W.I.D.T.H.ering Heights

 

Welcome to another W.I.D.T.H. Weekend. In case you don't know, W.I.D.T.H. stands for "Why I Do This Here". It's a group-think effort at exploring the various reasons why we're all on this weight-loss/healthy living merry-go-round. 

Hundreds of folks have sent me contributions, and if you haven't already, I can only assume one of two things: (1) you don't know how to work a camera and/or email or (2) you suck. 

If you do know how and work a camera/email and you don't suck, then get off your duff, jot down why you're doing what you're doing on a card, a scrap of paper, your hand... and find some way to electronically deliver it to jacksh.tgettinfit@gmail.com. Be sure to include a blog link if you'd like it included.

I know why I'm doing this.

Tell me why you're doing it. 

 

 Lori@Fatty Fatty Two By Four

Bambi @ Sun In A Purple Sky

 

Annabel @ Feed Me I'm Cranky

 Honib1 @ Soul Vision

 

Paula @ PaulaWannaCracker

Sandra @ My Travels to Becoming a Better Me! 

 Rebekah G.

 Lisa @ Rescuing Lisa

 

Hello Jack, sorry for my bad English, but I write from Italy.
There are no interesting blogs about large weight losses in Italian (my language)...maybe because in Italy obesity is considered a secondary problem although it is becoming increasingly common and maybe because we are always arrears of 20 yers versus U.S.A about technology  and blogging for us is still a novelty;also it's not common to see people of 300-400 pounds...

My weight now is 134 kg (296 pounds) and i have a lot of weight to lose, so i have to read blog in english to encourage my self and i found your blog.

I send you a WIDTH pictures hoping that the english line is grammatically correct and i've write the same line in Italian.. maybe other italians read the blog.

ok,that's all...thanks for your humor.

get fitter and healthier!!!!
enjoy the road of life

Sea of Possibilities

So there you are, in your little boat, bobbing along in the middle of a vast, seemingly endless ocean.

Some days the wind catches your sails and scoots you along, making your journey easy and effortless. It doesn’t even seem like work as you breezily skip across the water, enjoying the salt air and sunshine.

Most days, however, your progress doesn’t come that easy. More likely, it depends on you sticking your oars in the water and rowing for all you are worth.

And some days the waves will push you away from where you want to go. That doesn’t seem quite fair, I know, but the ocean makes its own rules.

And every day, you’ll have to decide…

Should I turn back?

Am I content going nowhere?

Will I give in?

Right now, it may seem that your goal is forever-and-a-day away. You’re lost and alone and the challenge ahead of you seems so large and intimidating.

But remember this: you had the courage and commitment to strike out to sea. You crossed huge hurdles and passed through severe storms.

You’ve made it this far.

Spotting dry land may take months, may take years, but if the course you’ve plotted is true, then one day –– and maybe one day soon –– you’ll make it to where you’re headed and be strengthened by the experience all the more.

Your hopes, your dreams, your goals… they’re out there, within grasp if you power through and persevere. Each day that you keep pushing forward, each day that you stay pointed in the right direction... well, it's one day closer to your goal.

Bon voyage.

“A ship in port is safe, but that's 

not what ships are built for.”

–Grace Hopper

Sh*tty Sh*tty Pop Chip (with Givewaway!)

Sh*tJactacus: 

Don’t put your lips on some greasy-ass chips,
Don’t eat those Ruffles or Cheetos.
If you seek a better snack, listen to your buddy Jack,
And put aside the Pringles and Fritos.
A mouth full of crunch.
Something excellent to munch.
Enjoy it with your lunch!


Pop Chips!

Pop Chips!
The chips that aren’t fried, best you ever tried.

Pop Chips!

Pop Chips!
The eatable, tweetable chips!



Truly Scrumptious: 

Pop Chips!

Pop Chips!
Their fantastic chips, see, all tasty and crispy!
Pop Chips!

Pop Chips!
No longer need chips be crap!



Sh*tJactacus:

 Don't waste your salaries on chips fulla calories

.

Truly: 

So be smart and try to always copy us!
If you seek perfection in your snack selection,



Sh*tJactacus: 

Well, choose the chips that are the poppiest!



Truly:
That mouth full of sassiness.

Sh*tJactacus:
The chip that brings happiness.



Both: 

That low-fat foodstuff supreme!

Pop Chips!

Pop Chips!
A nice crispy crackle, ingredients all-natural.
Pop Chips!

Pop Chips!
I think I’ll eat a whole sackful.



Mr. Scrumptious: 

No--take them away!



Truly: 
Father, please!

Mr. Scrumptious: 
Crunch! Hmm-Hmm. Crunch!

Sh*tJactacus:
He likes it!



Cast: 
Hooray!



Sh*tJactacus: 

They’ll ease your starvation

.

Truly: 

Without fat saturation.



Kids: 

They’re the best kind of chips you can munch

.

Sh*tJactacus:
Eat ‘em Sundays through Saturdays.



Truly: 

They have way less calories!



Kids: 

And flavors? Well, they sure have a bunch!



Sh*tJactacus and Truly: 

There’s no chips that are similar

.

Women: 
We love Salt and Vinegar!



Kids and factory workers: 

It’s time to give them a crunch!

(Dance break)



All: 

Pop Chips!
Pop Chips!

Pop Chips!
Pop Chips!



Sh*tJactacus:

That savory snack

!

Truly: 

Just listen to Jack

!

All: 

And put them into your lunch sack!


Pop Chips!
Pop Chips!
They’re awesome and then some, just comment to win some!
Pop Chips!

Pop Chips!

The treat that's so tweetable (@popchips) 
deliciously eatable,
with that unbeatable crunch!

How to Gain 60 Pounds in Six Months

So you want to gain 100 pounds over the next six months.

It’s really not as difficult as you might think. As a matter of fact, if you pay attention and do what I say, it’s “belly” easy (that’s a little weight-gaining humor right there, no extra charge).

Follow these guidelines and you’ll be packing on the poundage in no time “flab” (dammit… that was almost some more weight-gaining humor, but it didn’t quite get there).

The Show Must Go On. Make a firm commitment to watching four to five hours of television per night. And if you’ve DVR’d your favorite shows, don’t whiz through the commercials; just sit there and watch every minute.

Get Busy and Get Fizzy. Colas are an excellent source of quick, empty calories. Try to work in six or seven per day and you’ll easy surpass your daily caloric goals.

Looking for a Few Good Menus. Take a tip from me: eat out most meals and you’ll make sure you’re getting the fat, sugar and sodium you need to expand your waistline.

Be Primarily Sedentary. A sedentary lifestyle is absolutely necessary in order for you to reach your weight-gaining mission. Find small ways – park in handicapped spaces, drive the little cart at the store, take the elevator – to avoid unnecessary exercise. It's a little less work, but it's worth it!

Be Possessed with Processed. Processed foods are a key component to keeping the weight you’ve got and adding to it. Shop in the middle of the store for all the mixes and convenience foods that will help you gain without pain.

That's Why God Made Cupholders. If you’re serious about packing on pounds, you need to find extra time during the day to get in some unhealthy snacks. Texting while driving? Dangerous. Eating while driving? Delicious!

Thanks a Latte. Starbucks and other coffee-making chains have engineered innovative ways to pack tons of calories into perfectly innocent-looking drinks. They’re expensive… but if you want to gain weight, these babies are better than your run-of-the-mill snacks.

That’s it! Follow these tips and you’ll be tipping the scale even heavier in no time at all.

Of course, if you’d rather lose 60 pounds in six months, just do the opposite of all this…

Ways I’ve Welcomed New Folks to the Gym

• “Excuse me, but that’s the treadmill you have to run on backwards.”
   
• “I wouldn't bother with a locker; just let me hang on to your valuables.”
   
• “Wow! Is that all the weight you’re gonna put on there?”
  
  
  
• “You should warm up for at least 5 seconds before running as fast as you can.”
  
  
• “Can you spot me… five bucks?”
  
  
• “Your gym nickname is ‘Candy-Ass’”.
  
  
• “This is the best elliptical; I’ll let you have it for $5.”
  
  
• “Have you noticed that my muscles are bumpier than yours?”
  
  
• “The easiest personal trainer? That’d probably be Frances other there, the short-haired chick with all the prison tattoos.”
  
  
• “It’s good to start off with way more than you can lift and go from there.”
  
  
• “Thong Thursday is pretty much mandatory around here.”
  
  
• “C’mon... I’ll sit in your lap and we can do the rowing machine together.”
  
  
• “Just do what I do… and don’t forget to yodel.”
  
  
• “I can only do 500 chin-ups. How about you?”
  
  
• “Here… I wiped the sweaty sweat off the machine with my sweaty towel.”
  
  
• “Here,  I’ll poke you in the stomach while you do ab crunches.”
  
  
• “Spinning class? Oh, everyone just spins around and around until they get really dizzy and fall down.”
  
  
• “I usually lose ten to fifteen pounds per workout.”

Bodfather: The Brick Wall

Subject #1 in the "Bodfather" 



Witness Reduction Program: Kerensa

Second Check-in

Height: 5'7"

Starting weight:  254.8
Current weight: 248.6

Loss this month: .6 lbs.
Total Loss: 6.2 lbs


If you’re a JSGF newcomer, I’d sometimes referred to (by myself) as The Bodfather. A few months ago, I chose a quintet of folks that were interested in me chronicling their weight-loss adventures and have worked with them from afar to try to spark some makeover magic.

Kerensa was the first participant, a lovely bride-to-be who got off to a blistering start but had a tough go of it during the holidays.

Hey Jack,

So. I think I really have hit that brick wall. I feel like I don't know how to get back on track with this thing again, I actually caught myself wondering why I was doing this in the first place. In the back of my mind, I don't want to disappoint anyone, myself included.

I feel like having self-confidence is a double edged sword. It means that I am happy with myself, and so there are two different ways I can take that. I am not really sure what else to say, except that I am needing some help. Help to remember why I wanted to lose weight in the first place. Help to focus. Help to get charged back up.

I can see in the back of my mind this issue playing over and over again. It is like some sick re-run where I am happy with myself, so I lose my focus and let myself off plan. Things go okay for a while, because I know how to eat right, and after months of eating less, it takes a while for me to be eating as much as I did before I went back on plan. So I might not gain weight for a bit, but old habits tend to die hard. In the end of the terrible sitcom, I end up just as fat as before, and then some.

In some ways, I feel a bit distanced from the rest of the Bodfather group. I feel like I don't have the stamina that Billie does, or the reasons that Tom does. I have been doing this since August, and don't feel like I can tell the change. The scale says there is a 35 pound difference from where I started, but I don't necessarily feel it, or see it for that matter.

I feel like I am being a Debbie Downer. But I know when I need to ask for help, and this is that time.

Kerensa



Hey Kerensa,



You've just gone through the choppy waters of the holidays, and it's 
pretty natural to be second-guessing yourself.



Let me tell you a story (and if I were at home instead of a hotel room 
in St Louis, I'd sent along a photo to a accompany it):  when I was
 getting married 25 years ago, my wife-to-be asked me to lose weight.


Really, it's been the only time she's ever made that request in all
 our years together. She was planning this beautiful wedding and asked 
me to try... Just try... to lose a little weight for the big day.



To this day, I don't know why I couldn't do it then, when it obviously 
meant so much to the person who meant more to me than anyone in the
 world. I didn't lose the weight, Kerensa. Actually, I gained some.



The wedding went on, but to this day, I cringe when I look at the
 pictures. I can't watch the video. I wish I could go back and do it
 over.

I guess that's why your "Bodfather" email stood out to me, K. I think 
I saw an opportunity to help someone with something I wasn't strong 
enough to do at the time. I want you to look back at those wedding 
photos and see the person you really want to see in them.



This isn't an easy undertaking you've taken on, but I believe you've
 got what it takes to make it happen. I can't force you to do what I
 want you to, but I'm here to tell you that all the effort and 
sacrifice will be worth it in the end.

 I could go on and on and on, but you know how it is with me and thumb-typing...



Take care,


Jack

Making Waves

Weekly weigh-in: 217.1
Loss: -.8
Total loss: -74.8
Emotion: Resolutiony

When I was a little kid, there was a game I liked to play when my family went down to the beach. It involved me “fighting” against the waves pounding against the surf.

“Is that all you got?” I’d holler as a wave came crashing down across my chest, pushing me back several feet. “Is that all you…”

About that time, a huge swell would plaster me, driving me down against the ocean floor.

“Id thab oll chu gob?” I’d say, sand dripping out of my mouth and bright lights twinkling under my eyelids.

Needless to say, it wasn’t a fair fight, and that’s kinda how I feel about the holiday season.

Not. A. Fair. Fight.

Cookies everywhere you turn. Seasonal coffees with gingerbread and eggnog and peppermint. Parties at the office. Parties at home. Parties in my car on the way to other parties.

I went into the season with every good intention and staggered into the new year a beaten-down man.

Beaten-down, but not beaten.

Because just as the holiday brings it’s torture chamber of tempting treats, January is always there with resolutions and renewed spirit.

I haven’t posted a weigh-in in a couple of weeks, and I can promise you that the numbers weren’t pretty. But this week I was back in the gym with determination and gusto. More importantly, I’ve whittled off some of the bad habits that seem to have clamped back on at the end of the year.

I’ve got my focus, and I’ve got my plan.

This isn’t gonna be a fair fight.

2011… you better get some more guys.




.