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'.