My Motivation behind this Weight Loss Contest

Hello, and welcome to my fat fighting blog. For those who don’t know me, I’m an English / American dual citizen SEO, working for Serengeti Communications, an agency inside the Virginia side of the Washington DC beltway. I write about online marketing topics on EndlessPlain.com and SearchEngineTigers, along with the occasional post on SearchEngineLand and SearchEngineGuide.

Ok, now that’s our of the way, let’s start with a timeline to explain why I’m doing this…

• 1990 - December 9th 2006 - 240-245 lbs
• January 31st 2007 - 210 lbs
• October 28th 2007 (directly after the Marine Corps Marathon) - 198.8 lbs
• January 22nd 2008 - 216.8 lbs (the day Donna asked me if I wanted in on this contest)

You see the problem? After the marathon I stopped exercising, and fell ...Continue reading

I’m Going to be a Loser!

Well, since the cat is apparently out of the bag I guess I’d better put something up here. If you haven’t heard, I and several other SEO’s are going to be teaming up to lose weight and raise some money for charity. The first official weigh in is tomorrow and you’ll be able to track my progress as I go. I haven’t quite settled on any specific program or method of losing the weight but once I do, you’ll be the first to know. Anyway follow along and wish me luck. For now I’m off to go enjoy the last fat filled and guilt free meal I’ll have for a while I was going to say the last fat filled meal but to be honest, I’ll ...Continue reading

01/31/08 - Breakfast

01/31/08 - Breakfast

Originally uploaded by Jennifer Laycock

A pretty good size Honeycrisp apple. If you have never had a honeycrisp apple, you must immediately rush to the store and find one. No apple should taste this amazing.

It tastes like cider. It’s sweet, but has a bit of a zing to it. Best apple ever for salads and snacking. (If you’re in the Ohio-PA area, Giant Eagle and Meijer carry them, otherwise you have to go to Costco.) ...Continue reading

Day 0 - Pre-Weight Loss Planning

The time is almost here. I will soon be officially on a weight loss plan for SEOs Fight Fat. That day is tomorrow, and I thought I’d get a jump on things by describing my thoughts, feelings, and actions pre-launch.

First things first…why do I need to lose weight? Well, nearly a year ago, I quit smoking. After 30 years of smoking 3-5 packs a day, it was time (mainly because of the expense). Unfortunately, that resulted in me gaining about 50 pounds since then. Hey, at my age, I didn’t have the lean, tight body I had twenty years ago, but I wasn’t too far off the mark. Now, however, it’s not a pretty sight. In fact, it’s downright UGLY ...Continue reading

01/30/08 - Kung Pao Chicken

01/30/08 - Kung Pao Chicken

Originally uploaded by Jennifer Laycock

Small plate. Kung pao chicken with fried veggie rice, mini egg roll and steamed veggies. 550 calories, 9 grams fat, 13 grams protein. ...Continue reading

A Walk in the Park

Um… a walk by the park, actually. I had to mail my rebate form for my Tivo (oh, you’ve got to hear this! I bought a Tivo in November for $42, bought the service for a year at $120 and I get a rebate of $170. Yes, they are paying me $8 to have Tivo service for a year. Cool, no?) so I decided to walk the block and a half to the library.

When lunchtime rolled around… I was jonesing for mexican. I’ve been really good lately and I started justifying it in my head… I’ll skip the chips and just get a chicken soft taco… how bad could that be? But I didn’t. Score one for me!

Instead I changed into my sneakers and hoofed it to the post office ...Continue reading

So… What Happened?

Since the contest hasn’t officially started yet, let’s do a little introspecting… exactly how did I end up on SeosFightFat? How did I get here from the size 4’s I was wearing at the 2003 SJ SES? (Ah, those were the days…)

I’d like to spin you a story full of drama and intrigue with a little tragedy mixed in for effect but the sad, sad truth is… is… boredom. Contentment. Coma-inducing lethargy.

I’ve had my periods of high drama, no doubt. But the downward slide (and upwards crawl of the scale) is more of a product of disinterest than personal turmoil. As it is for most people, I imagine! The more comfortable you are, the less you care where that extra slice of cheesecake ends up.

Yeah, ok, I feel a pang ...Continue reading

01/29/08 - Elliptical Work-out

01/29/08 - Elliptical Work-out

Originally uploaded by Jennifer Laycock

35 minutes on the Elliptical for the killer cross training hill climb. Followed this up with 20 minutes of weight training. ...Continue reading

Hello world!

This is Jeff’s first post. ...Continue reading

01/30/08 Lunch - Veggie Lasagna

01/30/08 Lunch - Veggie Lasagna

Originally uploaded by Jennifer Laycock

Great veggie lasagna. Used Zucchini instead of noodles for some layers. Also packed with spinach, onions and mushrooms. The whole piece was only about the size of my fist, so I didn’t feel too guilty eating all of it. ...Continue reading