Good for Tyler. That's a really inspiring story and it's great he's getting positive press.

/waits for all the anti-obesity trolls to come crawling out of the woodwork

@squinko:

He's an obese person taking responsibility for his weight. Kudos for him.

@squinko: Trolls usually live under bridges. You're thinking of the anti-obesity dryads.

@Al Swearengen: Wow...what a troll...

And fyi he does post his weight gains as well as his weight loss.

Can anyone tell me if its all just working out or if he had gastric bypass/lap band? He site has him working out alot, but wasnt sure if he had done anything else.

@squinko: The main problem is that the anti-obesity trolls will say, "See, this guy lost 100 pounds in less than a year! You can, too! Step up, fatass!" when it's far more complicated than that, especially for women and people who have already fried their metabolisms with previous diets and eating disorders. Even Tyler admits this.

I've just lost a significant amount of weight (40 lbs), and I'm not comfortable when people fawn over me because of it and ask for my secrets. What I did will not work for everyone, and may not work for anyone else at all.

@Laura Northrup: I've lost about 30 pounds this year alone thanks to inspiration from Tyler. Tyler's drive is amazing, but yeah, losing weight is as much a lifestyle change as it is anything else. That's something that can be REALLY hard to do overnight (especially on a budget).

Habits can be so hard to break.

Granted, all the weight I have now is mostly due to a dramatic gain after quitting Atkins after being on it for over a year. =| I switched from fad diets to a diet of vegetables and whole grains. That changed the world for me.

@rpm773: +1!!!!!!!!

@Laura Northrup: Well in that case, you just tell them that *|RANDOM SPORTSPERSON|* went from scavenging for food to being an olympic medallist. And that they can come back and judge others after winning a major championship.

I've been following the blog since it was featured here. Been a pretty amazing thing to see. I'd imagine the next step once he finishes will be to maintain a healthy weight.

I just started doing a blog/diet myself at my site. I'm only in week 1 so far, a long way to go before I get results like this. I'm hopeful I can emulate the results.

@Laura Northrup: That's awesome, good for you! :) You're so right...nothing is perfect for everyone, and people seem to forget that so easily, but only when it comes to other people's weight issues...

@ddmeightball: I can't say for him, but I do know it is possible to lose a lot of weight with just eating right and exercise. Currently in the 190's and I started @ 280 2 years ago. And I just recently started running.

@Juncti: I know that the public intention can be a help in keeping to the plan, but I still think it takes a lot of nerve to follow such a goal out in the glare of the bright lights. Kudos to you as well as to him for being willing to try it that way.

@ddmeightball: AFAIK it's all exercise and diet change. The simple eat less, move more lifestyle.

Promise this is the last inspirational post of the day?

@Al Swearengen: If you don't care, you're welcome not to read the post and comment. Your lame-ass trolling has no point.

@Preyfar: you're absolutely right. It is a lifestyle change. And I think that people need to make the conscious choice to change their lifestyles more often, and in areas other than just weight. It's all about knowing that it's going to be a long road, and doing a small amount every time you're presented the option.

@squinko: I think 'anti-obesity' is giving them too much credit. They're more like "anyone I think is fat isn't a human being".

@ddmeightball: I've read his blog regularly for a while. I believe he considered surgery but was advised against it. Definitely didn't have surgery though, and he's been doing exercise + eating better (he doesn't consider it a diet as much as portion control) + lifestyle change (he talks about playing basketball on top of exercise, not instead.)

@ddmeightball: It's definitely exercise and diet (although he eats pretty "normally" if you will- just in moderation and smaller quantities. He researched surgery extensively and decided against it. This is all willpower and an elliptical machine!

@Featherstonehaugh: Wow. You really missed the entire point of this post. Thanks for playing. Come back when you have a useful comment.

(BTW, 150 lbs. can still be fat for some body types.)

@Featherstonehaugh:

Wait. 150 is an ideal weight?? For what height? 150 is a good weight for a man who's about 5'7". But if this guy is about 6', 150 pounds would be creepy underweight.

@Featherstonehaugh:

Well, aren't you friendly? :)

@Featherstonehaugh:

I just checked his blog. He's 6'2". 200 would be a pretty ideal weight at that height. Especially if it's muscle, as muscle is heavier than fat.

I suppose I should slap myself for feeding the troll ..

@Featherstonehaugh: Really? I'm sure I can find you some ~220llb football/rugby/olympians who I would like you to say that to. It IS possible to have a large amount of lean muscle. Lean muscle is not fat, yet it adds to your weight. Amazin, eh?

@radleyas: Keep feeding the troll. It should make him fat/ ;)

@Laura Northrup: Well put. At the basis of sound weight loss is diet and exercise, BUT not everyone's metabolism works at the same rate. Even the same person's metabolism over their life (as we all know) changes. It gets harder to lose weight as we get older. Period. There are some random people who still have no problem. Good for them. It's not that easy for everyone.

I was about 335lbs in June, now I'm done to 306, but I somehow missed reading about this guy. Good for him. I decided to make a change in my lifestyle and get healthy too. I'm not even close to my eventual target but I'm already feeling better.

@Featherstonehaugh: I'd recommend you watch the video / look at his site. I wouldn't classify him as particularly overweight anymore, and I'd bet that a much larger percentage of his weight is muscle mass now. I, for one, am impressed.
And yes, I would like to see if feeding the trolls does make them fat. It'd be an interesting experiment.

@Al Swearengen: Oh, quit being cranky just for the sake of it. Yeesh. If you don't care, scroll right on past and quit bashing a guy that did a very fine job.

@Laura Northrup:

don't feed the hypothetical trolls.

@radleyas: I think at 200 pounds, unless he had a lot of muscle, he would be at an overweight BMI still. According to that ideal weight formula that floats around on the internet his ideal weight would be 174.

@outlulz:

174 at 6'2"? That would be one hell of a lean, thin build. my husband is 169 at 5'9". He's still size 32 and wears a men's medium shirt.

@outlulz:

Also, the BMI is BS.

@GitEmSteveDave_SaysHappy40thJesus: well he's no body builder and he looks kinda funny from all the loose skin, but he's doing a good job.

Ft gy lss wght, 'm sppsd t cr. Whn h bllns bck p, s h gng t chncl tht? (s Mk Hckb)

@Laura Northrup: You are absolutely wrong. The reason he lost weight is that he ate less calories than he burned and he made sure to work out which helps your metabolism. This "frying" your metabolism is an excuse unmotivated heavy people use. The burgers and fries and shakes and sitting all day fry your metabolic rate and not eating healthy and exercise.

What he is doing is the one guaranteed way to lose weight. Eat a balanced diet which consists of fewer calories than you burn and work out. There is nothing magical about it and yes, yes it does work for everyone.

@Xerloq wants to...: Its the only real way to lose weight. You must watch what and how much of what you eat. Less calories than you burn and gain muscle so you can burn more.

@radleyas: My father is 5'9'' and I believe he's about 150lbs. If you added the extra inches, he'd be an ambulatory coat rack.

@subtlefrog: Yep. It boils down to a simple concept: to burn fat, one must expend more energy than one takes in. Of course, simple does not equal easy, and some people must burn significantly more energy than they take in to see results, while others seem to merely be able to walk to the door and burn a thousand calories. :-D

It also helps to re-evaluate your eating habits and make long term changes that include healthier foods that you like to eat, rather than thinking of it as "dieting." Diet implies short term deprivation, and deprivation will eventually lead to temptation. It's much more beneficial to make long term choices that are easier to stick to, and enjoy things that are less healthy in moderation.

When I hit 240, I decided I didn't want to weigh as much as Homer Simpson, so I made a few changes, started martial arts, (which I chose because it's engaging and fun, but even still, I sometimes have to force myself to go), and began to try and find foods that were both better for me and that I liked. I've managed to lose about two inches off my waist so far, but I've put on a bit of muscle mass, I'm not sure exactly how much "weight" I've lost. I feel better, though, and that's certainly a plus. ^_^

@subtlefrog: If you eat well and exercise and not the 30 min three days a week thing as that is to maintain current weight then you will lose weight and you will increase your metabolic rate.

If you are eating healthy unprocessed foods and working out 5 days a week burning more than you eat and gaining muscle you metabolism speeds up at any age. The rate is different sure but this is true for everyone and you will lose weight. It may be slower and it may start slower but you will.

A life of sitting and watching TV and web surfing will mean a life of obesity. Using your slow metabolic rate as an excuse is just that, an excuse for inaction.

@radleyas: Yes - it is.

@The_Red_Monkey: ...yes, yes it does work for everyone."

Are you a doctor? Do you have medical studies to back up your [very incorrect] claim?

@BII: Congrats and keep up the good work! You'll be feeling like a million bucks in no time.

Good for him. I always enjoy reading other people's success with weight loss, especially if they do it the old fashioned way: eating less and healthier food and more exercise, as opposed to the quick fixes such as gastric bypass.

@The_Red_Monkey: Very true. I would add that as you get older (and I'm speaking as a 49 year old woman - I don't mean older as in 27) you have to make sure you're building muscle and not just doing aerobics. You can do aerobics for 2 hours a day7 days a week, but it won't help much if you're not doing something to build muscle at the same time.

Personally, I recommend doing leg lifts while wearing ankle weights - that's always worked magic for me and it only takes 10 minutes a day if you do 4 sets of 25. And it tones up everything from the neck down.

@Featherstonehaugh: Back to the woodwork with you, anti-obesity dryad!

@Pink Puppet:

Exactly. I shudder at the thought of a 6'2 man at 174. Stick figure/bobble head situation!

@The_Red_Monkey:

This "frying" your metabolism is an excuse unmotivated heavy people use. The burgers and fries and shakes and sitting all day fry your metabolic rate and not eating healthy and exercise.

You go right on attacking what you think it is I said.