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Joel at 190 Pounds

Byjoel

Yesterday I scared little children around the world with photos of me at 225 pounds.

I did warn you beforehand, so please don’t send me your psycho-analysis and therapy bills.

For the past three months I have been on The Joel Comm Diet, which is not a diet at all.

Instead it combines common sense with a plan that works for me.

I am pleased to say that three months later I have lost 35 pounds!

Want to know what I did and see what I look like?

Losing weight requires two things. Eat less and exercise more. It’s common sense.

Doctors and experts will tell you that you are supposed to eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.

That just doesn’t work for me. As much as I enjoy breakfast, I am not terribly hungry in the morning. I can get my day started without a big meal. So I have reversed that conventional wisdom. It worked for me.

First thing in the morning I have my Shakeology drink. It’s packed with nutrients and tastes good. It costs about $3 or so per serving, but its worth it.

For lunch, I don’t always eat a meal. More often than not I will enjoy a protein bar or granola bar. It’s enough to tide me over until dinner.

Dinner is where I will eat a larger meal. Fajitas, steak, chicken sandwich, tacos, whatever… I try to have a healthy helping of meat or poultry, a few carbs such as potatoes or rice and a fruit if it is available. I never eat the full-size portions that they give you at the restaurants. There is always food left on my plate because my stomach can’t hold as much food.

I rarely eat sugary foods these days. In fact, after a few days on my new plan I began losing my taste for sweets. That is a miracle because I LOVE cookies, cakes and ice cream. Desert has been a daily part of my meal plan my entire life, so this is a big change for me.

I am not tempted by sweets like I once was. I just don’t need them. In fact, eating sweets can mess with my blood sugar and cause me to have a crash a short time later.

Don’t get me wrong. Once I get to my destination weight, I will definitely be enjoying a waffle with butter and syrup from time to time. I will go to Coldstone Creamery and load up on a sweet cream with Nestle crunch in it from time to time.

It’s just that I am no longer a slave to sugar. It is very addictive and with God’s help I have broken the addiction.

On the exercise side of things, it’s also not complex.

I wanted to jog, but shin splints have made that difficult.

Instead I will get on the treadmill in my basement almost every day. I will walk fast for 30-60 minutes depending on how I am feeling that day. At my fastest speed, I am walking 4.5 miles per hour.

My treadmill is in front of my television, so I can watch something to distract me while I am moving my body. It’s been very effective and I have put a lot of miles on that treadmill.

And here’s the thing about exercising. When I take the time and exert energy to exercise, it makes me want to watch what I eat closer. Since I am putting so much into the exercise, I don’t want to negate it with a few moments of culinary pleasure. Exercising makes me accountable to eat better. I don’t think the opposite has the same effect.

There were no magical diets involved in my weight loss. There was no special workout that I followed. I didn’t even follow all the advice of my doctors. One recommended that I cut out ALL carbohydrates. That just didn’t work for me.

I did what came natural and these are the results.

Are you ready to see? I will post the before and after photos below.

Before… wearing very TIGHT size 40 jeans/


After… wearing lose size 38 jeans with the belt loosened FIVE notches. I can wear my size 36 jeans now, though they are still a little snug.

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Before… the chins say it all.


After…

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Any questions?

I’ve been on blood pressure medication for years. Recent readings have shown that my numbers are good. I am going to my doctor to see if I can back off on my dosage.

I sleep approximately six hours each night and don’t remember the last time I had so much energy. I feel great and am moving on to my next goal of 180 pounds. I think I can do it in thirty days or so. I will post more photos once I reach that goal.

I intend to remain healthy and not yo-yo back to where I was before. I know it will take continued discipline to exercise each day. My hope is that my metabolism is in full gear and that I can increase my calorie intake once I reach my target weight. I will have to watch it closely to see what I can and cannot do.

I hope my weight loss is inspiring for you! Let me know your thoughts, please.

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136 Comments

  1. WOW!!! You look great sweetie! I am so proud of you. You’ve done REALLY well. Guess it’s time for me to get on this bandwagon too. Us who do nothing but “play” with our websites all have this issue.
    Again… great job!
    Liz Tomey

  2. I really respect people who have the courage to say, “this can’t go on” and make the necessary lifestyle changes to get what they want. I tip my hat to you and wish you the best for continued success.

  3. I must say that you look 10 years younger now. Good going. I recently joined Weight Watchers and I’m loosing weight. I find the meetings to be very helpful and the people there are very supportive of each other. It helps to have a buddy or support system.
    Keep it up , you look great

  4. Congratulations!!!!!!!, that is a great result, I remember, reading about it when you decided to do it in front of all of us ( I thought – oh, gosh, I couldnt do it – share the process, and results – what if I fail..)
    Anyways – the fact is, I should follow your example, I really have to do something about it.
    So how did you do it? What did you do to get such a great results? I cannot find it somehow. Do you have a blog about it? I tried many things, somehow dont work so far. Thanks

  8. Woah!! How cool! Great job Joel, I bet you feel like a lean mean machine! 🙂
    Awesome pics! 🙂
    I’ll be there at the beginning of the new year! 🙂
    Take care and God bless!!
    Lisa~

  12. Wow! You are doing it. Inspiring others along the way. While i have a greater challenge by far, i too, am having success using the common sense method. Eat less, incorparate some walking or other form of exercise and discipline not deprivation.

  15. Dang boy, you lookin SEXY!! WooHoo! Way to go Joel! Your hard work and discipline has definitely paid off and you look awesome! But even more important, you FEEL better and your body functions better. And clearly this all affects your loved ones and others who have been inspired by your journey. ROCK ON!!!

  16. Great job! Amazing how quickly cutting calorie intake and burning more calories will take off that fat. The most important ingredient, however, IMHO, is motivation. I believe a very important factor in your success is that you announced your intention to all your fans/friends. Once you did that, failure was not an option (because the alternative was loss of credibility) and, voila, you’re a new man. So one take-away from your experience is this: If you are really serious about losing weight, tell all your friends that you are absolutely committed to doing so and tell them to ask you how your doing on a regular basis. Then the pleasure of saying, “I’m doing well, I’ve lost X pounds so far,” will outweigh the pleasure of overeating, while the dread of having to respond, “I’m not doing well… haven’t lost any weight,” will motivate you to stick to your weight-loss program.

  17. Good going, Joel.
    The important thing is that you feel great.
    And I believe that has motivated an unconscious part of yourself to trim down.
    I say “unconscious” because even though you say you have made conscious decisions, suddenly you are no longer addicted to foods that were keeping you fat.
    It’s debatable whether the treadmill is doing you much good, especially if you’re watching tv while walking. Then again, it ain’t doing you no harm. Keep up with what works.
    Happy Hannuka

  23. Congratulations Joel! so happy for you and indeed is an inspiration, i am going in the right direction too but not as fast as you are and i am half your age.keep it up

  28. So encouraging! You look not only lots younger but much happier, even though you were smiling in the first photo too! You look proud of yourself for taking care of your body.
    It’s like almost visually we can see that you must have a lot more energy. Isn’t it true that extra weight makes us look not only fat but older & kind of lethargic.
    You’re setting a great example for your kids too, very important. Congratulations, and keep going till you feel at a good new set point that you can maintain for life.

  29. Very proud of you. I am sure you feel so much better and energetic. I am going through the same transition and the energy high is what makes it worth it for me. Keep up the good work !

  40. I am a size 36 on my trousers so I must be making progress!
    I eat light breakfast, moderate lunch and light veggie based supper (courtesy of wife). Almost every morning I jog some 2.5km which is increasing.
    That is doing the trick for me. The energy I am regaining (after a few bone creaks) is invaluable for my role as dad of three kids under 10.
    I am totally insipired to go on.
    May find this to believe but I started a month after you did.
    Doing good sfuff.
    Malawian blogger

  43. Congratulations! Isn’t it amazing what cutting out the sugar and a lot of starch can do. I no longer crave sugar either and I’m 40 lbs lighter. Good for you on doing what works for you.

  46. Joel, Nice work! I’ve watched your journey since it began on your projectfittv site and was immediately interested since you use Shakeology (I’m a fan of the product as well). Your commitment and dedication paid off and thanks for taking us along for the ride (to the doctors offices and everything). You’ll be at your desired weight in no time.

  47. Joel,
    Okay, I’ll say it. I like you.
    Thanks for being real. Thanks for living your faith in a way that is authentic. thanks for being from Loveland.
    I’m learning a LOT as you write your heart and life. Very entertaining.
    And yes, I’m feeling some interest in a diet that works for me. Hmmmm.
    R

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