$600 Weight Loss Challenge: Day 41 of 70
April 20, 2010 Posted by Tyler CruzIt’s now day 41 out of 70 in my blogging weight loss challenge versus Paul Piotrowski.
There is more than just public humiliation on the line in this competition. If one of us doesn’t lose our weight quota on May 21st, 2010 at 10PM Pacific Time, we will have to pay the other person $600 out of our own fat pocket.
As a reminder, the competition states that I must lose 12 pounds within 10 weeks and Paul must lose 13 pounds within 10 weeks. This works out to 6% for each of our body weight, in order to make it fair.
The halfway mark has already come and gone, and there’s just over 31 days left in the challenge, which means that both Paul and I really need to kick things up a notch.
Paul’s Weight Loss Status
When I last posted Paul’s weight, on April 5th, he had lost 3.4 pounds.
On April 12th, Paul went to an ooga booga witch doctor (think Cosmo Kramer’s “holistic healer” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHxRkXrBMKo) to get his Live Blood Analysis Results. After being “scared straight”, Paul decided to really change his diet, which he started on April 15th.
He is not revealing what his diet changes are yet, but has told me that it’s a fairly dramatic change. Paul was eating out like a maniac… picking up KFC, Taco Bell, McDonalds, or something else about once a day on average. And I thought I was bad!
This actually annoys me a bit, because I think that since Paul was eating out so often before, that all Paul needs to do is simply stop eating out and drinking pop and juice, and the weight should shed right off him… he wouldn’t need to even do any exercise or anything.
It’s frustrating because I’m killing myself with both exercise and diet, and it would seem that he only needs to do avoid all the fast food.
Anyhow, as of this morning, Paul has lost a total of 3.4 pounds… so no change during the past 15 days! However, yesterday he was at –4.2, so I definitely need to keep an eye on him.
With 31 days left in the challenge, Paul still has to lose 9.6 pounds. That means that Paul needs to lose about an average of a third of a pound every day for the next 31 days straight. Can you do it Paul?
What I’ve Been Doing
I’ve been sticking with my regular routine, doing my “daily lists”, going to badminton thrice a week, and doing Westwood Lake whenever I can push myself to do it. I’m also continuing to avoid unhealthy food such as fast food, pop, etc.
Since my last update, I also increased my daily crunches by 1, and my daily walk by a minute. And a couple days ago, I also increased my daily fruit/veggies quota by 1 as well, which is actually a major change for me. This sounds ludicrous as it sounds like such a small change, but it could actually be a game changer. This is part of my “daily list” so it’s something I must do everyday no matter what, which is why I take such changes very seriously.
Eating even 1 more serving of fruit or vegetables per day will “replace” unhealthier and higher calorie foods, which will slowly help in weight loss over time.
New Westwood Lake Record!
On Saturday, I went around Westwood Lake with my friend Den for the first time. I normally go around with Lisa or by myself, but Den told me he needs to lose some weight too and get into better shape, so we finally arranged to go.
We walked briskly for the large majority of the trail, as it takes my body so long to recover after the first hill, and then did a couple jogging stretches at around the 5KM mark. The closer we got to the end, the more we did little jogs to try to speed things up as I knew that we were on pace for there to be potential to set a new record.
We ran for a bit near the final stretch of the trail before it hits the open area which is the start of the park/beach, and then shortly after where the beach begins we ran hard and non-stop for the rest of the way to my car which is the finish line. It was insanely tiring doing that last run, especially since I have a mitral valve prolapse and shouldn’t be running in the first place.
But all our hard work paid off, as I set a new personal best time! My last best time was set during last year’s blogging weight loss challenge, on June 12, 2009.
The unfortunate thing is that after my hard run to my car, I somehow didn’t press the stop button on my Blackberry stopwatch, even though I thought I did. But I had been watching it during the final run as I always do, in order to know if I would beat my record or not, so I knew for certain that I had set a new record. The only question was what was the exact time.
Being conservative, I would estimate that it took me around 15 seconds from the time I touched my car’s bumper at the finish line, to where I got into the car and started filming. The video shows that I stopped the stopwatch at 35 seconds into the video, which then showed a time of 58:12.
So with 35 seconds of video plus 15 seconds of getting into the car, I’m determining my official time to be 57:22. Man, it feels so good to beat your best time…
That’s over a half-minute improvement over my previous best time.
I wanted to go around a second time, but Den was beat. When I go around the second time, I just walk casually the whole way and don’t go for speed, but he still seemed too beat. It’s too bad, as I haven’t gone around twice yet this year, but he promised that next time we go he’ll go at least twice with me.
Here’s an update on my charts:
Westwood Lake Time
| Date | Time | Distance | Comments |
| My 2009 Best Time | 57:55 | 12 KM | Jogged much more in the middle area |
| March 13, 2010 | 1:10:12 | 6 KM | Feet and calves absolutely painful. Very dark out. |
| March 18, 2010 | 1:00:00 | 6 KM | Stretched and used “ML” shoes |
| March 23, 2010 | 1:01:25 | 6 KM | I tried, but in pain and out of breath |
| March 27, 2010 | 1:01:28 | 6 KM | Gave good effort again but too slow |
| April 12, 2010 | 58:45 | 6 KM | Great time, close to new record, only 50 seconds off |
| April 17, 2010 | 57:22 | 6 KM | New Record! Really pushed hard final stretch |
(Note: Times are for first 6KM only)
Weight Loss Status
| Date | Weight | Total Pounds Lost | Pounds To Go | Days Left |
| March 11, 2010 | 204 | +3 | 15 | 70 |
| March 19, 2010 | 203 | +2 | 14 | 62 |
| April 5, 2010 | 199 | -2 | 10 | 46 |
| April 20, 2010 | 196 | -5 | 7 | 31 |
I lost 8 pounds during the past 5 weeks! Not bad!
However, I still have to lose 7 more pounds during the next 31 days (and keep it off) or I’m out $600. So that’s 9.6 more for Paul, and 7 more for me. Let’s hope Paul doesn’t make it so that he has to pay me $600!
First thing I’m buying with those $600? Big plate of ribs.
40 Responses to “$600 Weight Loss Challenge: Day 41 of 70”
7 pounds in a month is a lot. Cut out 7000 calories/week and you are good 🙂
“all Paul needs to do is simply stop eating out and drinking pop and juice, and the weight should shed right off him… he wouldn’t need to even do any exercise or anything.”
I like how you try to portray that it’s so easy for me to lose weight but somehow it’s much harder for you.
If your strategy of running around a lake isn’t working for you, then change your strategy, but stop whining that it’s somehow easier for me to lose weight.
The only advantage I have over you is all the research and studies I’ve done on nutrition, the leverage I created by doing Live Blood Analysis, and the fact that this isn’t the first time I’ve put together a weight loss program for myself.
Maybe you should stop eating all that Balut and eat some vegetables!
Keep up the good work, Tyler.
Why don’t you try some sleeping patterns?
If you sleep less, you will lose more weight!
http://www.highexistence.com/alternate-sleep-cycles/
I’d rather cut out food than sleep. 🙂
Yes, sleep is a rare commodity these days. I think I average 5 hours a day, yet I’m still fat, lol.
Keep up the good work, Tyler. 🙂
Till then,
Jean
Like I already said, get a treadmill desk or simply a standing desk. This way you can work and exercise without even knowing it. (walk at 1mph). Geekdesk.com sells the frames, and buy a second hand treadmill. Or buy just a treadmill (making sure it works good at lower speeds) and look at http://officewalkers.ning.com for inspiration. You can use the $600 you would otherwise loose.
Also, 1 extra crunch per day? What? How do you come up with such a low number? I hope you mean 1 extra crunch per day as in 10 today, 11 tomorrow, 12 the day after, etc..
Add a pull up bar somewhere in your house and use it everytime you go through that door.
Also, install a program on your computer that gives you a time out of 5 minutes per hour. Utilise those 5 minutes to do jumping jacks, jumping rope, or some other exercise.
Look into tabata workouts. 60 minutes of running could be less beneficial than a 4 minute tabata workout.
http://www.chrisstroud.net/blog/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-tabata/
“As a comparison, running at 70% capactiy (jogging) for 60 minutes a day for 5-6 days for 6 weeks only increased aerobic capacity by 9.5% with no change in anaerobic capacity. What does this mean? Performing 4 minutes of high intensity work is better than 60 minutes of running! ”
(Of course, you shouldn’t substitute but add to your fitness workouts)
I like Clay’s walking suggestion here:
http://thisguylovestoparty.com/lose-weight-by-walking-humans-werent-designed-to-run/
Nope, I just mean 1 extra crunch per day 🙂
Tyler, you should make a post on what your typical day of eating is like. What time do you normally eat, what’s your typical breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack.. what junk food you’re hooked on.. why you think you’ve gained weight.. if you’ve made a post on this let me know, but if not I’d like to hear it
Best of luck with the contest tyler!
Yeah no offense but 1 extra crunch per day won’t do jack. You need to try to consistently increase everything and by more than 1 single crunch. Also reanalyze your diet. Although you’ve cut out the pop and junk food, I’m sure there is other food or beverages that you should be avoiding. Keep in mind that you need to avoid sugars as much as fats.
He should also look into the glycemic index… some carbs are better/worse than others.. e.g. white bread is horrendous
Any updates on your affiliate results?
Your making some good progress here I’m actually trying to gain weight.
You’re trying to gain weight? How much are you underweight?
Good idea is to pick up some weight-gaining powder..
Get yourself a Polar heart monitor. Looking at your time to do 6km, your general fitness levels, your weight and height (I’m guessing around 5’10?) you might actually be working your body beyond it’s fat burning zone on your runs. You could be getting fitter at the expense of not losing as much weight as you’d like.
My suggestion, for those with an iphone or an ipod touch, is to get the ifitness application (great for keeping track of what you’ve done in cardio or in the weight room) and then take advantage of the nike running application.. keeps track of your miles and such..
If I may recommend one thing, cut down on the soda pop, or atleast stick to the diet versions. They add more calories than one can imagine.
Till then,
Jean
Diet sodas are horrible and new studies now show that they actually INCREASE weight gain, health problems & metabolic syndrome by as much as 30-40% drinking as little as one soda per day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5tpCpqABhM
-Paul
Hi guys,
I know that you are looking forward to that plate of ribs. Now you got me thinking about having ribs for dinner.
Kind regards,
Sam
X
You can do it!
This inspires me to get out there and exercise! I also agree that a good diet and exercise are better techniques for losing weight than having less sleep. 🙂
lol! After you eat the ribs and you gain weight again, but doesn’t matter it’s a present for yourself.
7 pounds to go Tyler, you can do it! If you keep on what you’re doing everyday right now, for sure you’ll win Paul!
Keep it up!
Regards,
Lee
Yeah, it’s rather silly as I’ll just gain back all my lost weight again… but if I keep doing these weight loss challenges then at least I can keep myself at a decent level and not lot myself get too out of hand. It also proves to myself that I can lose the weight if I really try.
You have been making good progress. I need to start working out myself. Where I live there is a mile long bridge over the canal and its uphill both ways, and has a lovely park at the end with all the fitness stations around the area. I like going and always feel great afterward, now if only I had a 600$ motivational challenge I think i could make it happen more often. Keep up the good work it’s hard to stay on track with weight loss. Its too easy to cheat and the personal rationalization is the worst.
Keep it up, and remember to try to add some walking in there as well.
Bryan
Get yourself a Polar heart monitor.
Keep up the good work, Tyler.
Also reanalyze your diet. Although you’ve cut out the pop and junk food, I’m sure there is other food or beverages that you should be avoiding.
Get yourself a Polar heart monitor. Looking at your time to do 6km, your general fitness levels, your weight and height (I’m guessing around 5′10?) you might actually be working your body beyond it’s fat burning zone on your runs. You could be getting fitter at the expense of not losing as much weight as you’d like.
Keep up the good work.
Thanks Tyler.
A good combo of dieting and exercise will get you there!
Too bad I missed this competition, I like the action here. I recently lost 5 pounds but not on purpose…
I like going and always feel great afterward, now if only I had a 600$ motivational challenge I think i could make it happen more often.
I wish I had some extra weight to give haha $600. 🙂
Also reanalyze your diet. Although you’ve cut out the pop and junk food, I’m sure there is other food or beverages that you should be avoiding.
[…] not losing weight, that he keeps gaining weight, but then somehow miraculously when he does a weight loss update on his blog he somehow shows a weight loss of 5lbs (as of April 20th). I could have sworn the day before that […]
So whats the end of the story? I cant seem to find the last post…or is the challenge still going on?
Do a search, it’s there 🙂