Byline: David Jasmin

David Jasmin is a formerly obese 25 year old male. After failing to lose weight several times, David and his wife buckled down and lost a combined total of 185 pounds. David is a Software Engineer in the Boston area, enjoys comic books, video games, Magic: The Gathering, reading and all sorts of sedentary activities. He recently added lifting weights and running to his list of activities he likes. He still not so secretly loves food. You can follow his life on instagram @explosivedonut, twitter @explosive_donut, bodybuilding.com @explosivedonut or really anywhere you find some variation of “explosive donut.” He never once said he was creative.

His wife has a cooking blog at mutant-medusa.livejournal.com and you can follow her on Instagram @magaliciousfantasticus.

Throwing Away the Masks

Hello everyone with Halloween just behind us, and as costumes get put away or tossed in the trash, I have been thinking about masks a lot. Not just the kind of creepy, kind of terrible looking plastic ones you buy for All Hallow’s Eve, but the ones we wear on a daily basis. I know … Read more

Let It Go

This post has nothing to do with a popular Disney song except in name only. And this one image.

Let’s start with a simple premise, people can be mean. People can be really, really mean. I really do hate to admit it, because I believe in the idea that humans, when push comes to shove, are generally good. But I also realize that they can be big jerks. This journey is difficult by itself, and a lot of times, other people will try and sabotage you in some other way. I won’t sugar coat this, because otherwise I might shove that into my gob as well.

The End is the Beginning

Good morning everyone! As of last week, the amazing Tinier Tim has decided to take a small break as a guest writer here at Tips of the Scale, and I will be writing for him in the interim. I have been, up until today, been writing a short post every Monday to keep you all out there in weight loss land motivated.

I assume it will say something like this

But I am foregoing the Pulitzer Prize winning (I assume. I mean, the trophy has GOT to be in the mail by now, right?) Motivation Monday posts to write these.

Motivation Monday: Facing Your Demons

Happy Motivation Monday everyone! I’m writing this article after a day trip to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, to go back to where my journey started. Two years ago, I went on a “hike” (a really quite easy one) in a place called The Flume in Franconia Notch. Maggie and I were both severely overweight. We hiked about 1/4 of it (about a half a mile), then turned around and left. We were winded, tired, and out of shape. This, as I described in my interview with Sam 1 year ago, was my turning point. I did this hike so often as a young child, and then failed as an adult.

Motivation Monday: High Score!

Motivation Monday! Honestly, kind of struggling to think of a post today to talk about, but maybe that’s a perfect thing to talk about. We all have those struggles in Life, times when we don’t feel like we have the right words, the right stuff, to persevere. But honestly, that’s when we prove our mettle in … Read more

Motivation Monday: Better Late Than Never

Happy Monday everyone! So today I would like to talk about being late. It’s the end of September, and I am sure that we have all forgotten to do at least one of our New Years Resolutions. That’s not a problem! Don’t fret! I’m not here to judge or blame you. But I am going to let you in on a small, little known secret. It’s still 2014! You still have time to reach your goals. You all know the old phrase “better late than never.”

Motivation Monday: The Finish Line

Motivation Monday, I often talk about starting towards goals, or staying motivated during the journey, but I want to talk to you about what to do when we reach the destination. Everyone has an opinion on how to get to your goals. Sometimes it’s jumping right into the deep end, sometimes it’s making small changes … Read more

Motivation Monday: A Deep Breath

Motivation Monday people, I sincerely hope you had a great weekend. So, today I want to talk about being too hard on yourself.

We are all on a journey, and we all have our own unique set of struggles. Some it might be a physical one, others it might be mental. Or it could be a combination of them both. And when our struggles impede progress, we can be very hard on ourselves.

Motivation Monday: Taking Time

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you had a great weekend, filled with fun. Now, I have some sad news, personally. On this past Saturday, I hurt myself lifting weights, and I will be taking it easy for a little bit, making sure that I heal well and efficiently. So, what does this have to do with Motivation? Well, in my opinion, you have two options when an obstacle like this comes your way. You can either let it totally derail you, or you could mitigate any potential issues you might have.