This Guy Is Your New Guru

 Okay, so the “before” picture is YOU now. You weigh 344 pounds. 

Not literally, but in terms of where you are in your life (unhappy, overworked and/or underpaid, overweight, financially underwater, single, bored) and where you want to be (happy, well-worked and well-paid, fit, financially flush, coupled, stimulated).

How do you get from 344 pounds to 215 pounds (and below)?

 You ask Tyler Weeks, the guy in the picture.

This is what Tyler wrote when he determined that he wanted to lose weight, that he had to lose weight (right before he bought the scale that could accommodate his frame and before he started his website, www.344pounds.com).

My name is Tyler, I’m 23 years old, 6 feet and 2 inches tall, and I don’t know how much I weigh;  I don’t own a scale that has the structural integrity to weigh me (most scales have a 300lb limit).  I am considered by the American government’s health standards to be morbidly obese.

My weight is literally off any Body Mass Index (BMI) chart I can find.

I started my new healthy lifestyle today.  A life where I can take my shirt off at the beach.  A life where I’m free to sit in a normal chair without it squeaking for its poor little life. A life where I can walk down my driveway without being winded.  A life where I can see my daughter marry her high school sweetheart.

A life where I’m not extremely obese.

Now you might not be “morbidly obese” in terms of the distance from where you are to where you want to be, but there are always areas where forward movement could be made (otherwise, why are you reading this blog, right?).

Here are some of the keys to Tyler’s success:

1. He made a firm and specific decision. See above for the firmness. The number of pounds he wanted to lose came shortly thereafter.

2. He was broke it down. On his journal, he recounts using a calculator to figure out the math behind his weight loss project. “At 344 pounds, 73 inches, and living a sedentary lifestyle the calculator said I needed roughly 3,576 calories to maintain my weight of 344 pounds.  If on any given day I had more than 3,576 calories, I’d gain weight.  If I cut back a little and ate less than 3,576 calories, I’d lose weight.” He followed that up with figuring out what kind of calorie deficit and what kind of increased activity he needed to aim for in order to reach his goal by his deadline.

3. He created accountability. Hence, the blog.

4. He started small. He knew just a little change was all he could handle at first. For instance, instead of going to a salad with dinner, he got potato skins instead of fries. Or got a turkey burger instead of a hamburger.

5. He allowed for backsliding. In fact, he never decided to always be good about what he ate. He knew that kind of deprivation would cause him to backslide. Instead, he let himself have cheat meals, but kept an eye on how many and reigned it in when they started working against his overall goal.

6. He never declared victory (and I believe he won’t). He still has a few pounds to lose and then he’s going to focus on getting fit. It’s a mentality that successful people have, they piggyback or roll in another goal after achieving the first.

You may have a few strategies of your own, but start with applying these six, which have worked so well for Tyler, to the areas in your life where you are a little overweight – or even morbidly obese. Do not be tempted to take on some kind of rigid plan that replaces Tyler’s. Those don’t work. If they did, he would’ve lost the weight before. (He’d dieted many times before.)

If you have no emergency savings account and you have decided you must have one, figure out how much you want to accumulate by your deadline. Firm and specific, remember? Then break it down per paycheck and have that amount direct deposited into a savings account away from your normal bank account. Then figure out where you are going to take that amount out of your monthly budget… and so on. If you want a better paying job, make that a firm decision and then figure out how much better. Etc.

It worked for Tyler, it can work for you. Let us know how it’s going. And if you need help with the job transition, you know where I am.

2 comments January 22nd, 2010