On Day 2 of Operation 25, I weighed-in at 204 – a loss of 1 pound!

As my intern, Andrea, so helpfully reminded me, “it’s just water weight.”  Thanks, kid.  Big encouragement there.

Anyway, in the Operation 25 “story” there are Heroes and Villains.

We’ll talk about Heroes later…I want to talk Villains today.

For these purposes, Villains are anything that gets in your way of healthy living (AKA – weight loss!).  I figured I would list some of my Villains and hopefully help rid myself of them and their evil influence.

So…here we go:

10. My Couch – I love it, it loves me.  I lay down and instantly fall asleep.  I sit down and never want to get up.

9. Five Guys – Damn, you are so frickin’ tasty and affordable.  I hate you.  I love you.  Blah.

8. Victory’s Golden Monkey – By far, my favorite beer.  From calories to carbs to alcohol content, there is absolutely nothing light about it.

7. DVR – Times used to be, you’d come home, watch a show or two and go to bed.  With DVR technology, I can easily watch a Law & Order: SVU from 2002.  And then another.  And another.  WHY MUST I RECORD THE SERIES???

6. Breyer’s Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream – Since birth, my favorite ice cream brand and flavor.

5. iPhone Alarm Clock Function – Who needs a snooze button when you can set multiple alarms so easily?  Not ready to get up at 6am?  You can easily set one for 7:30am!  And…BAM…there goes your morning workout.

4. Air Conditioning – Yes, the gym is a block away.  Less, actually.  But that’s several minutes in the summer heat…and I just can’t handle that this time of year.

3. Muscle Soreness – Once you start working out, your muscles are all “WTF?  We’re being used!!  YAY!!  YAY!!!  SLOW DOWN, JACKHOLE!”  Then you take a few days off and the workout mojo is lost.

2. Chinese Takeout – My #1 lunch indulgence is the Honey Sesame Chicken from the Chinese stand two blocks from the office.  At least I walk there and back.  Right?

1. Elevators and escalators – Seriously.  What other invention stops you from walking up and down a single flight of stairs?

You’ll notice I didn’t link to any brands.  On purpose.

What gets in your way of fitness and healthy living?

Last year, I introduced the Social Media Slim-Down, a weight-loss support group that, over the course of several months, totaled hundreds and hundreds of pounds gone forever.  It was a tremendous success for everyone who participated – except for me.  I failed at listening to my own advice.

This morning, I stepped on the scale and saw bad, bad, bad numbers.  Worse numbers than I’m used to seeing on a scale.

I weighed in at 205, which, for a 5 foot, 8 inch guy like myself, is not too good.  There are other factors why this isn’t good for me, specifically, but we won’t go into those today.

So, while the Social Media Slim-Down was about a group effort, my new initiative is about getting myself where I need to be.

With that being said, today is the official launch of Operation 25!

What is Operation 25? Operation 25 is my personal life/health/fitness program that will help me get from 205 lbs. to 180 lbs.

How long will it last? As long as it needs to.  I am not racing a clock – I am going to make sustainable, long-term life changes that will facilitate a 25 lb. weight loss.  It could take a few weeks…it could take a few months.

Who’s involved? I have a two-person support team:

My beautiful wife, Marisa

My first-born child, poop machine and walking buddy, Balki Bartokomous Levy Schaffer

Can I (meaning you) be involved, too? Sure!  I’ll post and tweet updates and tips that I find helpful or comforting or alarming.  I have no training or certification (outside of being a Men’s Health subscriber for 4 years), but I’m trying to change my life before it gets too late.

Feel free to chime in with hints and advice – I sure need it!

Coming soon, I’ll discuss the tools I’m using, including the coolest sneakers on the planet, an iPhone app and more!

NOTE FROM MIKE – This is Part II of a series of special guest posts from Dr. Don Colbert (Part I is HERE).  Please read his bio on the bottom of this entry…it’s quite impressive and I’m honored to have him contribute to the Social Media Slim-Down!  His generosity extends beyond just writing posts – he has donated copies of his new book, Dr. Colbert’s “I CAN Do This” Diet, to the cause.  Everyone who “checks-in” with their weight-loss on Monday, Jan. 25, by midnight EST, will be entered into a drawing to win a copy of the book!  So spread the word, check-in, and slim-down!

Guest Post by Dr. Don Colbert

Judging by this week’s numbers, it looks like the Social Media Slim Down group is off to a great start. But, football-watching parties, continuing cold temperatures and other outside factors may start to adversely impact your eating and fitness routine. If you find yourself struggling with your healthy lifestyle goals, hopefully these tips will help you stay on the right track:

Eat at the right times. One of the most important principles of the “I can do this” diet is to eat three meals a day, with no carbohydrates after 6 p.m. That’s because these three meals provide the fuel your body needs at the times it needs the fuel most. The most important of these three fueling times is breakfast—a meal many people often skip.

Eat healthy snacks. The correct fuel mixture at meals should control your hunger for three to four hours. Yet most people go longer than that between meals, allowing their blood sugar to drop and causing a noticeable decrease in energy and mental clarity. The right mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks will enable you to remain hunger-free and productive for several hours, and a snack an hour before bed will help ensure restful sleep.

Control your portion size. Most Americans eat more of what they eat than is healthy for them. We have become accustomed to ignoring serving sizes on food labels and eating the amount we’ve trained our stomachs and brains to demand. It’s time to exercise some portion control! (Especially at those football parties!)

Engage in physical activity. Exercise is essential, especially for anyone hoping to lose pounds. You can restrict your diet and eat less than your daily requirement, yet without burning off calories through physical activity, you have only half the equation.

Take safe weight-loss supplements. A weight-loss supplement is a nutritional product or herb intended to assist your healthy eating and activity plan with the ultimate goal of losing weight. A supplement comes alongside; it does not replace.

Following these lifestyle principles will provide many benefits beyond weight loss, including improving your overall health, managing stress and preventing stress-related eating. In fact, it is the best program you can be on during not only the good times, but also the most chaotic times of your life. Good luck as you continue with the Social Media Slim Down.

Don Colbert, MD, is board-certified in family practice and anti-aging medicine. He has also received extensive training in nutritional and preventive medicine. Colbert is the author of the New York Times best-selling book The Seven Pillars of Health, as well as best sellers Toxic Relief, the Bible Cure series, and Eat This and Live! His most recent book, Dr. Colbert’s “I Can Do This” Diet (thecandodiet.com), released January 5.

NOTE FROM MIKE – This is Part I of a series of guest posts from Dr. Don Colbert.  Please read his bio on the bottom of this entry…it’s quite impressive and I’m honored to have him contribute to the Social Media Slim-Down!  His generosity extends beyond just writing posts – he has donated copies of his new book, Dr. Colbert’s “I CAN Do This” Diet, to the cause.  Everyone who “checks-in” with their weight-loss on Monday, Jan. 18, by midnight EST, will be entered into a drawing to win a copy of the book!  So spread the word, check-in, and slim-down!

Guest Post by Dr. Don Colbert

In Week 2 of the Social Media Slim-Down challenge, participants lost an impressive 50+ pounds—an achievement to be celebrated!

But did you know that 80–90 percent of diets fail? That’s because most people are looking for the “diet to end all diets.” Sadly, people are looking for something that doesn’t exist. Why? Because in the long run, dieting just doesn’t work.

After treating more than 40,000 patients during the last 25 years, I have observed some definitive commonalities among those who repeatedly attempted to lose weight, only to gain it back. I have also found a medically verifiable answer that leads to lifetime success in this area.

To be a long-time member of the Social Media Slim-Down, you don’t need another diet. You need a lifestyle adjustment. I’ve written a whole book on this topic—too long for one blog post! But here are five tips to get you started…and I’ll share five more with you next week.

1. Commit to losing weight. Joining the Social Media Slim-Down is an excellent start, just be sure you have a long-term vision that goes beyond just reaching your targeted ideal weight.
2. Set reachable goals. When you embark on a lifestyle change to lose weight, it’s crucial to establish goals. But they need to be realistic. Unrealistic goals for weight or clothing size set you up for discouragement, and people who become discouraged will usually stop the program altogether and eventually gain back all their weight.
3. Keep a food journal. Keeping a food journal while losing weight is a tremendous motivator for most individuals because it creates accountability. You may discover your meal portions are too big. Or you may find out your calorie count for a particular meal is much higher than you thought. It’s easier to identify problems if you track what you eat.
4. Measure yourself. You don’t need a scale or any other fancy tools to evaluate your progress—just a simple tape measure. By focusing on your waist measurement and achieving your goal measurement, you will eliminate one of the main risk factors for disease—toxic fat in your abdominal area. Record measurements in your food journal so you will have a clearly established goal.
5. Eat the right foods in the right combination. Your body needs three food components daily: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. All the calories you consume can be attributed to one of these groups. Healthy, low-glycemic carbohydrates should comprise about 40 percent of your total calorie intake per day, good proteins 30 percent, and healthy fats another 30 percent. Each meal should contain all three components.

I’ll be back next week with another five tips to help you achieve your goals. In the meantime, I hope you’ll use the comments section to discuss what you’re doing to change your lifestyle as part of your commitment to be healthier.

Don Colbert, MD, is board-certified in family practice and anti-aging medicine. He has also received extensive training in nutritional and preventive medicine. Colbert is the author of the New York Times best-selling book The Seven Pillars of Health, as well as best sellers Toxic Relief, the Bible Cure series, and Eat This and Live! His most recent book, Dr. Colbert’s “I Can Do This” Diet (thecandodiet.com), released January 5.

(NOTE FROM MIKE – A major thanks to the fantastic Heather Whaling of Geben Communication.  She is not hard to find on Twitter, either!)

It’s not even January 1 and the scale is not too kind.  A season of splurging in food after my wedding, eating my way through Thailand and several large orders of movie popcorn wrecked havoc on my waistline.

And I know I’m not alone.  We all gain weight during the holidays.

Blame the Thanksgiving stuffing, candy dishes, Mint Chocolate M&Ms (I do!), carb-loaded meals, they all add up to give us 6-8 weeks of gross eating habits.  And, as the weather turns unbearable in many parts of the world, exercise just doesn’t happen.  (My poor dog rarely gets a good morning or evening walk these days!)

However, we can lose the weight and we can do it together.

So I came up with the Social Media Slim-Down!  (#SMSD, for the Twitter types!)  This is the first all-electronic weight-loss support group for anyone and everyone!

I am NOT a trainer or a diet/weight-loss expert, I’m just a guy looking to drop 15-20 lbs. before beach season.  I feel like a “before” photo…and I’m sure I look like one, too.

Here are the guidelines:

1) I don’t care what you weigh.  Don’t tell me.  Don’t want to know.

2) DM me on Twitter (@mikeschaffer) or send me an email (michaelgschaffer@gmail.com) on Monday morning with how much weight you lost that week.  For record-keeping purposes, I’ll maintain a database with each person’s weight loss, but will not make it public, unless you want me to share your number.

3) First weigh-in will be Monday, January 4 (use today as your base day, sorry for the short week!)

4) I’ll tally up the results and share how much weight was lost each week.

5) You can join in at any time!  Invite friends and family to join in, even if they aren’t on any social media networks.  All I need is the weight loss each week!

6) Please use pounds as measurements!  My conversion skills are horrific.

7) If enough people are interested, we can do events in various cities!

Who will join me in this on-going campaign?

Follow the Slim-Down on Facebook, too!