SATimko's personal weight loss

Hey everyone. I was telling Dino about this and he told me to post up about it. When I graduated college, I was a whopping 145(ish) pounds. I'm 5'11" for a reference. When I started my office job, I jumped 60 pounds in only 9 months. I tipped the scales at 212 at my heaviest. There was no exercising or lifting or anything involved. It was due to horrible eating habits, started in part by my ex-fiance. Not eating dinner till 9pm or so was very common, followed by a lot of sitting / laying around watching TV. Well, three weeks ago, my department at work decided to do a Biggest Loser type competition. I used this as a kick in the butt to get going and lose some of the extra mass and tone the rest...plus there's a decent cash prize at the end for the winner (loser).

Here's what I've done so far...
-No sodas. I've been drinking only water for the most part. I have a coffee in the morning, but that's about the only difference.
-Normal sized portions. It'd be nothing for me to go chomp down on a 2000 calorie lunch at work, and proceed to sit on my butt some more.
-Better eating all around. Candy and junk food have been replaced with fruits / veggies and my double whoppers have been replaced with grilled / baked chicken and salads.
-Much less beer! Those of you that know me personally know that I'm fond of my beer. I didnt' say I'm an alcoholic because I don't need to drink 24/7. I just like a good beer now and again. I'd say on average of 4-5 a week. Now I'm down to 1 or 2 a week if any.
-Exercise! I haven't been on my computer much lately after I get out of work, because I'm getting off my butt and doing something! A friend of mine is a triathlete and he's given me lots to work with. Mainly I stick to running, biking, and general cardio in my house.

General results so far, and I'll keep this updated.

Initial weigh-in: 212lbs
Weigh-in this morning : 197lbs.

This is after about 2 1/2 weeks. I'm pleased with my progress so far. We'll see how far this can go.