Hello from FatDad :)

fatdaduk

Well, here we go again. Another attempt to diet but this time I think it is different, it HAS to be different. I'm 48 years old next month and the half-century mark is looming. Let's face it, if I do it then it has to be now other wise I'll be too old to enjoy it for very long.

If not now - WHEN? NEVER!!!

I'm 20.5 stones (287lbs) in weight and it's the heaviest I have been and it's time to change - am 6'2" but I can't carry this much weight. I am now approaching the 300lbs mark and I hate it.

I want to prove to myself I can do this, I want to be healthier for longer so I can enjoy being with my wife and kids and they can enjoy being with me.

I'd like to be able to run 5k (no matter how slowly) but before that happens I would like to be able to tie my running shoes without feeling like my head is going to explode. I would like to walk around in the summer, or indeed the winter and not be sweating like a pig.

I want to be as least as thin looking as the thinnest of my three brothers, and I want to be able to go out and not feel ashamed of who I am. I would like to walk around in public with more confidence, feeling that my fat body is not the first thing people are going to see.

I'd like to be kinder to my body, to relieve some of the stresses I place on my knees and ankles by shedding some weight.

I want to move out of the obese section of the BMI scale and head more toward the lower side of overweight because I am broad shouldered and have a big frame and feel that to be in the 'normal' section of the BMI scale might be too thin for me but hey, let's cross that fantastic bridge when we come to it.

At this point my initial goals are simple and they are (in order of importance):
1) Food will become something to enhance my life, not be my life.
2) I will go from 20.5 stones (287 lbs) to 16 stones (224lbs) within one year.
3) I will run a 5K within a year.

I'll add to these as I see fit (no pun intended) but this is a good start.

I know this won't make the world suddenly perfect but it will go a long way to removing one of the biggest blights in my life.

I have a small mountain to climb but I have what it takes to do it and this is something I can do for me.

GO TEAM ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just did my first check-in after week one of my new lifestyle and I've lost 5lbs in the first week. I'm very pleased, I know this has a lot to do with getting rid of water etc. at the start of my new diet but if I can just keep aiming for a 2lb loss a week I'll be a happy man.

I know there will be set-backs but I just have to keep trying.

Week 1 = success!

I'm looking for friends to support me (and have a laugh along the way). Anyone from anywhere in the world would be great but if I can find friends from the UK that would be perfect.

dozenmonkeyz

You seem to have the right mindset for the work in front of you. Stay strong!

fatdaduk

dozenmonkeyz wrote: »

You seem to have the right mindset for the work in front of you. Stay strong!

Thanks, it's taken me all these years to get what I believe to be the right motivation and now it's down to execution instead of simply 'wishing' I was slimmer.

ms_smartypants

Wishing you the best .....Feel free to add me (not in the UK)

mygnsac

You got this, and your goals are great and realistic! I actually hit the half-century mark earlier this year and I sure get what you are saying! Heaviest 350 lbs, down 120 lbs (still chipping away at it). Good luck!!

PinkPixiexox

I promise you can do this!

If you ever feel like you are struggling with the process, read this post back to yourself. Let YOU be your motivator. Wishing you the very best of luck here. Stay strong.

fatdaduk

Thank you for your wonderfully supportive posts. I really adds more resolve when I know there are people interested out there and who are going through the same type of thing.

Buckeye_Dave

Hang in there, you can do it! I have a similar story....I was 265 pounds at my heaviest and now am 198 pounds at 51 years old (on my down to 180). I'm 6'0".

wolfmaiden60

Since I had children I have been on a roller-coaster with my weight! Twice I have gotten to the goal I want, and unfortunately have a love affair with food and cooking and have a catering biz on the side! Here I am again trying something more cost effective then the WW program which has become too much of a money making enterprise in my opinion even though it works too. If we can all support one another, share tricks of the trade and laugh along the way it is a great adventure for all!!!

ewhip17

Our stories are very similar: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10040017/thinking-of-starting-today-you-might-want-to-check-this-out-pics-inside/p1

There is nothing keeping you from doing this!