What am I trying to accomplish here?

For this post, let's have a look at what I'm shooting for, how I'm planning to get there, and how long (I think) it's going to take.

Goals

Have you ever taken a picture of yourself and thought, "F*$%, do I really look like that?" Unfortunately, that's becoming a more frequent occurrence for me – the bad angles are becoming too numerous, I guess. A few months ago, I went through my old shoebox of pictures and saw myself throughout the years – the older I get, the bigger the difference I see.

Narrowing it down, I felt like I looked my best in the range of 17-19 years old. I was still a big guy, but genetics has pretty much guaranteed that I'm never going to be a little guy – my bone structure is too large for that, and to tell you the truth, I've never wanted to be skinny anyway. Back then, right around the time I was starting my freshman year of college, I weighed roughly 220 lbs – unfortunately, I've kicked it up around five pounds a year to make it up to my current peak of 264 lbs, 11 of which I've gained back since my previous workout stint six months ago.

And there's that old sentiment of wanting to relive those "good ol' college days," even if in appearance alone. I'm not trying to fool myself; there's no way I'm going to look like I did then – androgenic alopecia and the grey hairs that I frequently find sprouting assure me that I'm never going to get back to that point. But, I figure if I can satisfy myself in terms of the parts that I can control, I'll probably be much happier about it.

Of course, vanity isn't the only reason for this change. My PA has been on me about not doing what I need to do to improve my numbers – it took her a good year or so, but I think she's finally getting me to listen. My liver is starting to make me pay attention too.

Methods

So, how am I going to do this? Well, one look in any bookstore will show you that there's myriad ways to accomplish these goals – some work, some don't, and you never really know unless you try. That's precisely why I'm not trying those methods. I don't like being sold something, and very rarely do I like coming out of my comfort zone (and I HATE being forced out of my comfort zone). So, I've decided to do this the simple way: less calories consumed = less weight.

Sounds revolutionary, doesn't it? It seems the perfect method for me – too many diets out there will tell you to eat all of this different stuff that I can't personally stand. If you know me personally, then I'm probably the pickiest eater you know, am I not? My diet typically consists of meat, dairy, meat, meat, pasta, meat, starches, meat, fibers, meat, some V-8 juice, and then a bit more meat on the top. I think you get the picture. I've not been able to bring myself to stomach most fruits and vegetables, and I'm not going to start now. While I know its not the same as actually eating them, for now I've got my multivitamins and V-8 juice to stand on the front line, ready to go into battle.

For this portion, I'll be using the Livestrong.com website and its MyDailyPlate feature to keep track of all the things I'm going to be eating throughout the day. This website is extremely useful in terms of setting goals and keeping track of them, so long as you're dedicated enough to use it and keep of track of it. I intend to pick a day out of each week to not track, and eat what I like – there should always be one treat day, I feel :)

Of course, the dietary changes aren't the only changes being utilized – I'll also be going to the gym again, or, if nothing else, working out at home. While I'm sure that cardio is probably what I should focus on the most, I just cannot leave out the weight training: I love pushing weight around altogether too much to leave that out. While cardio does kick your ass, you really feel like you've accomplished something when you lift things.

Overall

According to the calorie tracker at Livestrong.com, its going to take me 22 weeks (5.5 months), losing 2 lbs a week, in order to reach my goal of 220 lbs. Let's see what happens this summer!