I'm back, for good this time!

[Remoth]

Hey all! Its been awhile. A lot has happened to me over the last year and a half. not all for good, not by a long shot. Two winters ago, I made the decision to try and lose weight. I was at 420 lbs and was sick and tired of it. I started eating better and even took on a workout routine. after 3 months, I had lost 60 pounds and was even working on my running! Was extremely happy about that. However, at about that time, school had ended(apprentice training) and I went back to work. I no longer had friends to go to the gym with and became weary about going myself. I found myself driving for work (A LOT) upwards of 4-6 hours per day. I got bored very quickly while driving and after only a couple months, I turned to food to cure my boredom. The workouts just plain stopped as well. I had officially fallen off the wagon and had lost most if not all of my drive. After a few months of that, I weighed myself again. I was back to 400... but it barely fazed me. I was in a state where I would keep telling myself "tomorrow I'll start again". Things were not looking good. 

 

Then I went back to school in April of this year. I was still in my bad ways and I get some life-changing news. My father passed away. I had only seen him 2 days prior, and this had hit me hard. He had suffered a Major heart attack. The cause was the fact that he was also severely obese. Now you'd think this would be the point where I straightened up and hopped back on the band wagon, right? wrong! This flung me into a bit of a depression. Not enough that others knew it (to my knowledge), but enough that all my time alone was extremely hard. Again, I turned to food. This has been my state up until about 10 days ago. I had hurt my ankle and took some time off work. I went in to see the doctor and to get an x-ray. He figured it was just a strain or sprain, mainly caused from my weight. He expressed some concern (being a friend of the family and all) and offered some help. I came home from the doctor and had a nice long talk with my mother. By the end of it, we decided to straighten out our lifestyle! It changed my outlook immensely, and I feel like I am back in the groove again!

 

So first things first, Where am I starting from this time? Stepped on the scale, 448.... wow. this past year really did a number on me. I was not proud of myself. But now that I knew where I stood, time to get cracking. 2000 calories per day basis. no pop. limit sugar intake as much as possible. Work on changing the diet for the first little while. So far its been working! in 9 days, I had lost 12 lbs! This really shocked me. The fact that I can lose that much weight so quickly really showed me how badly I had been treating myself before. for me to lose 9 pounds a week, I would need to cut my daily calorie intake down by 4500 calories a day! This realization makes me feel sick to my stomach, but here's to MOMENTUM!!!

 

My Short term goal is to lose 50 lbs by new years! It seemed like a real challenge when I set it ( and it still may be), but I'm already 1/4 of the way there in 1/10th of the time! So yay for me! The long term goal is to lose 200 pounds( at this rate, I should get there by... March 6th? haha, JK). Then I can re-evaluate myself and go from there. I plan on getting back into a workout, but I feel the need to concentrate on my diet more so. Plus because of my Father's death, my brother and I have inherited his farm and are going to give farming a shot, so I get some exercise there. To motivate myself, all I need to think about is how uncomfortable it is to do basic things with my size. I'm really looking forward to being part of the community again and to all your input. Wish me luck!

[Eleanorsbee]

448 ..... thats an impressive weight .... I admire your challenge and new outlook, I look forward to reading your progress.

 

I guess the upside of weighing in at 448 is that under the fat you must have some serious muscle to haul your body around ....... keep up with the protein and working those muscles and by the time you loose fat you will have some decent muscle on show 

[Remoth]

Yeah I don't doubt that I have a good amount of muscle. Gives me something to look forward to. I remember the first time I lost some weight, I had been going to the gym with my buddy Church and I was doing some weight training. Within a week of doing dead lifts, my two rep max was 300 lbs. So yeah, I believe you are right.

We'll it's been 17 days since I've changed back to eating better and kicked pop. I'm down 18 lbs and still going strong. I'm debating starting some exercises, but i'm afraid of trying too much too fast, so I'll just let it ride for now. I'm still going down a pound a day, so I'm happy with that. I wonder how long that will last? I'm already almost 2/5ths the way to my goal and I still have 2 months yet. Here's to shattering GOALS!!!

In terms of changing my diet, the two biggest things I've done is cut down on the snacking and replaced half my meals with salad. Yes I still use dressing, but it's better than half a plate of potatoes or pasta! I like a salad that's sweet and crunchy. Spinach or lettuce based with some craisins, flax flakes and pine nuts with a bit of french dressing is really good! As long as I keep eating healthy stuff like this that I like, I should be able to keep it up for a long time! There are more changes that I can do like cutting out the creamer in my coffee, no more sunflower seeds on the road, etc. But I'm happy with my progress and one step at a time!