$650 Weight Loss Challenge: Day 102/120
September 3, 2011 Posted by Tyler Cruz
I started my weight loss challenge against Paul Piotrowski exactly 102 days ago, which means that there are only 18 days left!
As a quick recap, we each must lose 14% of our starting body weight (which works out to 30 pounds each) within 4 months (120 days). If one of us doesn’t make it, then he will have to pay the other $650. If neither of us make it, then we will donate $650 to the BCSPCA.
I am writing this post right around midnight, so by the time I post it, there will actually only be 17 days left. It is quite incredible how fast time seems to go when you are nearing the cut-off time of a very ambitious project. In fact, I will probably only have time for one last weight loss update after this post before the competition is over.
Below is an updated line graph comparing my daily weigh-in’s to Paul’s:
As you can see, I’ve been continuing to lose weight at a fairly gradual rate if you look at it from the long-term instead of day-to-day.
Paul’s tremendous progress finally started to slow down this past week, and it almost looked like he was about to bottom out, until he lost 1.8 pounds yesterday.
This graph below shows a direct comparison of our total weight loss in pounds, as opposed to just our our total weight:
Below is an update on the overall numerical data, taken from the last update to today (it’s too long to show the entire thing – if you want to know all the exact numbers, simply view the past weight loss updates for this challenge):
The Minimum Pace is taking the average amount of weight we need to lose each day (which works out to 0.25 lbs.) over 120 days in order to just barely lose 30 pounds, multiplied by the number of days so far.
The Real vs Min. Pace is the difference between our current weight loss and the Minimum Pace.
I managed to lose 3.4 pounds since the last update 13 days ago. Unfortunately, that pace is not fast enough to put me on track to make the challenge. I somehow need to step it up a notch.
I’ve now lost a total of 22.2 pounds so far, which works out to 11.65% of my starting body weight. I am currently 190.6, which means that I am almost in the 180’s!
However, I am 3.3 pounds behind the minimum pace, and I still have 7.8 more pounds to lose within only 18 (17) days. That works out to nearly half a pound… that’s half a pound I have to lose EVERY DAY for the next 18 days, just to barely make the challenge!
Paul on the other hand actually hit his target weight yesterday. He gained 0.2 pounds today, so he’s not out of the woods yet, but unless he goes completely insane, he’s going to make this challenge no problem. Amazing.
However, it does kind of suck in that Paul only needs to get to 186.0 for the challenge when I have to get down to 182.8. He did weigh in at 4 pounds more than me, but he basically lost all of that on the 2nd day of the challenge. I guess he really ate a lot on the eve before the challenge start time in order to influence his numbers.
Anyway, Paul basically has this in the bag now, and so it’s now up to me to see if I can make it in time.
My Efforts
I’ve been continuing to do my ‘daily list’ which consists of: walking for 25-minutes (2.3KM or 1.5 miles), playing badminton twice a week, eating 4 servings of fruits and vegetables, drinking 3 glasses of water, and taking pre-workouts for men before lifting.
In addition to my ‘daily list’, I’ve also been occasionally going for my ‘long walks’ which works out to around once every 4-5 days.
I’ve been slowly incrementing the distance each time I go… by around 0.25 KM each time so as to not shock my system.
The last trek on it was earlier today at 13.25 KM (8.25 miles), which wasn’t very fun as it was quite windy and I was facing the wind most of the way.
Below is a Google Maps shot of the Parkway Trail route I go. I walk from my condo to the end and back:
I originally only walked the entire thing, but now I do a tiny bit of jogging once I hit the trail. My heart is unable to handle jogging past a minute or two, but I do try to jog whenever I have the capacity.
Also, lately I noticed that I just felt like picking it up a notch and would break into a jog for a while. I think it’s a sign that I am beginning to get in better shape.
Since I am still behind the minimum pace in order to make this challenge on time, I increased my number of daily crunches by 1 last week, and increased the time of my daily walk today by 1 minute. I had to readjust my daily walk route as a result. It is now 2.3 KM (1.5 MI). It’s not very far, but it does get me out walking for 25 minutes every day, and it adds up – 2.3 KM everyday over 1 month works out to 69KM (43 MI).
Here’s the new route:
Diet-wise, I’ve been slacking a bit. I’m a little bit behind with my vegetables, and appear to be eating too much for a late dinner.
It’s hard though, because while I try to only eat enough to satisfy my hunger, I am usually still hungry even though I’m eating slow.
Anyway, I’m 22.2 pounds down with 7.8 more to go. Can I lose 7.8 pounds in 18 days? It’s not as easy as it may seem, as I’m 190.6 now, not 212.8 anymore…
Paul’s Efforts
Paul has been continuing with his Dr.Bernstein diet, albeit on ‘maintenance mode’, which has continued to do extremely well for him. As mentioned earlier, he actually hit the challenge goal of losing 30 pounds yesterday.
He does a little bit of walking/running on his treadmill, but other than that, it’s all diet.
You can read his thoughts about losing 30 pounds in his latest blog post.
Below are Paul’s before and after photos:
Congrats to him for losing 30 pounds! I know first-hand how difficult it is and just how much time and effort it takes.
That being said, the competition isn’t over, and he’ll have to maintain his weight for the final weigh-in. And he’ll actually have to lose a couple pounds more in order to compensate for the added clothes and camera during the final weigh-in.
It’s also interesting… while Paul has lost 30 pounds, it looks like he could still afford to lose another 20 in order to really get in shape. I’ll be curious to see how Paul’s weight progresses over the next 2-3 months.
Will We Make It? Cast Your Vote!
In my last few weight loss contest updates, I included polls to see what you guys thought would happen in this challenge.
Below are the results of the past polls. I’ve closed them now, since this post is now up with our updated stats:
What will happen in the Tyler vs. Paul $650 weight loss challenge? (Day 45/120 Stats)
- Neither will make it (44%, 19 Votes)
- Only Tyler will make it (26%, 11 Votes)
- Both will make it (23%, 10 Votes)
- Only Paul will make it (7%, 3 Votes)
Total Voters: 43
Loading ...What will happen in the Tyler vs. Paul $650 weight loss challenge? (Day 55/120 Stats)
- Neither will make it (45%, 17 Votes)
- Both will make it (42%, 16 Votes)
- Only Paul will make it (11%, 4 Votes)
- Only Tyler will make it (3%, 1 Votes)
Total Voters: 38
Loading ...What will happen in the Tyler vs. Paul $650 weight loss challenge? (Day 90/120 Stats)
- Only Paul will make it (40%, 14 Votes)
- Both will make it (26%, 9 Votes)
- Neither will make it (26%, 9 Votes)
- Only Tyler will make it (9%, 3 Votes)
Total Voters: 35
Loading ...And here is the new poll. Please cast your vote!:
What will happen in the Tyler vs. Paul $650 weight loss challenge? (Day 102/120 Stats)
- Only Paul will make it (55%, 16 Votes)
- Both will make it (34%, 10 Votes)
- Neither will make it (10%, 3 Votes)
- Only Tyler will make it (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 29
Loading ...With Paul having already lost the target goal of 30 pounds and me still needing to lose 7.8 pounds, it will be interesting how people vote this time around.
Your heart is unable to handle jogging past 2 minutes? Are you 80 years old?
Didn’t you used to run? I remember posts of this.. So what changed?
I never used to run… I always walk, sometimes with short jogs of a minute or two.
I have a mitral valve prolapse (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitral_valve_prolapse) which was diagnosed when I was 13 or 14 by a heart specialist and various testing. Basically, I’m unable to do things that increase my heart rate by a lot for extended periods of time.
Badminton works because it’s not constant running. For example, there’s no way I could play soccer.
Believe me, I’d much rather jog for 45 minutes than have to walk for 2.5 hours.
I voted that you’ll both make it. There’s no way Paul shouldn’t and I have confidence you will continue to push your walking and dieting 🙂
I guess Pauly is gonna make it, for sure.
BTW, I was thinking of getting started on a similar journey, just wanted to know, what kept you going initially.
“However, it does kind of suck in that Paul only needs to get to 186.0 for the challenge when I have to get down to 182.8. He did weigh in at 4 pounds more than me, but he basically lost all of that on the 2nd day of the challenge. I guess he really ate a lot on the eve before the challenge start time in order to influence his numbers.”
Just to clarify, I did NOT “eat a lot to influence my numbers” during the initial weigh in. The reason my weight was recorded as 212.4lbs the following morning is because:
(a) The 212.4 was recorded the following morning and my “morning weight” is ALWAYS lower than my evening weight after eating dinner. This is due to the fact that we lose weight while sleeping, and because I take a leak first thing in the morning before doing my morning weigh in. Those two factors account for about 1-2lbs for me on any given day.
(b) The 212.4 was recorded with lighter clothes and no socks, plus without holding the camera. These two factors account for about 1.0-1.5lbs.
Of course on weight-in day I’m going to (a) be doing my weigh in during the evening and (b) I will be holding the camera so I have to add in that 2-3lbs buffer into the equation.
I seems that Paul has reached the goal of losing 30pounds but you still need to lose 5-6 more pounds, it will be a tough task lose that much in 13 days, hope you make it
Regards Kostas
I had a question, rather than a comment — that graph you have (with the red and blue lines), I was looking for some sort of software or a program to graph simple charts. Your chart is *exactly* the way I want my graphs to work. May I ask what program you used? Thank you!!
Haha, it’s called Excel 😉
If you don’t have Office (Excel) then you can get a very similar and compatible (and free) OpenSource version at http://www.openoffice.org.
Have you thought about dropping the fruit from your diet? Although fruits sugar is natural, it is still sugar and can be something that inhibits weight loss. Just replacing the fruit with some more vege’s might help you get a couple of pounds closer to your goal.
I could drop the fruit, but the fruit is my only real source of sugar right now…
Looking forward to see it come down to the wire and hope you manage to pull off a last minute miracle, Tyler. Enjoyed following this second challenge quite a bit and picked up some good weight loss tips along the way too. I need to lose a few pounds too lately as I’ve let myself go due to extra work loads and bad time management.
Is there a section of your site I can read about how to make money online? I hope to supplement my income by making websites but all I can seem to find here are blogs about losing weight and taking walks and playing with video cameras.
Check out the Archives: https://www.tylercruz.com/archives/ – Half a decade of posts there. I’ll have more “make money online” related posts soonish.
I think you are doing a great job, but you do need to step it up a bit if you are going to beat the challenge. I think you can do it and your plan should work. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Awesome idea. I keep telling myself I’m going to do this. Good for you for actually doing it!
My friend did something similar to this about three years ago (by himself, though) and donated all the money he raised to charity.
I love the chart and graphs, and the pictures are great. Good for you and keep up the great work. You’re giving me a good reason to go on the treadmill!
This competition is just so great, I wish I had a friend with whom I could put up a weight loss challenge.
It wouldn’t be hard to find someone if you offer them a challenge. Just reach out to a few people you know or bloggers etc.
No bro, that wouldn’t work out. Reaching out to people and trying something in remote isnt that great when you have some one very near who can talk about it on a day to day basis. I hope most of the folks here will agree with me.
That is exactly what I have been thinking too. I don’t know if I can get them to agree to similar stakes though. Maybe we’ll have to settle on having the loser buy the winner a burger and coke to celebrate the weight loss.
Want me to challenge you? 😀 I’m tuned to the updates, I think Tyler is gonna win, and casted my vote to Tyler 😀 Rest we’ll know in next 17 days.
Exactly when I read this post, I was also thinking if I have some one with same mind set how it would be. But yuck all my friends are most interested in eating rather than to reduce weight 🙁
Hi Tyler,
Sorry, If you both want to fix the weight and win, must you really starve the last 10 days and live only on water and miniral tablets. Tough situation, but that’s what’s up.
Good Luck with the weight loss Tyler, I am glad to see that you are involved in doing something that will definitely help your health in the long term. It takes some serious determination to stick with a weight loss challenge for this long. You mentioned that you used social crocodile to gain 5000 facebook fans and 2000 twitter followers. Have you gained any traffic from the fans or twitter followers.
Thanks. I am using a new Twitter source now though. Still testing it out before I write a case study on it.
To answer your question though, from Social Crocodile: Facebook: Yes, Twitter: No
Good luck Tyler, you’re doing great!
pauly seems to know what hes doing and tyler didnt know about your condition, great luck
Being fit in shape and healthy is definetly gonna produce a positive ROI
Looks like you are losing ground to paul here. You really gotta pick up the pace!
Good Luck Tyler!
You guys are almost finished! I am looking forward to seeing the results!
Tyler, all the best. By looking at the logs it looks like you’re gonna nail this. Make us proud 😀
Wow, its a great effort from Paul’s end. The Sep photos are really cool. He has lost close to 40 lbs, which is really amazing. Tyler, bro, why dont you post similar pics of you? 🙂
LOL, nice to see you both lose weight! Here are some useful tips for me! 😀