Twitter Threads and a Cheerful Challenge

Until recently I haven’t really made use of Twitter threads or pinned tweets.

That changed a few weeks back when a friend commented on a post, saying “Lee — I want to know your plan!” So I wrote a post summarizing the top 20 weight loss and health tips I wish I had known 20 years ago.

I had seen lots of people using Twitter threads, or tweetorials as the doctors call them, and so I decided to convert that post into my first thread, which I pinned at the top of my profile.

I’ve become a fan of the format.

In essence it transforms Twitter, a microblogging platform, into a full-fledged blog. It lets people get more of the content little-by-little, without leaving Twitter.

Since then I’ve done threads summarizing posts featuring what I’ve learned from my Health Sherpas including Dr. David Unwin, Prof. Tim Noakes and Dr. Peter Brukner, along with my Favorite Filling Foods.

These threads are a nice in-between way to summarize what’s in a blog post, reaching a bigger audience with more of the message, while still leaving something for those who want to click through and read (or watch) more.

I’m also gratified that Dr. Unwin and Dr. Noakes engaged with the threads, and that I was added to The Noakes Foundation Twitter list, which I’m now following for low-carb, high fat (LCHF) lifestyle information.

This increased activity and engagement led to a good-natured challenge last Friday from someone who goes by the handle @OftenContrarian:

You can click through the time stamp on that tweet to see my response.

I do have some shirtless “before” pictures that would show quite a contrast, but let’s just say they’re not unseeable.

Often Contrarian’s challenge got me thinking, though, that another way of making the changes more vivid would be to take a picture now in my “before” dress pants.

Unfortunately, these aren’t my biggest. I had topped out at a 40-inch waist, but I sold all of those at a garage sale a couple of years ago. I wish I had saved a pair.

These are the 38-inchers:

I felt a major sense of accomplishment when I could get into pants with a 36-inch waist.

My waist was 34 inches when I graduated high school 40 years ago. I wouldn’t have thought it possible I could fit into those again.

Here’s my newest pair of jeans:

I’m not posting to boast, but to encourage YOU.

Four years ago I weighed more than 260 pounds.

I probably committed some kind of traffic offense by listing my weight as 250 on my driver’s license.

But at least if it was a moving violation, it was a slow-moving one.

I had tried to lose weight through exercise and the scale had barely budged. I had no idea if it was even possible for me to do it.

My Health Journey has links to posts that tell my whole story, and my wife Lisa’s, if you’re interested.

One thing you might gain through reading some of those posts is an appreciation that if we can do this, you can do this.

Lisa losing 50 pounds and getting into her wedding dress after nearly 36 years (our anniversary is tomorrow!) should be a hopeful indicator. And I’m below my high school weight, 205, with a 32-inch waist.

And while it definitely has involved making some different choices and giving up some things, it’s totally worth it.

But this is about you, not us. I want to make it as simple and straightforward as possible for you to achieve your health and weight loss goals.

That’s why I’ve distilled what we’ve learned, and how we would do it differently if we were starting over again, into the #BodyBabySteps page.

A lot of the posts you’ll find linked there include videos featuring some of my Sherpas, including those I mentioned above. These are the experts from whom we’ve learned so much, and they’ve been on the journey longer than we have.

Tomorrow I’ll write about how the first three #BodyBabySteps go together and reinforce each other.

To get these updates on a regular basis you can subscribe by email, or follow me on FacebookTwitter and LinkedIn, where I’ll also be posting links.

If you think your friends might find this post helpful, I hope you’ll share by email or on your social networks using the buttons below.