Welcome to the first blog post on my ROAD to HUNK-Dumb…If you’re like me you struggle with your weight and yo-yo up and down, idolize super hunky beefcakes and want to be on the level of hunk supremes like John Cena or Channing Tatum. I have yet to achieve that status, but have come close and then given up or got derailed. I’ll never be cut up like a mofo, but if I dropped another 40lbs I wouldn’t be far from the Hunk Supreme status, and that would be ok with me.
So here I am going to attempt to humorously document what I do for the next 10-20 weeks (maybe longer) to drop another 40lbs. or so. Showing the tools I use, foods & recipes I eat, some exercise tips, and more!
Right off the top I am NOT a doctor. I can not give you any legitimate medical advice. If you are in serious need of losing wight and getting healthy I HIGHLY recommend you consult a medical professional.
I also have NO affiliation with Weight Watchers (WW), do NOT receive any compensation for talking about or mentioning them in my process nor am I trying to pass their program off as my own. I’m just showing you the tools that I found online to help replicate their system and find weight loss success in the past.
STEP ONE: Come Up With Your Game Plan
The first thing you need to do is find a program that will work for you. Some people can just count calories and exercise, some people need to follow a particular program. I need a program, with rules and boundaries, but NOT super strict boundaries.
The one that worked best for me was Weight Watchers or WW as they are known now. So that is the one I am going to talk about the most. I highly encourage you to find the system that will work best for you wether it’s Atkins, Keto, drinking Slimfast Shakes, or just counting calories and working out with a Thigh-Master, some will work better for you over others. As dumb as it sounds write out a pros and cons list and make a decision. Personally I feel to have success you need to follow the game plan which is the program you choose or create.
To me WW is the most realistic in terms of living a normal life but also eating healthy/semi healthy. You can still eat stuff that isn’t the best for you, but you now have to work with your remaining points for the day. So if the craving for a soft, melty, chewy, delicious Cheesy Gordita Crunch comes a rumbling, you can go get one, but you have to have some discipline and not OVER indulge. Go get one and try to go for a walk and stick to your remaining points.
The program also helps you take little steps where you lose 2-3lbs a week so you can wean yourself from your Fatty McFatFat eating habits. The short version of what they do is simplify calorie counting. Using your BMI, age, gender, and activity level they calculate a daily allotment of points. Each food item you eat is given a point value. So to stay on track you subtract the food item value from your daily points and once you’re out of points for the day you’ll have to stick to zero point foods or hopefully be done eating for the day.
In addition to your daily points you also have some weekly “flex” points. You can either use them on a big indulgence during the week or divide them up each day to give you more daily points. (This was when the program was called the Freestyle program, which I believe is now currently the Blue program)
There are quite a few zero point foods in the program as well. It’s not all just peppers and onions with a side of lemon water. They are however mostly fruits, veggies, and super lean meats. To get the full list you can Google “Weight Watchers Zero Point Foods on Blue” or click the link and see.
Because of the type & amount of zero point foods, the “forgivingness” of the program, and slow ease into the new diet, I decided to go this route. Now I don’t stick to the program 100% of the time, 24/7, 365 days a year. Even when I’m on it I may ditch it a day or two a month (on special occasions, holidays, etc.), but get back on it ASAP. If you decide to go the WW route you can sign up and use all of the tools (zero points foods, recipes, support forum, phone app, etc.) they have available on their site to find dieting success and I encourage you to do that…But if you’re a frugal motherf**ker like me and want to save the $$$ I have links to the tools I used to essentially recreate their system in Step Two.
STEP TWO: TOOLS
I’m going to share a link that will take you to a calculator that will calculate your points and give you a week by week rundown of where you should be on your weight loss journey and how many points you are allowed each day as well as your total weekly flex points. This is one of the MOST essential tools to use. You can find that here: How Many Weight Watchers Points Am I Allowed?
Credit: healthyweightforum.org/
Here you can see my results. So for the first week I am allowed 38 points a day as well as an additional 35 points for the week to use however I please.
Now once my weight hits the 248.17 lb. mark, my daily points will drop down to 37 and will continue to drop down as my weight decreases.
The “Results” will show you how many weeks it should take to hit your target weight and when to decrease your daily point amount. For me it calculates that it will take me 20 weeks to drop my target 40 lbs.
Now the second most important tool you need is something that will tell you what the point value of your foods are!
Remember to do your research and look up your zero point foods. Most of your raw fruits or veggies are all going to be zero points. Lots of lean meats like boneless skinless chicken breast, 99% fat free ground turkey, etc. All you have to do is Google “Weight Watchers Zero Point Foods on Blue” or click the link and see.
Credit: healthyweightforum.org/
There are a ton of different food value calculators out there. You simply input data off the nutritional value label of the item you’re going to eat and the calculator will tell you how many points it is. (If you subscribe to the WW program they have an app that will tell you by scanning the food barcode)
Here is a link to one I use. MyWW Food Calculator You will have to scroll down to the SECOND calculator on the page! It will look like the one to the side here.
Once you know how many points you’re allowed per day, know which foods are zero points, and can now calculate the point value of the foods you’re going to eat you will be able to put the program to work for you!
Next week I will show you how I broke down my daily point allotment to try and make them the most effective and allow me to eat meals that were fulfilling, tasty, and still kept me within my daily allotment.
Now you might be wondering if this sh*t really works or not?!? Well I am going to show you my results! Each week I am going to share a pic of my progress, what my current weight is, and how much I gained/lost that week. Here are the stats for week one.
credit: whothefisjamescampbell.com
This week I started at 252.7 lbs. and weighed in at 243.8 lbs. giving me a loss of 8.9 lbs. after a week back on the game plan!
Now these results are not typical of each week being on the program. The loss I saw this week was most likely a lot of water weight. Not so much fat, but a loss is still a loss! I am almost 9 lbs. closer to my goal! And my body already feels tighter and I feel much healthier.
I wanted a strong start out of the gate this week so everyday I ate within my daily point allotment which was 38 pts with a weekly flex amount of 35 pts. I even ate lunch at Subway & Pot Belly a couple times this week eating chicken or turkey on wheat bread with veggies and no mayo. Not many diet programs allow you to eat out.
One MAJOR thing I did this week was cut my diet pop intake by a ton!! I typically blow through a 12 pack of pop in a day or day and a half. This week I consumed no more than two 12 oz diet pops each day, on most days I only drank 1. I stepped up my water intake and was drinking almost 64oz of water each day. To me that was the MAJOR thing that attributed to the weight loss this week.
Now I continue on the Road to Hunk-Dumb but this week I will only have 37 pts to use each day plus my weekly flex since I’m now around the 243/244 lb. mark. Thanks for reading and feel free to reach out to me on Twitter or Facebook if you have any questions on getting started and on your way to beefcake status!
More tips and an update coming in a week!
