3yrs and I have lost over 320 pounds! You can do it too!

mrdmevans · June 2015

Here is a link to my Facebook group page. Come join!

https://facebook.com/groups/377103209015683/

Nataliegetfit · June 2015

Wow, that is amazing how you have changed your life and the lives of your family. Congratulations.

dksmith20110 · June 2015

Thanks for the inspiration! Very awesome!

amycfatnomore · June 2015

Wow!!! Thanks for sharing!! It's posts like these that have me smiling ear to ear and so ready for the day I get to share my own success story.

kbaker001 · June 2015

You are an inspiration!!! Thanks for sharing.

VeryKatie · June 2015

HOLY COW! GREAT JOB! Also it was kind of fun seeing how much taller your son got in the photos too hehe.

Jbarbo01 · June 2015

Wow, this made me choke up a bit. You are truly an inspiration. As many times as I've thrown in the towel because it got hard, you persevered. I'll definitely think of your story next time I want to give up, congratulations!

Seagoat0175 · June 2015

I feel so inspired and motivated by your journey! Congratulations to you! What you he accomplished is amazing, not only the physical aspect, but the mental and emotional aspects as well. Kudos to you!

saltypancakez · June 2015

What a transformation! I admire your willpower.

A thousand times 'bravo' to you!

jennlaw89 · June 2015

Amazing progress! Way to go!

ermanilabiol · June 2015

well done

much2complicated · June 2015

congratulations on your success! thanks for sharing and inspiring.

kgmcgee · June 2015

WOW! You look great. I so appreciate you telling your story. I look at success stories daily to keep me motivated. I'd love to hear more about the support group at your church. I'd love to do something like that to help others, once I've reached my goal.

wizzybeth · June 2015

SO inspirational!!!!!!!!!!! Congrats, and what a wonderful thing for you to be creating a local support group to help others. Bravo!

MiliOm · June 2015

Fantastic! Thank you for sharing

Sunshine1337 · June 2015

Embrace your new life and all it holds for you! You have earned it! Thank you for helping us believe & see it is possible!

Ginalessfluff · June 2015

Amazing! Great job!

Unknown · June 2015

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mrdmevans · June 2015

Thanks everyone

vwagar · June 2015

Thank u so much for sharing

chinablk22 · June 2015

Thanks for sharing your success. I will read this again when I get down I have 242lbs. To lose, and fighting for my life.

slimbettie · June 2015

You sir. You take my breath away.

cmteach4 · June 2015

mrdmevans wrote: »

I have lost 320ish pounds by changing out I eat, educating myself and working on my overall fitness.

In May of 2012, the path my life was taking changed. I had a flip switched in my brain, as I suddenly and heartbreakingly had this fear rush through me that my son had to defend his obese father to his friends. The thought brought tears to my eyes, as I imagined bringing more pain in my sons life, or him being embarrassed to be seen with me. I knew I couldn't have that! I love my son to much...

That lit the fuse, so I started looking through diets. Which one? Which one will get me to where I want to me. I mean I have tried almost all of them it seems in the past. They worked in the short term but I always gained the weight back. That's when it hit me, none of these diets worked for me because it wasn't something I could live with. If I am going to truly make this a lifestyle change then I need to change how I live forever, not just for a few months. So, I scheduled an appointment with a dietician so that I could educate myself on what a proper diet looks like, figure out things I may be doing wrong, and identify ways that I can incorporate the "must have' foods in my typical menu. That visit was instrumental in making sure my path was going to lead me down the right path.

I had my trigger moment, my education/diet plan and now I just needed keep my head on straight and keep myself motivated and focused on my goals which led me to create the Daves Road to Better Health page. On this page I have listed the things I wanted to achieve such as being able to ride a roller coaster or any ride for that matter with my son. Being able to take my wife to the ballet or theater, being able to play softball, buy clothes at a regular store, ride a motorcycle, the list goes on and on.

I am happy to say that I have been able to accomplish all of my little goals in the past 3 years! I have done all of things mentioned above, and I have found even more things to do that I could have never done when I was over 500 pounds.

I am not going to sit here and tell you that it has been easy for me, because it hasn't always been. I have struggled with many things through out this time. I know now that I was addicted to food, it was truly my drug of choice. I ate when I was sad, stressed, bored, happy, angry, depressed and occasionally when I was hungry. All of these emotions didn't suddenly stop when I started this lifestyle change. I had to find ways to control my eating during these times and channel those emotions elsewhere. I prayed a lot, I leaned on my family, I leaned on my friends. Sometimes, I leaned on perfect strangers on forums or my weight loss page. This all helped me gain control of my emotional eating habits.

I had to be honest with myself and own up to my mistakes. If I had a bad meal or day. I didn't allow myself to say well I will start back over tomorrow or worse next week. I started right back over and regrouped. When I had a dreaded plateau, I didn't throw in the towel and give up instead I stayed true to the course and eventually found my plateau would break and the weight loss would happen.

I had to be honest with my friends. If I was going over for dinner I asked what was being served so that I could either planning my day out right or possibly bring an alternative.

I don't have cheat days ever! If I want something I am going to have it. I just limit myself on the amount. Instead of eating the entire bag of chips, I eat a serving. Instead of eating a king size candy bar, I eat a piece of dove chocolate. Now, back to being honest with myself. I knew that I had what I call an avalanche food which was delivery pizza. I could eat a large and still be hungry. I knew I would have a hard time controlling myself so I did cut it out of my diet for about 2 1/2 years. Instead I made a healthier version at home. I had to do that until I was mentally strong enough to push the plate away

In the end, I am sooooo much happier. I am living a life that I never imagined being possible. I mean I celebrated my 3 year anniversary on a motorcycle in Washington DC! I mean how cool is that! I am not going to say I have my life back. I am going to tell you I have a life I never dreamed possible!

I want others to realize they can do this too. I want them to realize they are not alone. Food is an addiction that you can't run from or completely avoid. You have to eat to live while making sure you don't end up living to eat.

I am happy to say that my wife and I started a weight loss support group at our church so that we can hopefully help build that community of support locally and help others see that they too can get to where they want to be.

I know this is a very long post, but too many people are out there struggling with their weight. They feel lost, the feel scared, they feel abused. The abuse can come from themselves and from the cruel words and stares of random strangers. There are people that feel imprisoned and don't know they can break out. I just want people to realize they can do it! You can do it!

You deserve to be happy, to be healthy, to enjoy your life! So, go out there and make it happen! Please, make it happen for you, for your family, for your friends.

seachelle76 · June 2015

You, sir, are an inspiration. You look great. I also think you've hit on a lot of things that others can identify with, which is why I think it is so important that people like you share their stories. Congrats.