Into the triple digits for weight loss

rankinsect

Starting weight (July 2015: 318.6)
Today's weight (April 2016: 217.6)
Total loss to date: 101 lb

Still a ways to go, but I'm getting there!

zoeysasha37

That's awesome !

Maybe talk a bit about what you did to achieve this for anyone who may be lurking this thread but too afraid to post

queenliz99

Awesome!!!

Hornsby

Impressed, dude! Great work! Keep it going!

zyxst

WTG. Cracking 100 is fantastic!

RoseTheWarrior

Well done! Great commitment and perseverance!

Afura

Awesome success!

rankinsect

Okay, here's what I did in a nutshell

Starting Out

One of the most important parts about starting out is assessing what is important to you. For me, the major problems I wanted to deal with were obesity (obviously), borderline hypertension, and generally low physical fitness. My ultimate goal was to be muscular, rather than skinny.

To that end, I really came up with the following actions I would take:
1. Stay below my calorie goal, as a must-do. I set it at around 1900 calories per day, which was about 1% weight loss per week.
2. Hit a protein goal, as a nice-to-do. I set this at around 0.7 grams of protein per lb of goal weight.
3. Strength training for musculature.
4. Cardiovascular training for overall fitness.

I didn't set any other dietary goals. While my blood pressure was borderline when I began, I didn't immediately bother with tracking sodium or potassium - I expected (and was right) that cardiovascular exercise would produce significant improvements without need of dietary intervention. I set no goals whatsoever on fat, carbs, sugar, sodium, etc. - I had my two most important dietary goals and all the rest was unimportant to me.

Putting it in action

At first, I found it hard to know what I should be eating. Then I decided to start pre-logging my meals. Now, except for special occasions (about 15 days per year), I log each day the night before. It lets me see and work with the whole day at once to ensure I make my calorie goal, and see how I am doing on a protein goal. I set no other dietary restrictions, but I try to ensure at least one meal a day is really satisfying to me. I didn't cut out anything, although I cut back on food that is high calorie and not very filling (e.g. donuts are a lot rarer, but I still eat them).

I do three days a week of training - first a session of strength training focusing on progressive resistance, second a HIIT session on an exercise bike. For the bike, I tried the 30/20/10 method - 30 seconds of slow pace (at least 30% of my maximum peak speed), 20 seconds of moderate pace (at least 60% of my maximum peak speed), 10 seconds of top speed (at least 90% of my maximum peak speed). I do three sets of five reps, with 90 seconds of slow pace active recovery between them.

Other Results

My blood pressure went from around 140/90 to about 120/70, and my resting heart rate went from being in the 70s to being in the 50s. Before I couldn't climb a single flight of stairs without being winded, now I regularly climb four flights and don't even really notice or think about it.

ncfitbit

Congratulations!!! Well done! I love your thoughtful goal setting. Sometimes people get bogged down in the details and fail to do the most important things.

Madwife2009

Well done Feels good, doesn't it?

Dana_E

Excellent work! Way to stay on track!

Iamsimpleguy

Amazing Work!! Inspired!!

Penthesilea514

Amazing job- well done! Thanks for sharing and good luck!