I will tell you one piece of advice that worked for me this time because it is the reason I failed so many times before. You see, whatever plan you are on, you will lose weight. The first week you will lose weight, and everything will make sense.

Down the road though, there will be a day or a week you will gain weight during a diet. It happens to almost everyone. You will do everything right, you will work out, and the scale will say you are up. You can go on it again, and it will say the same thing.

How do you react? That is the key. During my 221 pound weight loss, I had two weeks where I gained weight and had no idea why. I worked out hard, I ate right, and yet the scale said I gained 1.6 pounds.

When this happened before, I would change everything up. I would get upset and quit, or say it was not worth it.

But I did not stress or try to change everything around this time. I did not want to give up this time. I had confidence in what I was doing and knew that if I kept eating well and working out.

The following week I lost weight. In 52 weeks I lost 221 pounds.

I will say, weight loss makes sense when you are losing weight, but when you gain weight, when it does not make sense, that is when you need to confidence in yourself.

I will tell you, the more I cared, the more I hated blogging. The key to being a good blogger is not hating it. You have to love it and be honest no matter the consequence. Even if it is a bad comment or an unfollow once in a while.

But I could not accept that. I wanted more followers. Even if it meant writing posts that would please the masses. I wanted more comments.

For the past year I have wanted to write this post. I have been hesitant because of trying to pursue sponsorships. I have been hesitant because I have been trying to build my blog.

Honestly though, I have to enjoy this. I have a good job. Blogging is a hobby that I am good at.

So here it goes…..

I have not written a weight loss plan or a workout in years. That is not what my blog is about. It is not even close to that anymore.

But you know me, right? Because we were both overweight you know the struggles, so you are looking at me for advice or for that magical post or you want all of my secrets for weight loss.

Well, most people do not know me here. You know my “story”. You know my writing.  Writing I do not read very often. You know I was overweight. You want my secrets of weight loss.

Here you go. Wake up early to work out and change the way you eat. Sounds rough? Well, it is the only way I know how. I did not get results by learning one simple rule. I do not have any tricks up my sleeve. That is why I am not that great of a weight loss blogger. There are millions of weight loss bloggers out there. Coaches, RD’s, personal trainers who would love to help you.

Knowing what I eat or how I work out will not help you lose weight. It just will not. I could lie to you and say it is the best way, but it isn’t. I lost weight the stupid way. My dear friend Sean Anderson has a great simple system. 1500 calories a day, done. Mine was changing everything I think and do. No one should have to do that.

But no one should have to be 5 foot 6 and 420 pounds. No one should not be able to fit in a booth, use a urinal, wipe their ass, put on a seat belt and make love to their wife. that is all I remember. I do not know about power foods, I know that I need to do whatever it takes to keep my weight off. Period.

I am so appreciative of the people that are inspired by my stories and honestly so am I. I need this because I will struggle, I will slip, and then I need to see my strength. I need to see my writing to know that losing weight is possible. It did not get easier after losing the weight. But it is not as hard as living morbidly obese.

So if my blog is not what you are looking for, unfollow me. My blog is not a forum. My Facebook is not a message board.

I will not lose any sleep over it if you unfollow me. Delete me on Facebook and Twitter. In fact, email me and I will send you ten names of people you are looking for.

I can not lose weight for you. I do not know the best ways.

All I know is that I am a selfish man who never emailed anyone for advice. I walked into a Weight Watchers meeting embarrassed at 420 pounds at rock bottom.

And in four years, I learned more about myself than weight loss.

I thought about it and realized that might be one of the rudest things someone can do. Who would chew gum and then instead throwing it out would spit it in a urinal? Because of the guard on the urinal it will not flush, so someone has to pick it out and throw it away.

And is that fair? Someone who does not make a lot of money has to go and grab gum out of the urinal. Cleaning the bathroom is bad enough after other people, but now having to pick up gum out of a urinal. Whoever spit that in there has no consideration for other people.

So why am I writing this?

Four years ago I could not use a urinal. I had to go to the bathroom in a handicap stall.

So now I respect the urinal. Others should as well.

Those are ten of the millions of excuses I told myself at 420 pounds. McDonald’s is still open 24 hours, there are people who are still not on my side, I do not have a personal trainer, I do not know a great diet pill, tracking food is hard, I work at a restaurant, no one lost weight with me, I still do not have a ton of money, I am still super busy………..

It is that last excuse that changed me. Because I could…and I did lose 200 pounds.

I saw you pacing by the machine thinking I would be the first person off. I was not. Then I saw you working out next to me waiting for me to finish my StairMaster workout. I did not. Finally when you were done, I was still going. Then you asked me “How do you workout for so long on that machine?”……..

In 2006 when I was 420 pounds I could not go up five flights of stairs. It was for a work function and the HR director of my former company told me that it was a shame I could not climb stairs. He told me no one could respect a manager who could not do basic life functions. I do not remember anything else about that work function except for that.

In four years I lost weight. More than that, I got back the respect for myself. I do not worry about small things like I used to.

When I get on that StairMaster, it is personal. I do not do it for six pack abs or to be better than anyone else at the gym, I do it to be better than I was.

I refuse to get off the machine unless I do 250 flights of stairs. By sensing you thought I was going to quit, I went longer. I have been doubted my whole life, I have no problem proving people wrong. I just need to prove myself right.

When you asked me that question, I answered “Google The Anti Jared” which was a weird answer, but I did not know another way. I am hoping you see this. I write better than I speak.

Because I refuse to be the guy who could not do five flights of stairs,

Sincerely,

Tony “The Anti-Jared” Posnanski

I hated writing growing up. I liked doing other things, like eating. Maybe also eating. I really did not have many hobbies. I liked video games and baseball cards. That really was about it.

Since I did like eating, I lived a life of obesity. Gaining and losing happened all the time. I really did not have much time for much else.

In 2008, I decided to lose weight for good. I figured that at 420 pounds it was the right time. No, 400 pounds was not the right time, but 420 pounds.

When I started to lose weight, I wanted to document it somehow. I knew of blogs because my brother had one. So I decided to hop on Blogger and start a blog.

No one knew about my blog. I did my first post and then another one a couple of months later. In fact, I did maybe eight posts in six months. I really did not take a lot of pride in them, just documenting how much I have lost.

Funny thing is, my wife was the only person who knew about my weight loss in my family. I did not tell anyone else.

Then in October of 2008, my brother came to visit us. Now, my brother is not the normal blogger. He is an excellent writer. He always has been. He has written books on the NY Times Best Selling List. He has written for numerous newspapers around the country and won awards. He now writes for Sports Illustrated and was voted Best Sportswriter of 2011.

So when my brother noticed I lost weight he said I should blog about it. I did not want to tell him that I already did. I was embarrassed.

Eventually I did tell him. He told me it was good. Same with my wife. Same with my parents. It was a nice feeling, but it was kind of like when you ask someone who loves you if you are losing weight. I mean, what are they going to say? Are they going to tell you no? Maybe in some families, but not in mine.

So I started to promote my blog a little. I joined Facebook and MySpace….  and then Twitter. At this time I lost around 160 pounds. I started to really think about what I would write. I would update my blog with my weight loss, but started talking a little about my life before.

I would post my blog all over the Weight Watchers boards. So much, that I got numerous emails telling me they would kick me off the boards if I continues to do that. Same with Sparkpeople. Same with MyFitnessPal, Traineo, 3FatChicks, and other boards.

I would post comments on so many blogs with my blog link on it. I think doing that annoyed people more than anything else.

Honestly, I did not really start getting my stride until people like you told me how much a post meant. How down to earth I was. How much my blog has helped.

In four years I have made so many blogging mistakes. I have offended people which I should have allied with. I have been inconsistent when I should have been more consistent. I should have promoted myself more when I did not.

But I did stay somewhat true to the whole purpose of my blog…which is my story. It is not the best weight loss story, but I tell it a little differently than most. A lot of eople think I have something to sell them, and I do not. They think I know the best diets, and I do not.

What I know is how bad it was to be obese. I have seen talk shows where very overweight people would get up and say “I am overweight and I do not care” and that does bother me. Because I would say that, and not even think about my friends or family. I would just think about where my next meal came from.

I do think you should love yourself no matter your size, but I also think you should care. You should care about your health. You should care about being active. You should not have to worry about sitting in a booth in a restaurant.

So I have talked about this for four years now. I have started a new adventure as well where I am blogging for other sites and really focusing on being product “ambassadors”.

It is a new and scary world for me. Page views and traffic, utilizing social media and automated times on posts.

I have asked some bloggers for help. They kind of give me the “Be Yourself” answer, which was just like my extremely handsome friend giving me that advice about dating. I would always say “Don’t you think I tried that?”

I am excited about being one of 10 people chosen to represent Attune Foods, which is a great company. I am excited about promoting a healthy company and being able to blog for their site. I am excited about being active on Twitter Chats, and real excited about the Uncle Sam’s cereal I eat every morning.

I am nervous as well. Nervous I can not generate the traffic that companies are looking for. Nervous that I can keep cranking out quality material. Nervous that being myself is not good enough.

Being nervous is okay. I was nervous at 420 pounds to lose over 200 pounds. I was nervous when I proposed to my wife after being together for four years. I was nervous when my son was born. Being nervous makes you work harder in life.

People ask me to describe myself as a blogger a lot. I give different answers all the time. The other day, I think I gave the best answer……..

” Pretend that I am a break-dancer. I am wearing a red Puma sweatsuit with matching Puma shoes. I am wearing a Kangol hat and I am carrying a piece of cardboard as well. I then walk into a Country Western bar. Everyone sees me, the music stops and people clear the dance floor. I walk onto the dance floor and everyone is staring at me. Girls in cowboy hats and jeans skirts are ready to scream and guys in Wranglers and boots are clinching their fists. I point to the DJ and he starts to play a song. Then I do the most amazing two step anyone in the club has seen. I finish, people cheer, and I walk out.”

Okay, maybe that is a stretch. Most of my writing is.

But if you like my dance, could you let the club owners know

2011 was not a good year for me. It just was not. Yet, when it comes to blogging, it seems like I make the same mistakes over and over again.

So I am going to tell you all about my top five blogging blunders of 2011 and what I am going to do to fix them this year…..

5. Trimfest- This had all the intentions of being great. Each week I was going to weigh myself on a public scale, video it, and post it on my blog and YouTube. Not only that, but I was going to have some companies sponsor each week and get their name out, do a giveaway, etc.

The first week worked out well. I had Stonyfield offer to do a giveaway. Polar and Anytime Fitness were going to do the same. Then I got bold, and asked some other companies which not only gave me a horrible response, but made me lose confidence in the project.

The worst part was that the company which gave me a poor response did the same with a different PR rep a year back. After that, I lost interest and stopped doing it.

It was a little before my time. I think I will do something like that again, but plan it a little better. I will get more companies lined up, eat their foods as well, and make more of a deal about it.

4. Twitter List Fail-One thing you should know about me is that I hate not being invited to the party. A couple of years back, I could not understand why I was not on a “Inspirational Twitter List”. It bothered me to no end. So when I saw my name on the list this year, I had to make the most of it.

I think people underestimate me in the blogging community. I really do have a lot of people who have my back, which is awesome because I do the same. I worked hard to get votes to be a “Inspirational Tweeter”. I used resources and my own followers to vote for me. Out of 50 people, I placed third. A guy on a mom site placed third.

What I never considered is that all I did was promote another blog. I did not get anything from being on the list. I did not get new followers or inspire others.

That is what lists are. I realized that when Shape made a “inspirational blogger” list as well.Funny thing is….half of the people who were on the list do not blog anymore. They are the “Stock List” bloggers. I am not going to call them out, but they are the ones that do not blog, yet they are on every list from four years ago.

So this year, I will not try to make it on any lists or try to win any popularity contests (I say this now, but…..). In fact, I have some creative lists of my own I am going to put out soon.

3. Comments On/Comments Off- I hate people who are wishy washy, yet that is exactly what I have been. I have dealt with comments on my blog for a couple of years now.

There is no debate, I hate comments on blogs. I always have. I think that after pouring your heart out on a post, there is nothing more absurd than an off the cuff comment.

I do not believe in moderation, I just turn them off. They will not be back up. Trust me, no one misses comments on a blog. This is not 2002, there are other ways to get your opinion out.

2. Dinosaur Blogger- When people say that they have been blogging for a long time, that is not always a good thing. It just means they have blogger for a long time. Sometimes, dinosaurs do not want to change.

When it comes to the whole blogging thing, the game has changed dramatically. It is not just having a blog, it is more about being out there for people. My opinion is that Facebook is totally the way to go.

I do think that Facebook will change blogging. I thought that way two years ago. My friend J wrote a great post about it, and she is absolutely right. I started getting more into Facebook towards the end of the year, but I am going to save my blog for stories and posts, and Twitter and Facebook for everyday life.

1. The Kim Kardashian 72 Day Diet- Even thinking about this makes me cringe. I have always been bad about tracking, so I thought about making a Facebook page where I would post my food and workouts. I named it after Kim Kardashian. I guess that using Jared four years ago was not enough.

So I did. The first day I posted my food, I got three comments. One person said I ate too much, one person said I ate too little and one person sent me a link about how I needed to eat.Then I put up my workout, and one person said I did too much cardio and another gave me a link to Crossfit.

That was enough for me. I am bad at tracking, but I am not going to put out there day in and day out what I eat. It is going to be different than others. I do have some ideas in mind to incorporate this in 2012, but never using a reality stars name.

Although, this hot song came out of it. Not bad!

2012 will be my year for this blogging social media stuff. I think I have aligned with the right people and companies, I think that I give good content on my sites, and I think I have good results.

We shall see.

Suzi has struggled with weight for quite a while. Most of us have. She has fluctuated up and down for quite some time until she saw herself at 250 pounds in 2008. When you are 100 pounds overweight, you really stop believing that weight loss is possible. Suzi took a chance and joined Weight Watchers…….

I told my wife that this phone call would be life changing. I believed it. After losing over 200 pounds on Weight Watchers this was my time. Then the phone rang. There were two of the main PR people from Weight Watchers corporate on the phone. For ten minutes they were telling my how amazing my transformation was. They have not seen pictures from a guy like that. To go from 420 pounds down to 198 pounds was astounding. Sure, there were others who lost weight, but as they said numerous time…”There was something about me”. They wanted to feature me in a couple of magazine success stories and online. I was so thrilled. The only issue was that I lost weight too quick. I lost 221 pounds in a year, which averages over 4 pounds a week. In order to be features, you must average 1-2 pounds a week. I would have to wait a year to be featured. They told me to be patient and really start toning down my blog with all of the “not being able to wipe myself” talk. It did not sit well with me.

Suzi lost the weight. She lost over 100 pounds. Not only that, her after pictures were amazing. She started to come out of her shell a little more. She talked about her struggles and her enjoyment of beer. She was an average person with no so average results. People related to her, and why not? She was inspiring. She did all of this on Weight Watchers……..

” Well, you need to be around 165 as a male to be a leader. Maybe you could write to corporate.” That did not make sense. I lost over 200 pounds. I was known online as “D86browns” on almost every Weight Watchers board. I would get emails helping others on Weight Watchers. Why could I not be a leader? Why could I not stand up in front of a room and inspire others? I had to lose 35 more pounds to inspire. That was just stupid. Plus, I had other goals. I wanted to build muscle and not be a shell of a 420 pound person. I did not want to write to corporate. I wouldn’t. I refused to be an exception.

Then something amazing and wonderful happened this year. Weight Watchers recognized Suzi. They wanted her to represent the “Believe” campaign. They made her out to be the star she always was. They made someone with very little self confidence into a supermodel. They chose the right person. She is Weight Watchers. She is an inspiration.

It was a hard thing for me to realize. I wanted to believe that Weight Watchers was my life. It wasn’t. It was a diet. A very good diet that helped me lose 200 pounds. So did working out. So did the knowledge of fiber. Weight Watchers always knew that I was not the right person to represent them. You know what…. they were right. I do not believe that it is the best program out there. I do not believe it is a lifestyle. But I also know how it can impact certain people. I know what it can do to build self esteem. I know what it can do for someone who eats 10,000 calories a day to limit their portions.

Suzi is an inspiration to me. She did everything with Weight Watchers that I could not. She is on an incredible path to inspire so many people with her honesty and journey.

And she believes in Weight Watchers. She should. Some people have been giving her a hard time for promoting the Weight Watchers “Believe” campaign and I say shame on them. Shame on anyone who would put down someone who wants to help others, although it might not help you. I support any success story and the way they go about it. I wish more bloggers would as well.

I am not a fan of Weight Watchers, but I am a fan of Suzi. I am a fan of Suzi Storm. That is what she goes by. I think she is what Weight Watchers needs.

One thing about a storm, you can not stop one. You can either be afraid or enjoy the beauty.

I will enjoy the beauty.

I am going to give you my weird perspective on it. Honestly, it seems like the obesity epidemic is something that thin people made up to sell more weight loss products.

I have been overweight since the early 80′s. There have always been overweight people. I remember looking at a box of Dexatrim while shopping with my mom and seeing overweight people doing the same.

I used to go out to eat with my parents. My parents are not the reason I am overweight. They never were. I have heard that parents are to blame for overweight kids, but mine were not. Trust me, I would love to blame someone, yet they never forced me to eat. They always pushed fruits and vegetables that I rejected. My Dad was the first one to want to play catch or some sport outside.

When we went out to eat, we saw plenty of obese people. Just as many as I see today. There was no epidemic then. I used to get scared that I would not be able to fit in a seat one day. I knew how out of control my eating was. I was a unique eater because I never was full. It did not matter what I ate, I just loved to eat.

But I never got over 250 pounds as a kid. I lost weight numerous times.

In my twenties I got big. I was around 300 pounds early on. This was in the late 90′s. There was no epidemic then. I was the guy now at the buffets barely fitting in the chair. I was the guy that parents looked at and prayed their children would not be like me. I was the “lazy” guy. Most people would look at me and wonder why I was so overweight. Eat less and move more right? It is just that simple.

In my early thirties I was over 400 pounds. I can honestly say I never saw anyone in person as big as me. I would see overweight people, but they would be maybe 270 pounds. I think I did see someone who was over 300 pounds once, and I still had 100 pounds on him.

I was huge. I could not fit in certain cars. I had to twist to fit through some doorways. No one would go on an elevator with me. I was enormous.

Around this time, I started to hear about the obesity epidemic in America. Super Size Me came out. Yet, a food addict who is extremely embarrassed about the way he eats would not order a super sized meal.

I ordered three meals and hoped the person behind the counter thought I was ordering for my family.

With the obesity epidemic came something else. Beautiful Weight Watchers ads that tugged at the heart. Nutrisystem ads that cared about you. Trainers that wanted to help for a fee. LapBand ads that made me cry.

Everyone knows where we have been, right? That is what they said. One simple rule…..one easy trick and obesity is over for us.

People are hypocrites. If they really knew……

Like the mid thirties woman today who loves to talk about self image in the media and how it is ruining people. Yet, it was the same woman who twenty years earlier who made a horrible comment to me in high school that I kept in my heart for this long with tears.

Or the person who tweets and has “NOH8″ stickers everywhere protesting bullying yet is the first person to post or laugh about someone in Wal Mart because of the way they look. That is different, right? That is not bullying, right?

There is no epidemic in my eyes. There have always been overweight people. If companies cared so much, they would give away year memberships to their plans to people in true need instead of a “free 14 day trial”. If trainers truly cared, they would start a non-profit organization to help people who maybe do not have any nutrition information. If Weight Watchers truly believed, they would make a program designed for kids.

At the end of the day, all I have is my story. A mid level restaurant manager who lost over 200 pounds. Someone who felt worthless find some worth. Someone who would watch television and except for Jared Fogle, did not see anyone lose 200 on their own.

That is what I am dedicating 2012 to. My story. Trying to help that way.

Hell, I guess I could not make the obesity epidemic any worse.

One thing I am going to try is called the BCS (Blogger Championship Series). It is replacing my motivators on the top.

It seems like I have spent a lot of time and effort wanting to get on lists, and being upset when I am left off of certain things.

Instead, I have put up ten of my favorite posts by bloggers. I am going to update it each week by submissions, stumbled posts and posts that hit me.

More to come with this, but wanted you to check it out. I just want to recognize great writing.