Four Years of Clean Livin’
As I contemplate my Clean Livin’ quadrennial I’m reminded of the last time I celebrated my healthier lifestyle anniversary two years ago.
In the interim I got busy with life, stopped writing here, continued to remain active, but otherwise stagnated for almost two years. When I started trending upwards again I decided to redouble my efforts, get back to basics, and work the program that I know is effective… when you actually do it.
Some things I do every dang day:
- Walk on the treadmill (okay, I do this almost every day).
- Ride my bike to work during the week (most days, about 8 months out of the year).
- Weigh-in and record my weight.
- Log everything I eat or drink that isn’t water.
- Assess my caloric intake at the end of the day.
Stat Me Up
Anniversaries are good for celebration, but also a good time to reflect on pass successes and stumbling blocks. Since life is a continuum and every day is a new Start Date you can’t fail, just not succeed as fast. As long as you’re alive, you can be a bit healthier than you were yesterday.
Here are some numbers to consider on the fourth anniversary of when I made the decision to improve my body, get healthy, and help others do the same:
- Weighed-in just over 1,200 times (which means I missed about 250 days due to travel, or missing a day or two here and there).
- Since I got my Fitbit in February, 2010, I’ve walked over 3,500 miles.
- Starting weight: over 451 lbs (since that was the max of the scale that couldn’t weigh me when I started – but considering that I was measurable less than a week after I started, I couldn’t have weighed that much more than 451).
- This morning’s weigh-in: 287.2 lbs. That means I’ve lost 163.8 pounds, or a 36.32% decrease from my former body weight. That’s about the weight of a full keg of beer[1]. Have you ever tried to lift a full keg? They’re heavy. Now imagine wrapping yourself with that much weight and carrying it around every day.
- My current goal weight is around 200 pounds. I’ll re-adjust when I get closer. If my calculations are correct, when this body drops 88 pounds you’re going to see some serious shit.
- At an average of –1 lbs / week, I should hit my goal by the beginning of 2014, which is a bit later than I’d originally planned, but of course if I can lose more faster I will.
It’s still a little shocking to me to see pictures of how I looked four years ago. I wish I thought of taking progress photos, or at least a “before” picture, when I started down this road, but here’s a photo of me from Thursday, 19 June 2008, three days into Clean Livin’. I’m in yellow, sitting on the steps at Daley Plaza by the fountain with some of my co-workers at the time (I wish I had a better quality image, but I think this was taken with someone’s old cell phone):
And to contrast and compare, here’s a full-body photo of me from our trip to the Milwaukee Art Museum last week (wearing, now that I see the picture, a shirt that’s too big for me):
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A standard U.S. “half-barrel” keg. Perhaps you’ve seen one at parties or in movies about college keggers. ↩
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June 16th, 2012 at 11:35 am
WOW, Jough, you’re doing great! Congratulations! Keep up the good work. You’re an inspiration to all of us who are trying to emulate your “Clean Livin'” ways.
March 17th, 2013 at 12:40 pm
160 Pounds of Butter Lighter Now | Health And Wellness 101 says:[…] Jough recently reflected on his four years of "clean livin'". He made the decision to lose weight four years ago when he weighed 451 pounds. He has successfully lost 163 pounds since then, although there have been many plateaus along the way. He's now at 287 pounds, and would like to ideally reach 200. He's lost the weight so far by aiming to stick to a 2000 calories a day diet and by exercising regularly. He does two miles on his treadmill most mornings. Check out his wonderful blog at Clean Livin'. When Jough lost his first 50 pounds in 12 weeks, he posted this pic on his blog. It's 26 pounds of 1-pound slabs of butter. It was unbelievable to him that he could lose '50 pounds of butter' in such a short time. Check out his milestone blog post about his journey so far. […]