I told myself I would write this post at a certain time and I decided today would be the day. It's probably going to be quite lengthy so here goes.

It starts in 2016, I dedicated the first part of 2016 to finishing my AA degree taking too many classes and stressing out too much. I was eating badly and I gained a bunch of weight. I was the heaviest I'd ever been, 435 pounds, and my sleep apnea blew up making me feel like a walking zombie all of the time. It made everything miserable, I was falling asleep sitting upright constantly. It took me a few months but I was able to get that under control about 2/3 of the way through the year and started to feel better. I got a new job, bought a house and moved to a new town. So the year ended on a positive note but I knew I still needed to make some changes.

So on January 1st 2017 I decided I needed to lose weight and set a goal. I wanted to lose 80 pounds by the end of the year. I officially weighed in on January 4th at 407 pounds, determined to succeed! But I struggled through the first couple of months. Only losing about 15 pounds in four months. Around May I knew I needed to get serious. Someone suggested I try logging my meals for a while. I thought that seemed like a lot of work but what I had been doing wasn't working so I started setting daily calorie goals and logging all my meals/snacks/drinks every day. I started walking more, going to the gym a couple times a week and I hit my 80 pound goal by mid October. I struggled through the holiday months a little bit only losing ten pounds combined.

Today I hit another milestone. I'm officially down 100 pounds from what I weighed January 4th, 2017. I weighed in at 307 pounds. From my heaviest point in 2016 I am down about 130 pounds, which I believe is less than what I weighed in high school.

So for 2018 I decided I am going to keep going and lose another 80 pounds, this is the first 10 pounds of that.

I have decided the hardest part for me is the need to see constant results and if I falter even a little I become discouraged.

I think I've been successful this time because I've found my system and stuck to it and not allowed myself to become disappointed when I have a cheat day. And when I do have a bad day to log it just like the good days and move on to the next day just the same.

I am creating this log to help keep myself honest and motivated. I used advice given in other threads(specifically mlylt, so even if she didn't listen to you guys often, I tried to!) to help me lose the weight, and hopefully I can continue to change my life for the better.

Photo below is me at my heaviest compared to today. Still lots of work left to do.

Welcome! Sounds like you've done great work so far; keep it up!

So Awesome you are here!! Great work. You can do it.

What helps me the most here is the accountability. If I post my food logs and stay accountable. The days I skip posting them is because I fell off the wagon and it helps when someone questions where my logs are.

Results after 1 month: 23 days below goal, 15 days of walking at least 3 miles. Down 12.8 pounds. Overall tracking: 131 pounds lost.

m,

Awesome start, looking forward to seeing the continued progress!

M,

I'm glad that my constant bitching about logs is having a positive impact

Amazing progress

I struggled in the month of February with my dieting. Lots of birthday parties, super bowl parties, work parties etc. My exercise routine was on point though, going to the gym at least 12-14 times doing an hour of dedicated cardio each time. I'm ready to focus more so on diet in the month of March. On the upside, I am officially below 300 pounds for the first time since high school.

Enough of my summary. Here's the results:

Monthly weight loss: 5.4 pounds lost
Monthly goal: 6
Difference from goal: +0.6
Yearly pounds lost: 18.20
Difference from yearly goal: -6.20
Overall weight lost: 136.2

I'm a month ahead of my ytd goal so I'm still doing well, I just need to remain focused.

Congrats on the milestone!

Good stuff!

Congratulations on being in the 200s! Great stuff.

Hood,

Maybe you’re THE ONE!

He talks a good game but we have seen this story before. He also doesn't log here. The point of logging is that I will pick off drug users and fakers.

Not The One. Still have hope it is Her.

The point of my thread has literally a lot to do with me maintaining motivation and hitting my goals. If it helps me then I will continue to do so, and I will do so how I feel is best. It has nothing to do with impressing you.

cliffs: Go **** yourself, you shouldn't post in this thread again.

.

Hood,

When in 2016 were you 435? Very impressive progress getting from there to under 300 in this timeframe.

Only thing I’ll say, even though you already know it, is that it’ll get harder to lose weight as you progress. So don’t get discouraged when your pace of weight loss starts to slow down some. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

What has been the most challenging part (diet changes, logging, calorie limits, exercise) for you to stick with through this process?

Well I do have the record for most log bannings in h&f. It's always the jaw yappers that ban me (even thremp banned me, what a little pussy).

But as you wish. The forum gave you so much (according to you) and you thank them by giving monthly updates. Sad and weak. You can inspire your friends and family, this forum, and quite possibly the world. Instead let's jaw yap and talk a good game.

Sorry to offend you, I respect your wishes.

loco,

If not posting in this log again continues to confuse you, I can give you a couple days off to more fully consider the implications of mhood's request.

Let me know!

El D,

It was late summer into fall in 2016. I was in pretty bad shape from the lack of sleep due to an extreme case of sleep apnea. I maxed out their recording equipment when I went in for my sleep study. I am pretty sure now, looking back that I was in really bad shape and wouldn't have lasted much longer had I not made some significant changes.

I am absolutely prepared for it to become harder, I am still really heavy and extremely obese so the weight loss should be easy and it really has been. I have also structured my weight loss so that it is slow and I don't have any giant drops in weight because I drastically changed my lifestyle. I want to continually make small process improvements so that these are long term lifestyle changes and not a fad.

The most challenging part for me has really been my lack of good habits and impulse control. I grew up the fat kid; my parents always had junk food in the house; chips, soda, fast food etc. I had no knowledge base to even understand more reasonable dieting or portion control.

I also am extremely strapped for time since I have a full time job that includes travel/shift work and am finishing up my Bachelors degree at the same time. Trying to balance all my normal responsibilities and try to cook/eat better simultaneously can be difficult.

I also struggle with the obese person mindset; I didn't think I ate that badly or that I was really that fat. So when I began this diet if I strayed from my allowed calories for the day I would feel bad about myself, which in turn made me want to eat more. I had to understand that just because I have one bad day that I can just start over the next day. It takes being honest with yourself and not letting failure really slow you down.

M,

That’s much more self awareness and honest evaluation of your situation that most in this forum who have been in your position.

135 pounds in about 18 months is outstanding. Now the key is to continue identifying what works and doesn’t work for you and turning more positive changes into habits so you don’t hit a wall for as long as possible.

Given your schedule, one thing I’d recommend (if you’re not doing this already) is having a bunch of frozen meals. I cook a lot, but sometimes I just get too busy or lazy. For me, having a frozen meal in the freezer is the difference between making that for a 600-800 calorie dinner or going out and consuming well over 1000 cals.

With respect to impulse control, at least make sure you’re not sabotaging yourself. I have plenty of not great food, alcohol, etc in the house that is no problem for me to consume in moderation. But if I keep chips and cookies at home I know I’m very likely to just eat them all. So for the most part I just don’t get those things. A lot of this is about making things as easy on yourself as possible.

El D,

I appreciate that. I've done a lot of introspection and came to the realization that I did this to myself over decades and that it will take a long time full of dedication and hard work.

Logging my calories has helped me to feel much more in control.

I like a frozen meal called birds eye. They make frozen stuff that tastes pretty good and is about 630 calories. Toss it in a pan and you're good to go in about ten mins. I usually add extra vegetables so I feel fuller for about 800 calories.

I go to these when I am in a hurry. Publix also makes a grilled chicken Caesar salad that leaves me full for hours for about 600 calories. It's a little pricy buy a great go to meal in a hurry.

Hood,

Just use your log however you see fit, it's your log afterall. I think you have done incredibly well and agree with El D that you seem to be in a good mindset to be able to stay the distance. Liking and eating vegetables is huge imo. I've got a big appetite at night and fill my plate full of mainly green vegetables to fill me up so I have no need to snack. Actually some days I start with a plate full of broccoli and a couple of eggs

El D,

Frozen meals Where's Lapka?

March update:

pounds lost: 12.8
Overall weight loss: 149.
Weight this morning: 286.
Ytd goal: (18)
Ytd actual: (30)

Feeling really good, meeting my daily calorie goal has been going really well. I think there were maybe 3-4 days where I exceeded my calorie goal. And any time I did go over it was by 300-400 calories over at the most. My exercise has been really consistent as well. Only maybe 5 days that I didn't have at least 10,000 steps. Everything is going smooth right now.

April will be challenging, I have a trip to a fort Lauderdale music festival that will include free drinks. Tons of walking though so should balance out. Hoping to maintain this weight loss pace

What is your current calorie goal just out of interest? What was it when you started?

Currently it's about ~1950