Thinking of "starting today"? You might want to check this out - pics inside!

I know the pics are the really important part, so I'll keep it mostly to images for now. They tell the story better than I ever could anyway.

This was actually a couple of years ago. Probably 305lbs. They probably shouldn't have even let me on this ride. I remember this like it was yesterday though.

About 2 years ago. Maybe 310lbs. There were things on this trip that I just couldn't do and I missed out on some great experiences.

Probably no words necessary....

At one of my kid's soccer games. It's tough being the "fat dad" who can't really participate in the pre-game practice with the other dads.

About 2 months ago. Roughly 210lbs and with new clothes. I wanted to see what they really looked like.

Taken yesterday. 196lbs. Starting weight was 318.5lbs on 1/1/14.

The thing is, it IS possible. If you can set reasonable goals (I far exceeded even my stretch goals), accept that there are no excuses, understand that you will have bad days, and be prepared to be brutally honest with yourself about your actions and decisions, it is absolutely possible. Just don't ever quit. Ever. Don't start tomorrow. I spent 10 years starting tomorrow. Start today.

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unknown

Wow, It is hard to see you are the same person. It is a huge change. I am sure you feel so much better and can do so many things you couldn't do or that were hard to do. I bet you can do lot of fun things with your family too. How has the maintenance been coming? Does your family like to do active things together? I am so glad that you made that change to start that day and wrote about it. It has helped a lot of people realize that they can do it one day at a time making good decisions about their health. Keep up the good work you are doing. You are worth it and your family is lucky to have you as a role model of how to live.

unknown

Nataliegetfit wrote: »

Wow, It is hard to see you are the same person. It is a huge change. I am sure you feel so much better and can do so many things you couldn't do or that were hard to do. I bet you can do lot of fun things with your family too. How has the maintenance been coming? Does your family like to do active things together? I am so glad that you made that change to start that day and wrote about it. It has helped a lot of people realize that they can do it one day at a time making good decisions about their health. Keep up the good work you are doing. You are worth it and your family is lucky to have you as a role model of how to live.

That's very nice of you to say and I definitely appreciate it.

And to answer your questions, maintenance was actually really good. It was incredibly scary at first, but I moved my calories up slowly and was really surprised at the amount I could eat and still maintain. So that was important. I say "was" because I've moved into a new phase - I'm logging a very small deficit each day now, but not nearly what I had been, and focusing on resistance training with some cardio mixed in on "off" days. Mainly this is to try and recomp a little - to "look" better, which wasn't a primary goal of mine when I was initially losing all of that weight. So that's actually been really interesting. I've been at it for about 8 weeks now and I can already see and feel a difference. That part is very rewarding. I've been working with a trainer/coach/fitness professional online to develop a routine for me and to help guide me through many of the nutrition and mindset issues that inevitably come up during a transition like this and that has been a really interesting process.

And yes, the family likes to do active things together. What is kind of sad when I look back on it are the times when they would go out and do something and I simply wouldn't (or couldn't) participate. Those times were tough and they aren't easy to look back on even now. Being able to do things with them is very rewarding. I feel like an active part of my family's life now rather than an interested bystander. Hopefully my kids are picking up in it subconsciously. My wife has - she's taken up running this year and has already done a couple of 5k's and is currently working on a 10k. That's really exciting to see.

So yes, it's been a great year or so. It was, at times, very hard. But other times it wasn't. The thing I'm working on now is realizing that I'm not "done" and I may never be. Rather, I'm in a constant state of improvement and refinement.

Sorry for the rambling - I'm operating on 3 hours of sleep!

unknown

I'm a newbie to MFP...just read your postings...you are AMAZING and congrats on a job well done...here's to continuing your new lifestyle! I can get there too!

unknown

Awesome story and so motivating. Thank you for sharing and you look phenomenal.

unknown

thank you for sharing your story! You are so right pictures are worth more then thousand words. I actually took a photo of myself today I started this app 10 days ago. I can't wait to have photos to show my progress! you are very inspiring thank you!

unknown

Great job! Thank you for your story!

unknown

Thanks everyone!

unknown

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that's excellent! thanks for sharing!!!!!!!!!!!