A New Deal - Updated

Alright, so I'm changing the rules for this new competition. Hopefully the changes will draw in some more competition.

First things first: we're going back to percentages. I want people to feel like they can get involved regardless of their starting weights, and the only way to invite people of "medium build" is to give them a chance to win. So rather than straight pounds-versus-pounds, everyone will have their own starting point, and their progress will be evaluated as a percentage of that original weight. So all you sassy 160-pound people, bring it.

The other thing I'm changing is the whole format of the wagers. As exciting as it would have been to compete with each of you individually, some recent financial changes demand that I be a little more cautious with my money. So, instead of head-to-head wagers, we're going to all be contributing $25 to a common pot. We'll compete for three months, with our final weigh-in sometime around December 1st. I'll put together a payout structure based on the number of people who participate.

Starting weights can be recorded starting today, and through September 11th. For consistency, I ask that we all use the same scale, which I'll keep at my house. Give me a heads up and you can come by to weigh in pretty much any time between now and the 11th. Obviously, the sooner you weigh in, the sooner you can start hammering away at your starting weight.

Chances are, I'll use the culmination of this competition as a reason for a party. So, even if you're not competing, you can look forward to a party. And, if for some ungodly reason you'd like to contribute a $25 share without competing, just to create a greater incentive for the competitors, you're obviously welcome to do that as well.

As before, email me at jargonfacer@gmail.com (or whatever other email address you have for me) for details, or to let me know you're interested, and to schedule your weigh-in.

A New Deal

It's you.

The new competition is open to any and all competitors. As many of you know, we previously used this blog to chronicle a weight loss competition between Nick (Gargantuar) and myself (Psychotron). The competition was a success for both of us, and for me in particular. I went from 346.6 lbs at the beginning of January down to 278.0 in early July.

Because the competition clearly helped me lose weight and improve my fitness, I'd like to continue to harness that motivation. The ultimate goal is to be able to generate that competitiveness internally, but I think a good intermediary step is this new scenario: challenging everyone.

In this phase of my weight loss, I'm extending a wager to anyone who wants to take me on. The wager will be a standardized amount: $25 from you, $50 from me. That's right. If you best me, I'll pay out double what you would've had to pay me if I won.

However, it's not all easy street for you challengers. Unlike the original battle between Nick and I, all of these competitions will be raw, pound-versus-pound matchups rather than percentage-based.

I'll grant you that this makes it more of a challenge for those of you who haven't spent your lives getting fat, but consider this: it's always easiest to lose weight right when you start a new diet plan. I've been dieting for over eight months now. I hit walls virtually every day. You'll have every chance to succeed. And if you happen to BE someone who's got a lot of weight to lose, you're in the driver's seat.

Regarding time frames, I'm requiring any competitor to participate for at least 8 weeks. Losing weight over the course of a month is nice; losing weight over the course of two months is evidence of a commitment. And really, while the competition is fun, and the wager is a draw, the true goal here is to help all of us get in better shape, create better fitness habits, and live healthier lives.

You don't have to declare how long you'll be competing; however, you have to give me at least 1 week's notice before you want to weigh in (both starting and ending), and we have to both agree on a date, time, and place. This is to prevent you from taking advantage when you hear I'm going to a Chinese buffet on some random Saturday. You sneaky cad.

I'll provide the scale, and we'll use the same scale for all weigh-ins, for consistency.

If you want to share your strategies or progress on the blog, you're more than welcome to. If you want posting rights, just let me know and I'll get them to you. I'll obviously know your weights, but if you're not comfortable sharing them with the world, that's up to you. I'll continue to share my status, since that's been constructive for me (269.8 right now, by the way).

One last thing. The Psychotron character has run its course, so I'll be taking on a new persona for this competition...DISNEY JOEY!


Interested in battling? Email me at jargonfacer@gmail.com, and we'll arrange what needs arrangin'.

Psychotron Challenges Everyone

That's right, I'm challenging the whole lot of you.

I had spoken to a friend of mine about another one-on-one challenge, and he's being extended this same challenge. But I decided that a one-on-one challenge is only so much fun for people to watch; I think after two to three months, people here on the blog may have gotten a little bored of Nick and I yammering back and forth.

So I figured, hey, I've got money. And I know I benefit from the competition. So how about I do what Nick and I asked everybody else to do when we started, and put my money where my mouth is? I'm going to be extending a weight loss showdown wager to anyone who's interested. There are going to be some ground rules, to dissuade people from not participating in the spirit of the competition. The goal is, first and foremost, to lose weight, not to take coin off of your friends.

The framework will follow shortly, probably posted early next week, at which point any of you will be welcome to take me on. But just remember: I made mincemeat of Gargantuar. If you're gonna step to me, you'd better bring your A game.

Psychotron - Looking Back

After putting a couple weeks between myself and the end of the competition, I decided it'd be fun and a good exercise to go back and look at the whole six month period and try to take some lessons away from it. This may end up being a mostly individualized exercise, but it will almost certainly help me going forward, and might help some other folks, if you find yourself affected by the same circumstances as myself. So here we go.

Lesson 1: Chips are bad.

This I really knew without looking back at any data, but the data supports my thinking. On most occasions where I had more than 150 calories worth of chips (which would indicate that I had more than a single-serving bag from the cafeteria), I flew up to 400, 500, or more calories just from chips that day. For some reason, I seem to have trouble leaving a half-full bag of chips around; I don't know why. Theoretically, though, not having any big bags of chips around would prevent those explosions.

I recently discovered Popchips at my cafeteria. I guess they're some kind of potato crisp that has fewer calories. A single-serving bag is 100 calories, but more importantly, the bags in the grocery store hold just 360 calories. They're smaller bags, but that serves me better anyways. I'm considering ordering a few cases from the website, but I worry that having a bunch of bags around might run me into the same trouble as the big bags. I bought two bags from Target yesterday; we'll see how it plays out.

Lesson 2: Girls keep me honest.

Let's be real here: the whole reason to get in shape was to make myself more attractive to women. Sure, getting healthier is a nice side effect, and it's cool that I can do more things comfortably on a day-to-day basis, and I do like that it's easier to play the sports I like for longer periods without getting quite so winded. But mostly, I want to be more attractive, and just as importantly, I want to perceive myself as more attractive.

The nice/tricky thing is, it's got kind of a snowball effect. When you make considerable progress, people notice and compliment you. That breeds confidence, which helps to motivate you to make more progress, pull more compliments, make more progress, etc etc. I told a friend today that I expect to be basically Channing Tatum by this time next year. Maybe not, but I want to keep myself in that cycle, on that "carousel of progress" if you will (lol).

Oh, of course, the relevant data. Well, I had a couple instances where I got some fresh, definitive, positive feedback from girls (I won't get into specifics; a gentleman doesn't kiss and tell). The average number of daily calories in the subsequent seven days: 1,472. The average daily calories during my general romantic high points: 1,810. The average daily calories during other periods: 2,209.

I can't argue with numbers like that. It's time to get my flirt on.

Lesson 3: Weekends are tougher.

This should probably be followed by something like, "Church is boring," or "Ice is cold." Of course weekends are tougher, but since the data backs that up, I figured I'd mention it. Saturday and Sunday: 2,238 calories/day, weekdays: 2,012 calories/day.

I think there are two main things I can do to try to settle down my weekend numbers.

1. One of my easiest times to shine is at work during the week. I normally have 300-500 calories at lunch during the week, but on the weekends, it seems to creep up more towards 800 calories. If I can make myself a lunch consisting of a sandwich and a single-serving bag of chips or some veggies for each day of the weekend, I might be able to nix this whole issue.
2. The other thing I can do is simply make myself more busy on weekends. Go out of town more frequently, maybe join a team or volunteer somewhere, just something to fill up some time so I'm not wandering around the house, tempted by all of the food I've got sitting around.
   

Lesson 4: I need the competition, at least for now.

I can foresee a day when I don't need competition to hold steady weight-wise, because I've built up a higher base metabolism, or because I'm more active, or because I turn some corner on monitoring my diet.

But it is not this day.

As Gargantuar fell behind in this competition, my performance waned. I was at my best when he was either thrashing me (in month 1) or still mostly even with me overall (through month 4). A number of factors played into that, but at least part of it was, I believe, the fading of the competitive motivation.

The eventual goal would be to figure out how to extract that competitive drive from myself without needing external motivation. But for now, I've been talking to another friend of mine about a new competition. We'll try to incorporate lessons learned from this competition, and I think we'll try to find another way to involve our groups of friends. The prizes were of course fantastic and very much appreciated, but they were a little passive for my taste. I think I'd like this competition's supporters to be a little more "hands on," so to speak.

One last time, I'd like to thank everyone for their support and contributions throughout the competition between me and Nick. Between the parties and the prizes and the weight loss, it's been one of the most rewarding six month periods of my life. It was an interesting experience, and one that I think has helped me turn a corner as far as my personal fitness.