absolutely bonkers for the food I ate this day. We went to the Yak and Yeti restaurant at Animal Kingdom, which might be my favorite restaurant in the world, I ordered food I wanted (beef & broccoli), and didn't slow myself down at all. And I came in 30 calories under the previous day. I'd say this day was a great lesson in how important it is to eat well, not just for calories, but for how you feel afterward.

1/19/11

Calories: 2,596

Another travel day, another instance of eating stuff I probably shouldn't eat, like chips and cookies. I also tried a couple of wines, a blush and a Merlot. The blush was fine, the Merlot was terrible.

1/20/11

Calories: 2,080

A nice return to my house, and to the controlled products I've got. No free blueberry muffins to tempt me, and all the 40-calorie hot dogs you can eat.

Analysis

I took two things away from this trip:

First, as I said, I really want to focus on eating better food. I gave away some leftover pretzels and Goldfish I had in the house that were a constant source of temptation, and I'm putting together a shopping list that includes a lot of meals and full-flavor, non-snacky kind of stuff.

Second, I really hope to incorporate more activity in my strategy here. I'm hoping this cold I've had since before New Year's will finally subside soon, so I can get back to playing some Rock Band, lifting some weights, and whatever other exercises I can do in the cold weather. The warm weather in Florida let me do some walking without being worried of aggravating my cold, so that was good.

I'd also like to extend a preliminary invitation for when the weather improves for some tennis or basketball. I've got courts of both near my house, but I'm willing to travel some if needed. Exercising is always more fun with friends.

See y'all soon.

Week 2 - Prepping for Las Vegas - Gargantuar

Hello...How bout that ride in? I guess that's why they call it Sin City hahaha...

So this time tomorrow I will be arriving in Las Vegas with my dad. I asked him if he ever saw "The Hangover"? He texted me:

"Seen it and no I'm not pulling my tooth out"

So I guess we won't get too crazy but we have been at some pretty epic blackjack tables in the past, so hopefully we can find something like that again. But even though I will make sure to have a good time and won't be strict on my diet, I still have a game plan and want to be mindful of a few things. Here's an update on week 2 and plan for Las Vegas.

Diet Goal - No eating after 10pm

So far so good, although I didn't forsee any problems until I'm actually in Vegas. I usually eat dinner around 5:30 - 6pm, so if I do eat a snack after dinner, it's by 8pm.

Las Vegas Game Plan - Eat dinner later

There is no doubt that I will be on a different time schedule while in Las Vegas. My plan is to eat dinner around 7:30-8pm and if I do need to eat anything afterward, eat it by 10pm. What I've been doing really well so far, has been eating 5 or 6 times during the day, even if it's a few carrots or a yogurt. I'm sure I won't be able to maintain that while in Vegas but hey, it's a vacation.

Exercise Goal - Go to the gym 3 times this week

Last week I walked during my lunch break for 25-30 minutes everyday, and sometimes more in the afternoon. I am definitely continuing to do that as a lifestyle change. Not necessarily everyday, but more often than not. As far as the gym goes, I went last night for the first time. A good friend of mine went with me as well so that was fun. I walked briskly on the treadmill for 40 minutes, and then lifted weights for some back/shoulder/ab workouts, for about 20 minutes. It felt good to get my sweat on, and it didn't hurt to look at the chicas in tight clothes. I plan on going today after work once more as well.

Las Vegas Game Plan - Use the hotel gym

I am there for five days and four nights. Even if I use the gym one or two times, I will feel so much better about myself and my trip there. I'm sure I will get a decent amount of walking in too going up and down the strip.

I will try to post once more while in Las Vegas and will definitely update everyone about my success after I get back. Until then, my two man wolfpack will be looking for strippers and cocaine in the desert playground.

Week 1 Over/Week 2 Goals - Gargantuar

So the first week came to a close and I have to say I feel pretty good about myself. I accomplished both my diet and exercise goal for week 1.

Walking at work has proven to help me have some energy throughout the day and I can already tell a difference in my walking speed and stamina. Check out the following picture for a good reference.

Quite a difference a week makes. Just think how I'll look in 6 months...

What...no picture? Oh, I thought we had a picture there. Just imagine it for yourselves. I look good.

The diet for the last week has been going awesomely as well. This past Saturday I went to watch football and hang out at a friend's house with some friends. I did try a few of the less healthy snacks there, but mostly stuck to pretzels. I drank Rum and Coke Zeros which limited the calories and I only had about 5 as opposed to...oh I dunno...17...ish that I usually have. That night we played "Dance Central" for Xbox Kinect. It's just learning different moves for songs and then performing them. It was a lot of fun and surprisingly a good workout. I could seriously see me playing "Dance Central" a day or two a week for my workout. Well on to the next week...

Week 2

Diet Goal - No eating food after 10pm

This goal may seem a bit strange but it makes sense because I will be in Las Vegas for over half the week and into next week. Time has almost no meaning once you are in Las Vegas. Hours go by like minutes and before you know it, the sun is peaking in the window. Or would be if there were windows in Casinos. My goal is to make sure I eat dinner/snacks all before 10pm. It's easy to get food late at night, but hard to find healthy options. Plus if I do go to bed by 1am (that may be a stretch) I won't want to have just eaten.

Exercise Goal - Go to the gym 3 times this week

So I'm all set up at a Bally's by my work, that also has another location is White Marsh with a racquetball court that a friend of mine goes to. I will definitely have to hit that up soon. But for this week, I will try to go to the gym at least once before I leave for Sin City and also go to the hotel gym while there in Vegas.

I think both of these goals are pretty manageable and will still allow me to have a good time while out of town with my dad. Hopefully I will post before I leave and maybe once again from the road. And when I come back, maybe I will be a tiny bit richer and will buy everyone a Segway.

James' Motivational Poster #2

What I did for Garga I had to do for the Pyscho...

Check for the two epic cameos..

Follow your dreams..

I'm James Winovich

\mm/

Week 1 Update - Gargantuar

The first week of the competition is well underway. Both The Tron and myself have been sharing our plans and our status. While the Tron is livin' it up Disney World style, I'll be livin' it up "Rocky IV" style.

Bundled up trudging through snow, chopping copious amounts of wood, pulling large objects (and people) behind me for no reason...as per usual. All in the name of losing weight and winning the Cold War against the Soviet Commies.

Man, I sure do look good on my hands and knees. Best of luck to you, Psychotron, on your trip. You commie bastard.

Diet Goal - Bring Lunch Everyday to Work

So far so good. I'm also excited about a side goal of mine, spacing out my meals. I usually eat a piece of fruit driving to work, i have oatmeal an hour or so later for breakfast. For lunch I've been eating a Lean Cuisine or left overs and then a yogurt an hour or so later. I have carrot sticks for snacking in the mid afternoon. And besides the Coke Zero last Sunday, I have yet to have another soda, just water.

Exercise Goal - Walk at Lunch Everyday

A pretty easy starting goal and maybe I should have challenged myself more, but I have been walking everyday at work for 25-30 minutes. There is usually a lot of down time too in the midafternoon, so I've been doing an extra lap or two around the office. I have joined a gym but have yet to actually go. I think I will have to check it out today or tomorrow and set a goal soon about going more often.

Next week is my challenging week as I leave for Las Vegas on Thursday January 20th. I'm sure I will be doing a lot of walking, but also a lot of drinking. At least my hotel should have a gym for me to use.

Psychotron - Daily Diary 2

Here are my last three days before I leave for Disney World on Thursday. I'll do my best to keep a diary of my food while I'm down there, and I'll try to generate calorie counts when I get back (I won't have a computer down there). So this'll be my last post for about a week. See you later.

1/10/11

Calories: 2,100
Activities: Brief walk

Kind of a blah day. It was my first work day while on this diet, and I realized how much of my eating at work was a result of being bored. I've been looking at ways to keep busy when the phones aren't ringing, and actually, writing for this blog has helped a noticeable amount. I've also been trying to post more regularly on my other two blogs (sports and whatever). It's something.

1/11/11

Calories: 1,840
Activities: None

So the "brief walk" I took yesterday seems to have aggravated the cold that I've been trying to beat since New Year's Day. As a result, I elected to stay indoors as much as possible today, avoiding the elements in the hopes that I'll be healthy again once Thursday arrives and my trip down south begins. Work was a little easier today from a diet standpoint, because the phones started to ring quite a bit. I'm happy to see a vacation so close on the horizon.

1/12/11

Calories: 1,745
Activities: Packing for Disney World

Maybe packing for Disney World doesn't qualify as an activity, but it's what I spent half of my night doing. I'm wary of the trip, for dietary reasons, but I'm going to try to shut out any bad feelings and act naturally, even if that means having a couple drinks or getting some fried food. I'll do my best to keep track of my intakes, and report back when I return. Wish me luck!

James' Motivational Pictures #1

Fight the Fear Gentlemen

I'm James Winovich

\mm/

Psychotron - Daily Diary 1

I'm going to post my daily activity on here, but I'm not going to post it daily. I'm also not going to post it weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or by any other regular, prescribed schedule. I'm going to post randomly, whenever I feel like posting. Just rest assured, you'll get information on every day. It just might be 3 days later, or 5 days later, or 10 days later (probably only when I'm out of town).

The idea is to make myself accountable for all my actions, good or bad, both to myself and to our donors on this crazy ride. Anyways, here we go.

1/8/11

Calories: 1690
Activities: Weightlifting, shopping trip to Kohl's/grocery

Not a very exciting Saturday, but I knew that to be successful on this first day, I had to keep the calorie count in mind pretty much all day. I had a couple sandwiches, some popcorn, a pack of pepper jack crackers, and a Slim Jim (only 40 calories for a small one). My trip to the grocery store had two focuses. First, I wanted to get some meals, so I bought a few pre-made salads and some frozen Lean Cuisines. Second, I wanted to find a "guilt-free" sauce for dipping. Per recommendations from Eddie and Joey G, I found some teriyaki sauce that's only 10 calories per tablespoon. I'm looking forward to putting it into action.

1/9/11

Calories: 1940
Activities: Shopping trip to Wal-Mart, Lakeforest Mall

Like my partner in crime, I usually find weekends to be tough as far as trying to eat healthy, and for me, Sundays are the worst. My hope was that by forcing myself to go out and run errands, I'd prevent myself from slipping up, and for the most part, it worked. I wanted to buy some new khaki shorts in preparation for my Disney World trip this weekend.

The efforts started on Saturday with my (fruitless) trip to Kohl's, followed by a trip to Wal-Mart (which sadly didn't have any either). Finally, I went to Lakeforest Mall, and while JCPenny didn't have any shorts out, they did have a clearance section in which I found one pair of slightly-too-large shorts. Most importantly, I managed to go through Wal-Mart without making any irresponsible purchases (food-wise at least), and I totaled 180 calories while I was out; I had a Fiber One toaster pastry in between my stops. Overall, I'm pleased with how my weekend turned out. I'm hoping that I get over this cold I've been dealing with and start to really get some exercise soon.

Battle Marshal: Month 1

I know many of us have started a diet or two and seen it fail like this within the first week or two. Just tragic... With that in mind I thought it was important to announce the first prize early in the competition. I'd also like to wish both Psycotron and Gargantuar good luck in this endeavor. I've gotten word that Vegas is already taking bets on this monumental match up.

Without any further ado the prize for the largest percentage of weight lost between January 7th and February 6th will be a:

$50 gift card from Amazon.com.

This can be used on nude magazines, magic cards or whatever sick stuff you guys are into.

I've spoken with several people about other prizes. We are still looking for more so if you have any ideas or have interest in putting something up as a prize shoot me an email.

In the future I plan on hosting people over for each weigh in. We'll grill up some chicken and make a variety of healthy snacks and drinks. Also as the weather gets nicer I'll set up corn hole, kan jam and with enough people basketball, softball and football games after weigh ins. However with the Super Bowl and Caps game Feb 6th it will not be possible this month. I'll update with info in next month's post.

Weekends - Gargantuar

Everyone that has ever dieted knows two things:

1. John Stamos is sexier than Bob Saget


2. Weekends are the hardest days to maintain your diet

For reason #2, I am so glad we started our competition on a Saturday. The first week of a diet is realatively easy, and especially the first couple of days. You're pumped up and committed to doing your best. Since the first two days of "P v G" were on a weekend, I had no problem sticking to the diet. I even went out to a bar Saturday night and stayed sober. It helped that we were at a popular bar to dance at so I had something to do instead of just staring at beer and liquor (I have no problem dancing sober). Plus three hours of dancing was great exercise.

Sunday I went grocery shopping for my diet foods. A lot of oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, turkey lunch meat for sandwiches, baby carrots for snacking, and stir fry veggies for dinner. I then went to my friend Ryan's house to watch football, but I prepared first. I hadn't eaten lunch yet and I knew there would be temptations there, so I packed my own food. I brought a turkey sandwich, a yogurt, some (proportioned) tostitos and salsa, and carrots for snacking. I drank one Coke Zero and then water the rest of the day. Ryan was nice enough to cook dinner for me that night, grilling up some chicken with some rice.

All-in-all it was a good start to the competition. I know the weekends to come will be more daunting, including a five day trip to Las Vegas January 20th- 24th. I hear receiving lap dances is good exercise! I will definitely put that one to the test.

Day One - Gargantuar

309.8...

That is the most I've ever weighed in my life. The first time I've ever measured my weight and it was over 300lbs. Kind of an enlightening experience, and makes me glad we are starting this competition now. I can only hope that after this competition is done I will never see 300 again. Seriously what a horrible movie. J/K that movie was great and I was talking about my weight.

Well the Tron told you all about his plan for the competition so it's time for me to share mine.

Obviously the main goal here is to lose a lot of weight. More than Joe Psycho. Every month. It's all in how you go about accomplishing that goal. I have decided that I will set a weekly diet goal and a weekly exercise goal each week. I have started out smallish and will work my way up to larger more awesome goals.

Week 1

Diet Goal - I will bring my lunch to work everyday. No eating out. Simple. Effective. It is so hard to calculate exactly what you have been taking into your body if you yourself have not prepared it or "lean cuisined" it. A side benefit of this will be saving money, which we all would like to do.

Exercise goal - I will walk during my lunch break everyday. At my work I am an hourly employee. We have to take an hour long break everyday. If I am bringing my lunches, that gives me plenty of time to go walking around for some easy and non "personal" time consuming exercise.

As you can see these goals are simple, good places to start and are set for everyday.

Some of my weekly goals will be "three times a week" or one big thing at the end of the week. I know I have a "one big thing" coming up in June...details for a later date.

Of course I will still be watching calories for my other meals and will be exercising other than at lunch, but these are two goals that I am specifically aiming for. I will update you guys on my accomplishment status as well as any other interesting tidbits along the way.

What do you guys think of our plans? Any predictions on who will be triumphant? Who here finds Psychotron very arousing? We would love for your thought on anything regarding this competition in the comments section.

The Journey Begins. The Weigh In.

Hello and welcome sports fans to what promises to be an extremely exciting 6 months of action, adventure, sadness, deception, a little teasing, a LOT of touching, and 4 giggles. I'm James "18,19,or 20" Winovich and I'm here in the beautiful press box of the MGM Mattingly Grand Hotel for the First Weigh-in between Joe "Psychotron" Mattingly and Nick "Gargantuar" Engle. and if you haven't heard these two names yet sports fans you soon will. We have an announcer. These two men are putting themselves through hell and back in the hopes they will lose more poundage than the other man over a 6 month time period. It's a battle of manhood in its purest form. And most cuddly.

The fans are jacked for the first appearance of our two warriors of the......What's this??? is that "ThunderStruck" i hear?

Yes yes it is.. its Joe "Psychotron" Mattingly!!!

The fans are besides themselves as he walks down the aisle. Wearing his trademark glasses, that devil may cry beard, those classic blue jeans, those huge biceps, that manly but still cute smile across his lips, that huge bulge, mmmm the things i would do to this man.. mmmmmmm. but a calm cool and collected look of confidence is written all over this man's face, which is quite the feat considering what's on the line for these two men. 10's of dollars worth of prizes, the girls, the fame, the stakes just don't get higher in the fake sports world. So focused is this man I just saw a woman flash him and he didn't even bat an eyelash. He did try to squeeze it, but he didn't even bat an eyelash at the young harlot.

Ok well it appears Psychotron has reached the stage and now we await the entrance of his competitor.

oooo and here he comes now Nick"Gargantuar" Engle... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

While Psychotron was stoic, Gargantuar is the polar opposite almost sprinting down the aisle high fiving as many fans as possible as his theme music "She Bangs" plays. And it appears a young lady will be banging later as he appears to be signing a lucky ladies breasts. Oh there is no end to the Gargantuar's insatiable need for hardcore sex and cotton candy. He's still writing folks, such attention to detail. It appears his pen has ran out of ink and hes using his tongue as a pen? This is something I've never seen in my ten minutes of broadcasting.. It appears he doesn't realize there is no ink in your tongue!!! Possibly Joe can use lack of of knowledge to his advantage later on in this competition. God i miss John Ritter, what a talent. Ok Ok The Gargantuar appears to have finished writing and has reached the stage. Let's get to the reason we are here, the weigh in.

First on the scales is Psychotron. He steps on the scale and the crowd goes hush as The Battle Marshal grabs the microphone as he adjusts the scales... let's listen in.

"Psychotron. 346.6!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

With a "I just got laid and I lasted more than 30 seconds" smile Pyschotron returns to his seat laughing while looking directly into Gargantuars face as the crowd screams with excitement and pleasure.

Gargantuar is next, appearing not at all rattled by the Tron. Lets go back to the The Battle Marshal for the announcement.....

"Gargantuar. 309.8!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I can't hear myself think in here as the fans are going crazy. I'm not really sure why they are going crazy as this is just a weigh-in but nonetheless Oh NO Gargantuar pushed Psychotron and now they are face to face...!!!!!!! no one talking...just staring into each others eyes with a fierce passion and the never ending burning of the flames of competition, sparkles, and alcohol coursing through their veins.

How will this turn out? Who will lose more weight? Who will get laid first? Who will win the prizes? Who will be shunned forever in sad sad defeat? Stay tuned folks, it's going to be one hell of a ride.

And always remember, follow your dreams.

And also, the field is always easier to play on if the grass is cut. And by cut, I mean not yet grown in.

I'm James Winovich.

\mm/

Day One - Psychotron

So now that we've started this business, it's probably time for me to say a little something.

We had our initial weigh-in last night. Psychotron came in at 346.6; Gargantuar at 309.8. For those of you scoring at home, that means that for every 3.1 pounds he loses, I have to lose about 3.5.

So how are we going to do this? Well, Nick will have his own methods, but let me give you a glimpse into my plans:

1. Limit myself to 2,500 calories per day. I've started an Excel spreadsheet to monitor my daily calorie intake. I have one big concern, and that's my trip to Disney World from January 14th to 19th, because A) A lot of the stuff I eat, I'll have to guesstimate its calorie content, and B) it's hard to limit yourself in the happiest place on Earth.
2. Exercise at least 3 days a week. I'm not going to specify a particular exercise, because any time I've done that in the past, I've lost motivation altogether. I do have some specific things I'm going to do, though: tennis, weightlifting, walking/jogging, and yes, playing Rock Band. The drumming, especially on higher difficulties, can be a moderate workout, and it's way more fun than walking.
3. Do more. Could I be any more vague? Let me explain. I have a habit of being pretty lazy. This will sometimes manifest itself in me choosing to not go places. For example, I'll not go to the grocery store, and instead go to Burger King. I'll not go to the mall/Target/Kohl's, and instead shop online. But getting out of the house more frequently will inevitably put me on my feet more, and that's a good thing. So my goal is, "do more."
4. Drink more water. I drink a lot of diet soda, and while that's okay as far as calories, I know there's stuff in there that I just shouldn't be exposing my body to quite so frequently. Furthermore, water helps digestion, fills you up, and is overall just good for you.
5. Get more sleep. I often get only 5-6 hours of sleep a night, and I know that it's simply not enough for me. I have to find a way to convince myself to go to bed at 11:30, and not watch two episodes of The West Wing (even if it is the greatest show on turf). I'm hoping that exercise and dieting will give me more of a satisfied feeling at the end of the day, which will hopefully, in turn, let me feel good about hitting the hay on time.
   

Will this plan work? Well, I don't know if it'll lead me to victory in the competition (though that's obviously the plan), but I feel confident that it'll put me in a good spot to lose weight and get healthier. I have a specific, secret goal, but I want to keep it a secret until it's a realistic possibility. And no, it's not to "get laid." Stay tuned, and maybe you'll find out.

Welcome to The Heavy Weight Fight

My name is Nick "Gargantuar" Engle. If you are visting this site, you either

a) Want to lose weight
b) Laugh at others who are trying to and failing

c) Love Mega Death or Plants vs Zombies
d) Are related to Joe "Psychotron" Mattingly, or myself

This blog is dedicatated to the weight loss competititon between two "Jolly" fellas looking to lose weight in an effort to get laid...or get healthy...whatever. For 6 months we will diet, workout and basically sacrifice anything good to try to win the glorious prizes. The prizes are being donated by our friends and family to be split up into 6 rounds. After the initial weigh in, each month we will weigh ourselves by the "Battle Marshal" Eddie Mattingly (see image below) and the big guy who lost the most weight (by body weight %) wins that round of prizes.

The prizes are as of yet undetermined but we have had some great offers of video games/consoles, sporting event tickets and other such prizes. The official weigh in is being held tonight, Friday January 7th. Both Psychotron and myself will be updating this blog regularly with our take on the action and updates about our personal goals and how we went about achieving them.

In case anyone is making bets...I am going to win. It's not even going to be close. I have one concrete reason why:

It's All in the Name

Come on. My name is Gargantuar. I'm one of the toughest zombies to kill in the game "Plants vs Zombies." Psychotron? What kind of weaksauce name is that? Oooo look at me, I'm a song by a band nobody cares about. And if you were a real Psychotron, you are probably crazy and just as likely to hurt yourself as try to compete.

So bring it on Psychotron. I look forward to your demise.