I hadn’t really brought it up because, well, I didn’t think it was that interesting, but Bob Greenberger mentioned over on his blog that I’ve been losing weight, so I figured I might as well address it.
Funny: The notion that I should lose weight because I could get diabetes, or have a heart attack, or go blind or maybe, y’know, die…these were all too ephemeral to worry about. But when I blew out my knee bowling some months back, the doctor told me it was only going to get worse unless I relieved the stress by dropping weight. That spurred me into action.
Curiously, once I made up my mind to do it, the rest came easily. Here’s the problem with diets: They don’t work because they have, by definition, an end. You simply can’t think that you’re going to eat a certain way for a proscribed time and then go back to “normal.” The weight will return. That’s why radical changes (cut out all carbs, drop all fats, etc.) don’t get the job done. You have to decide that you’re going to live your life differently. Not radically differently; just differently.
What am I doing to lose weight? Hold on, it’s pretty wacky: I’m eating less and exercising more. That’s it. That’s all. Portion control, going to the gym three times a week, bowling on the days I’m not at the gym plus three evening leagues. The only truly radical change I’ve made to my food intake is that I cut soda out completely which, after a few weeks, I didn’t even miss. Oh, and twice a day I take Flaxseed oil–all natural and superb in aiding digestion. And I’m getting eight hours sleep a night rather than working until all hours and getting four hours sleep. Since April I’ve dropped 54 pounds and intend to be practically unrecognizable by next San Diego.
Oh, the other thing I do, that’s contrary to what most dieticians tell you: I weigh myself every day. Every morning. Not once a week. That’s because I know how an overeater’s mind works. Let’s say you weigh in on Mondays. So it’s Wednesday and you’re craving doughnuts or ice cream. You figure, “Well, I’ve got four days until I check my weight again, I can lose it,” and you indulge yourself, and that carries over into Thursday and sometimes even Friday before you then starve yourself over the weekend. When you check your weight every day, there’s no hiding. At first it forces you to say on course; after a while it just becomes second nature.
I think, by and large, to lose weight, one doesn’t need all these various fad diets. One just needs resolve…and a determination to maintain one’s bowling average (currently 208).
PAD
• 
Good on ya Pete! I’m proud of you 🙂
Congrats on the lifestyle change! My friends and I noticed at Dragon*Con how much you’ve lost since last year. You’re right about diet’s not working. I’ve been on just about every diet known to man and all it’s done is help screw up my metabolism so much I can gain weight by looking at pictures of food.
I know what you mean, PAD. I didn’t really take the idea of weight loss until I developed serious lower back pain about two years ago. I took about 80 lbs off and have never felt better.
Good for you, Peter. I know exactly how you feel. Last year I weighed about 295, and I was carrying it on a 5’10” frame. I’d had enough of it so last August, I checked into gastrick bypass surgery, and in March of this year I went under the knife. Right now I’m down to 184, I’ve dropped more than ten inches in my waist, I no longer have sleep apnea, my cholesterol is around 100, and my blood pressure is about 100/60. I do about 90 crunches a day now, and I can feel a six pack developing (sadly, each can still has a beer cozy on it for the nonce). Most important, I’ve probably added several decades to my life to spend with my wife and kids.
It’s good to hear other success stories too. And I agree 100 percent about the weighing in every day. That’s exactly what I do and for exactly the same reasons.
Very nice.
I also weigh daily… you may have noticed it already if you’ve been doing it for some time, but don’t get upset if you weigh more than you should on rainy days. Something about the barometric pressure that makes you heavier on those days.
So long as you don’t let those days get you down you’re golden…
Congrats on the New! Improved! health and weight, Peter! It figures if anyone could go on a common-sense diet and stick to it, it’d be you.
I totally second the “no soda” rule. Believe me, it’s a million times better for both the stomach and the teeth. I lost twenty pounds over a summer in New Orleans just by drinking water exclusively and, y’know, being in New Orleans in the summer.
Nice job! Kudos!
“So long as you don’t let those days get you down you’re golden…”
Well, the other thing is that gaining muscle mass will cause a weight gain. Not only am I doing walking machines to build up strength in the knees, but I’m also doing circuit weight lifting to build up my upper body. So that can slow things down in terms of sheer weight. But I figure as long as my pants keep getting looser, it’s all good.
PAD
Weighing yourself everyday is definitely a habit that is shared by those who lose weight and keep it off. Also, eating breakfast everyday and reading the nutrition information on the label when shopping are two other habits that are shared. Well, good for you Peter, here’s to many more years of great writing. Keep it up!
>And I’m getting eight hours sleep a night rather than working until all hours and getting four hours sleep.
That’s one many people overlook, yet studies have shown a correlation between insufficient sleep and weight gain. Then you look at how sleep-deprived many people are in our society and how many are overweight and …
“I’m eating less and exercising more. That’s it. That’s all. Portion control, going to the gym three times a week, bowling on the days I’m not at the gym plus three evening leagues.”
You should patent that and promote it as an all new way to lose weight. 😉
Anyways, glad to see it’s been effective.
PAD,
Congrats! I lost about 100 pounds 20 years ago and have kept it off. The keys are exactly what you said:
– Eat better
– Exercise more
– Weigh yourself every day. The feedback is critical.
Way to go!
Dennis
Well done sir! keep it up!
I cut back on soda about a month ago, went back to drinking cold water. Why? you may ask, is there some health benefit to cold? Well, I’m glad you asked. Not only does cold go through your system faster, I think warm water is icky. And I think by now my blood is about 75% blood again, whereas if you drew blood before, you’d end up with a vial of Cherry Coke. Once again I need a belt to hold up my pants. I’ve also been exercising at work. As I’m sure Bill Myers would agree, when you’re working the master control shift in broadcasting, there are LOOOOOOOOOONG stretches where you….do…..nothing. So, when I get a stretch like that, I do jumping jacks or push-ups.
Also, eat the RIGHT breakfast every day. Doughnuts don’t cut it.
Sean, you’re and MCO too!? Small world (and for Peter, getting smaller).
I’m eating less and exercising more.
When I dropped from 245 to 180, people asked me how I did it. That was exactly my answer (especially the eating part).
Well, the other thing is that gaining muscle mass will cause a weight gain… But I figure as long as my pants keep getting looser, it’s all good.
Heh. I went from 245 lbs to 240 lbs… and a waist size from 46 to 38.
Anyone who says you can lose weight by “eating less and exercising more” has no imagination. I mean, really–what tedious advice.
Just kidding. Congrats!
Congrats Peter!
I’ve lost 30 pounds myself over the summer just by portion control. Plus I don’t have a car, so I get plenty of exercise just walking to and from places. Plus I take the stairs whenever it’s feasible (i.e. not up 10 floors to my appartment from the lobby).
Going to be strange to see how you look in a year’s time. Its kind of like how I’ve never gotten used to how Peter Jackson (of the “Lord of the Rings’ movies) looks now that he has lost so much weight; after seeing him as a chubby, oversized hobbit in all the DVD sets. Keep up the good work, PAD! (now, if I can just GAIN weight as easily :-/).
Hey Peter,
Good for you! Diets really don’t work, add to it the fact that your body’s metabolism slows as you age you really have to work at keeping weight off.
I’m really happy that’s a big number you’ve dropped!
208! Man, you’d kick my ášš!
Congratulations PAD
Health is always a matter of lifestyle, but thats something everyone must realize on their own. Else, it would be like admiting the error of your ways and no one does that anymore. Also, beware of the sense of achievement, it leads to relaxation of the new habits and that path is all downhill.
I mean, a change of habits is much better than diet, but as with diets, once you’ve achieved your “goal” you are prone to go back to old vices. I must know, I am a living&walking proof of that.
Hint: try to leave the gym as soon as you feel confident enough, and start practicing some “fun” sport. Do it as many days a week as you are going to the gym now. Tennis, hoops, soccer…anything fun and social, keeps you hooked much more effectively than repetitive exercises. And given gym fees these days, its cheaper.
My wife and I have been trying to lose weight, and I think I’ve had more success than she has had.
I already have a walk most days to pick up lunch or dinner, but we’ve never had success in going to the gym on a regular basis. But I too have cut out the majority of my soda intake, and I’ve tried to cut out as much bad fat as possible as well, particularly things like mayo and ranch dressings, or at least going the low-fat route.
That alone has helped a lot.
At 5’8″, the heaviest I’ve been was probably around 215, which is by no means obese, but that was when I got married. Suffice it to say, I really do hate how I look in my wedding photos.
I’m at around 195 at the moment, and while that’s not as good as I’d like, it’s better than how I looked in those photos.
This noble effort should be spread to many other comics creators (having noticed they all trend toward the same shape at cons — this by no means is meant to include them all, of course.)
We could have “The Biggest Comic Creator Loser – 2007” and make it a running event across conventions. Start off in Atlanta, with two teams of creators weighing in, then have weigh-ins of those teams at Chicago, Philly, and ending in San Diego to see which team loses the most.
Could be fun. And healthy.
Congrats!
I’m down 39 pounds since June myself, with the same method. Eating less (I’m actually counting calories, since I’m a nerd and it gives me something to do with my nerdliness (CalorieKing.com is incredibly useful for this, and I ended up buying their software)) and exercising more. I walk down to the store, library, and post office instead of driving.
I plan on being unrecognizable by the Emerald City Comicon (Mar 31-Apr 1, 2007), but if I go to San Diego I’m certain none of my friends will recognize me there, either. I’ll definitely want to see you if I do make it down.
And, by the by, I’m totally with you on weighing in daily. It makes the little weight gains less stressful while making new low weights more fantastic. And it’s hard (for me at least) to get into the habit of doing something once a week, but easy to get in the habit of doing something every morning.
As long as we’re sharing the weight loss stories…
During my first two years of college, I put on the traditional freshman-ten, with a few more to keep ’em company. Once I moved out of rez, I worked it off, and then some. Now that I was off the campus meal plan and paying my own rent, I was too dámņ cheap to keep buying the same level of fast food, and my rather attractive female roommate inspired the exercise portion. So basically, my lust and parsimony overruled my gluttony.
Hi Pad.
Just wanted to wish you good luck with your training. It seems you are making good progress, and you are getting into the habit of working out. And once you reach your desired weight level, I figure it’ll still be real easy to keep it off on account that you’ll be used to eating healthy and exercising.
One thing that I would STRONGLY recommend (if you already haven’t) is that you get some blood work done.
My Dad was 56 and had what we would basically consider… a few extra pounds. Barely overweight.
He got in shape by walking and dieting; and I guess he lost about 20 pounds. The thing is that, even though he didn’t have a high cholesterol level; he still had cholesterol plaques. The exercise helped “clean up” his arteries; but it also gave him a heart attack. And that’s all he wrote.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying “don’t exercise”; because I’m not (I’ve been weightlifting and training since I was 15 and I love the lifestyle).
I’m saying that you should talk to your Doctor ASAP, because there are medicines out there that will help you break down and absorb some of the cholesterol plaques you may have from years of being overweight.
It’s just a thought, but I figured that since you are tearing down (in a year) what took a lifetime to built… there may be some debris flying about.
Congrats PAD!!!
“But I figure as long as my pants keep getting looser, it’s all good.”
True, as long as you replace those pants before the cons. Or bring a red nose, and balloon animals with you. Oh and wacky suspenders, with pants that loose you’d need wacky suspenders!
JAC
Way to go, PAD!
Good for you, Peter.
I went from 235lbs to 190lbs last year doing the same thing — eating less — though I admittedly used a logic-based engineering diet plan to help me do so: The Hacker’s Diet, which advocates the radical notion that you’ll lose weight if you consume fewer calories than you burn. It’s definitely worth a read, both for its FREE! price and for its insights into how human biology works.
And Peter, you’re right that you can’t simply say that you’ve reached the end of a diet and go back to your old eating habits; the key is to think of this whole thing as weight management, where you’re constantly watching your weight and eating more/less according to what target you’re shooting for. I’m currently around 193lbs myself, but am hoping to chip that down to 180-something soon.
–R.J.
I quit smoking 6 years ago and put on lots of weight. I was big before I quit smoking. Long story short I walk 4 miles a day and watch my portion size.
Quitting smoking was far easier than losing weight. I watched my mom do the gastric bypass thing. Worked wonders for her. I just refuse to admit that this is something I am out of control with.
I will keep walking and eating less. Add some Yoga and household chores.
You can do it Peter, soon you will be in size 32 pants. =)
Sadly, weighing yourself daily can go the other way to bad, too, and breed eating disorders. The medical advice I’ve always been given is to skip scales if eating disorders run in your family, or you’re inclined towards perfectionism/obsessive tendancies. One nutritionist suggested bringing a scale in 6 months after making diet and exercise changes, but no sooner…
Anyhow, congrats on the determination! I had to stop exercising for almost a year due to a chronic pain issue, leading to gaining back all the weight I’d lost, which is frustrating. I’ve recently been given the clearance for light exercise, but it’s a difficult habit to get back in to.
You go, Evil Twin! When Clara and I moved to Nashville in ’03, I was hovering at 310, on a 5’8″ frame. I’m still fatter than I need to be at 247, but I’m dropping weight by the same methods you are. I have trouble keeping my pants up these days; ran out of holes in my belt.
Clara loves it. Sad thing is, she’s put weight on. Not good.
Miles
Good job, PAD.
My brother’s kinda like you with the knees. He’s never been overweight, but I think he would have been more likely to get there if he hadn’t had serious knee problems while still in his twenties. He can tell a difference with just a few pounds, so it’s been a steady motivation to always to do the little things that accumulate to staying relatively fit. I think you’re right, *possibly* getting diabetes or heart problems isn’t as big a motivator as actually going through knee surgery.
One note about colas. I’ve been drinking Coke Zero lately. It’s not as good as regular Coke, but it’s better than Diet Coke, which I can’t stand. Also, I make good Southern sweet tea, but I’m making it with Splenda these days. It tastes just as good. And my parents drink Diet Rite. So the soda companies *are* developing better soda alternatives, even if some of them still don’t taste as good as regular soda.
Gods bless you PAD 😀
I’ve been saying EXACTLY the same thing for years and have had people trying to lose weight call me every nasty name under the sun for saying it’s easy to lose weight!
Now, let me defend myself. It is eady to lose weight. You join one of the fad slimming club, go on Atkins or some other such nonsense and stick to it for 8 weeks…..the weight falls off you!……keeping it off is a different matter, though 😀
Like I say (and now PAD as well) it’s about changing your lifestyle. I did it. I changed the things I eat, not massively, i still drink Coke for instance, bt I eat healthier foods more and try to drink more water as well. I also joined a gym and go jsut 2 times a week. I lost a stone in a month….and here;s the thing….it stayed off!
It can be done, just needs willpower and the ability to change, so good on you for helping to prove that, PAD 😀
Congradulations Peter on your progress thus far.
The problem I have with losing weight is that every so often, I seem to hit a plateau, for lack of a better description.
I just reach a certain weight (and when the next plateau will appear always varies) and then it just seems to take “forever” for me to get past that barrier to keep going.
Now I do agree with weighing yourself every day, although in my case I have to because of having congestive heart failure because CHF patients HAVE to keep an eye on their weight.
But those days on end when the scale doesn’t budge…
Have you hit a situation like that, and if so, how do you deal with it? I must and do keep to my “diet” (LOW salt, etc.) but emotionally it is still an [expletives deleted} if you know what I mean.
My problem isn’t losing weight, it’s losing fat. I’ve never been overweight, but my husband is, and he’s been on the Jenny Craig program for a while now (and it’s working well for him). Anyway, he bought a scale that measures fat percentage and water percentage in addition to weight, and according to it I have way too much body fat, even though I don’t look fat. So I’ve been eating better and exercising every day, and sometimes I lose fat, but then it always seems to shoot back up even though I don’t do anything differently. And meanwhile I’m losing a lot of weight, which must mean I’m losing muscle, even though I’m exercising. It’s maddening!
Congratulations!
All this talk about quitting soda…are diet cokes still bad for you? I figured that the carbonation makes them more filling.
I’m at 195 and need to get down to 180, if only to stop the snoring. Living with me is punishment enough for my poor wife, she ought to at least be able to get some sleep.
It’s the SODIUM in the diet sodas Bill. Makes you retain water, etc.
Plus, as I am sure you know– water’s just better for you. I weaned myself off diet soda like Peter too. Took about the same time he did to stop wanting them. Didn’t change anything else– just that. (I don’t ever drink coffee or tea– but I did drink 4-8 diet sodas a day.)
I lost 8 pounds by NOT drinking ZERO CALORIE Diet Sodas.
Plus, I’m a little less likely now to glow in the dark because of the Nutrasweet.
P.S. Way to go Peter! You’ll be around longer for your children now… and they will very much appreciate it later.
It’s the SODIUM in the diet sodas Bill.
Heh. Salt. The one thing I haven’t been able to cut out of my diet so far.
Congrats PAD!
When I finally decided to make a lifestyle change and take better care of my body, I was drinking the equivalent of 8 cans of non-diet coke each day, and eating all sorts of bad-for-you fast foods, junk foods, etc. It took me almost a year to fully kick the soda habit. I literally went into the same kind of withdrawl that some of my now ex-smoker friends described when they decided to kick their nicotene habit. And I cut out about 90% of the junk food and fast food at the same time (hey, a girl needs her chocolate every now and then) Switching to low-cal or diet sodas really wasn’t even an option for me, because I’ve yet to find an artifical sweetener that doesn’t make me sick when I drink the kinds of amounts you find in the typical can of soda.
PAD,
Good for you. Hard to do and stick to but worth it.
Comment to Lee Houston:
Yeah, Lee, you do hit plateaus. I went through this when I lost about 100 pounds 20 years ago. Hang in there. It is frustrating. But your body has its own schedule for what is happening. Bottom line, eating less and exercising more will produce wonderful effects over time. I’ve been there.
Good luck, buddy.
Dennis
Awesome job, Mr David.
Around the middle of February I noticed I had gone from about 230 to 259! Yikes! So I dropped my calorie count, excercised 5 or 6 days a week, dropped pop and soda, and in just a couple months I got back down just under 230.
I then maintained it until last month or so when it started creeping back towards 240–I started back up again and I’m down to about 226.
I wrestle locally and I’m in pretty good shape in terms of heart, blood pressure, etc. and a lot of it’s muscle but I’ve got a ways to go before I lose my belly.
But honestly, all most people need to do is drop the calorie count and get on a treadmill a few times a week. It works!
Fun thing about Soda and dieting; When I was like…24, I hadn’t drink coke in all my life. Neither CocaCola nor any other cola, I never got to the taste. I was following a diet supervised by a doctor. He of course banned all sugary drinks and among many things he gave me a list of sodas that he considered ok for my diet (of course he also told me there is no refreshment like water…the sucker).
Well, I ran through the list and all were either: a- so scarce they couldnt be found, b- really crappy tasting (never drink lemon scwheppes-lite), or c- both.
Diet Coke (CocaCola light here) was, on the other hand, everywhere. So I started buying a can every morning for class. First I wouldnt even finish my can before it became warm, but in two weeks I was buying two cans a morning. Soon I was hooked to the darn thing. But not to regular CocaCola. Diet Coke. There are days now I drink over 3 lts of that crap a day.
Son next time you see someone using Diet Coke to gulp down a greasy double chimichanga with a ton of fries, think twice before labeling that silly. We are addicts!!! 🙁
Congrats PAD! Back in March, I was 325 lbs. Since then, I have lost 66 pounds and down to 259. I plan to get down to between 200-220, depending what my doctor says next week. Just like you, I have done it through exercise and portion control. I go to the gym 5 days a week and when I don’t go there, I walk/jog 2-3 miles.
“Anyway, he bought a scale that measures fat percentage and water percentage in addition to weight, and according to it I have way too much body fat, even though I don’t look fat. So I’ve been eating better and exercising every day, and sometimes I lose fat, but then it always seems to shoot back up even though I don’t do anything differently. And meanwhile I’m losing a lot of weight, which must mean I’m losing muscle, even though I’m exercising. It’s maddening!”
Could be the scale’s a piece of crap.
PAD
1Yeah, I first noticed you’d lost weight last year at UFC. I’ve lost somemore weight myself and have toned up too.
I think we have the same fear too: Diabetes. My dad has it and I fear getting it all of the time. Plus I work in a hospital and I see people who have health problems related to being overweight all the time.
Now, I’m pretty lean and my bench press is up to 500 pounds. When it comes to weight losing feels very good.
A recent study does indicate that daily weighing helps in weight loss. Feedback loops and all that, I expect. Although, yeah, I can see how it would reinforce incipient eating disorders.
Too bad I didn’t have a bowling score to motivate me, though…I get to cut out soda and lose weight now because it turns out I did get diabetes (unknown yet if it’s type 1 or 2). :/
Good for you, Peter. I’m glad you’re taking these steps to improve your health, so you can continue writing comics and novels for me to read.
Oh, and also so you can have more time to spend with the people who love you, and stuff.