The Trump Diet

I have a varied history with my weight, and yes, I know body weight and BMI aren’t the be-all, end-all measurements and that we usually put too much stock in them. Still, as a cyclist that races bikes for fun, I can’t help but look back on my last 8 years of results and see that when I weighed a bit less, I could ride faster and pass more people in races. I also felt healthier, and my knees didn’t scream after longer runs.

My weight usually ebbs and flows throughout the year. I’m usually lightest at the tail end of Summer for the start of the Fall racing season, but by January I’m usually at my peak from holiday meals, and then I spend the next six months working the weight off. Last year was the first time my body didn’t follow this schedule, and I think due to big slowdown in my metabolism after 40, I stayed around 220lbs for most of the year. My bike racing results sucked, my clothes aren’t fitting well. I hit the gym extra hard and also started running more but got almost no change. My BMI hits 25.0 right around 200 pounds so that’s my goal and when my body feels better, but I’m tired of being nowhere near that number. For this year, I need some serious motivation, because sometimes it’s pretty hard.

A High Stakes Challenge

Then I realized as much as I dislike my high bodyfat, I dislike Donald Trump more. So an idea popped into my mind. Starting January 1st, I could use my wifi scale to tweet my weight out to an account (thanks IFTTT!), and if I don’t get to 200lbs or less by June 1, 2016, I’ll donate $1,000 to Trump’s presidential campaign. On the off-chance he somehow is out of the race (which I doubt, unfortunately), I’ll donate to the Eric Trump Foundation instead.

I don’t want to part with my money, and again, weight isn’t the most important metric for health, but when I ask myself if I want to fill another plate with seconds or drink a sugary soda, I’m going to think about the challenge and back off. I’m overeating and need to cut it out, and this will help remind me.

You can track my progress over on Twitter at @droptrumpounds.