1 year and 3 months, 146 pounds lost.
WailingDusk
Posts: 58 Member
Last year at the start of the pandemic, I didn't really have an excuse anymore. I was 372 pounds, alone with an exercise bike and a bowflex, had to order groceries online, worked from home, so all temptation was out the window. I was able to get a physical during the early months of the pandemic, and everything I saw sent me into a panic. I was 1 point away from being diabetic. My A1C was 6.3, fasting blood glucose was high, cholestorol was very high, blood pressure was through the roof, vitamin D was severely deficient... just so many things that could have led to a very miserable mid-life.
I cut out all processed foods and fast food. I also cut out all meat and dairy from my diet, save for eggs. Didn't bother with 'cheat days,' because if I have to cheat, then I'm not eating a diet is sustainable. I didn't bother counting calories, I just ate until full (which is easy to do when you eat whole foods). I still don't count calories as much, though I do use MFP. Most of my macros are pretty balanced, a bit more protein, but a lot of carbs. In fact, most of my diet started with a lot of slow carbs: beans, rice, sweet potatoes, barley, oats...
As soon as I started resistance training, I upped the protein more. One thing led to another, and before I knew it I had lost 100 pounds in under a year.
After a year, I'd lost about 120 pounds. By the time I went back to the office, no one recognized me anymore. It was wild.
Today I'm down to 226 pounds with a little over 40 pounds to go to reach my goal weight. I'm taking personal training sessions 3 days a week. I workout 5 days and rest 2. It's become such an integral part of my life that I don't miss anything about my life of junk food binges and lying around the house all day during my days off. I had a physical in March of this year, and was shocked to see how much everything improved. Where I was seeing red before was now green. Triglycerides were 40, down from the 250's. LDL was under 100 HDL was in the high 50's. A1C was down to 4.9, fasting blood glucose was back to normal. Blood pressure was still high, but has been steadily coming down since then. I'm off of BP medication now and it stays in the 110s to 120s over 70s/60's.
Another big change I noticed was my resting heart rate went from the 80's down to the 50's.
I'm still not to my goal yet, but I wanted to get as close to 200 pounds as I could before my trip to Colorado again this year, because I plan on hiking a lot. Below is a picture of a before and after. It's so weird to do little things like SIT ON THE FLOOR and be able to get right back up with little effort. Bend over or kneel down, stuff that people take for granted.
Can't wait to see what I look like in another 40 pounds. BTW I'm 38 and I've been obese since childhood. This is the lowest I've weighed since my freshmen year of high school. Hopefully this is some motivation for life-long strugglers of obesity and binge-eating disorder, body dysmorphia (which I still struggle with). Your genetics don't determine everything. Your diet does. That's the most important thing. If you can change your diet and eat more whole foods while cutting out processed garbage, you'll be much better off and the weight will come off.
You can't outrun a bad diet, no matter how hard you try. It will always catch up to you. I've had to learn that the hard way, over decades. Proper nutrition is just something that was never taught.
I feel younger at 38 than I did at 20. A good diet is everything, and after seeing and feeling the result, that is the hill I'll die on.
I cut out all processed foods and fast food. I also cut out all meat and dairy from my diet, save for eggs. Didn't bother with 'cheat days,' because if I have to cheat, then I'm not eating a diet is sustainable. I didn't bother counting calories, I just ate until full (which is easy to do when you eat whole foods). I still don't count calories as much, though I do use MFP. Most of my macros are pretty balanced, a bit more protein, but a lot of carbs. In fact, most of my diet started with a lot of slow carbs: beans, rice, sweet potatoes, barley, oats...
As soon as I started resistance training, I upped the protein more. One thing led to another, and before I knew it I had lost 100 pounds in under a year.
After a year, I'd lost about 120 pounds. By the time I went back to the office, no one recognized me anymore. It was wild.
Today I'm down to 226 pounds with a little over 40 pounds to go to reach my goal weight. I'm taking personal training sessions 3 days a week. I workout 5 days and rest 2. It's become such an integral part of my life that I don't miss anything about my life of junk food binges and lying around the house all day during my days off. I had a physical in March of this year, and was shocked to see how much everything improved. Where I was seeing red before was now green. Triglycerides were 40, down from the 250's. LDL was under 100 HDL was in the high 50's. A1C was down to 4.9, fasting blood glucose was back to normal. Blood pressure was still high, but has been steadily coming down since then. I'm off of BP medication now and it stays in the 110s to 120s over 70s/60's.
Another big change I noticed was my resting heart rate went from the 80's down to the 50's.
I'm still not to my goal yet, but I wanted to get as close to 200 pounds as I could before my trip to Colorado again this year, because I plan on hiking a lot. Below is a picture of a before and after. It's so weird to do little things like SIT ON THE FLOOR and be able to get right back up with little effort. Bend over or kneel down, stuff that people take for granted.
Can't wait to see what I look like in another 40 pounds. BTW I'm 38 and I've been obese since childhood. This is the lowest I've weighed since my freshmen year of high school. Hopefully this is some motivation for life-long strugglers of obesity and binge-eating disorder, body dysmorphia (which I still struggle with). Your genetics don't determine everything. Your diet does. That's the most important thing. If you can change your diet and eat more whole foods while cutting out processed garbage, you'll be much better off and the weight will come off.
You can't outrun a bad diet, no matter how hard you try. It will always catch up to you. I've had to learn that the hard way, over decades. Proper nutrition is just something that was never taught.
I feel younger at 38 than I did at 20. A good diet is everything, and after seeing and feeling the result, that is the hill I'll die on.
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Replies
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That's an amazing and inspirational transformation! You should be very proud of yourself for what you've accomplished.
Thank you for sharing and for such a well stated and logical post, it is sure to help others on their journeys.6 -
A really great story!4
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I understand why nobody recognized you! You look fantastic!!! Congrats5
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That is awesome and inspirational. You are so right about eating a healthy diet...makes all the difference in the world. Very impressed that you used the pandemic to make such a positive change in your life. Look forward to hearing more about your journey and successes!3
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Incredible achievement! And a totally awesome mindset - a real inspiration.4
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That's fantastic!! And such a great mindset! I think that's the biggest challenge to overcome - getting in the right headspace. Once you do that, the rest can follow. Well done!3
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Thanks for sharing this fantastic weight loss success story. Please if you have a chance can you please share what you eat on a typical day? For example for breakfast lunch and dinner?I want to eliminate meat and dairy from my diet as well.Except for eggs.I now weigh 328 lbs and your story was very motivating.Did you also juice or have smoothies? Thank you.7
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$#!^ you have done an amazing job!!!2
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My word! This is amazing and inspiring! Well done you mate.4
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Wow Go YOU! I post! Fantastic!
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👀 You may want to consider sharing your story with Bowflex and the manufacturer of the bike. Just...wow!3
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Fantastic job and very inspiring! Keep up the great work and positive mindset!2
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Congratulations on your accomplishment!
Your post resonates with me. In March, after a trip to the hospital, I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. My choices were continue my lifestyle and eventaully die or make a change. I transitioned from a vegetarian diet to a whole food plant based diet. I have managed to lower my A1C and now am in the pre diabetic range. Since making life style changes I have lost 45 lbs and still going. I completely understand what you mean about the little things in life such as sitting on the floor. I didn't realize how much of my own life I was not enjoying due to my size. Congratulations again on your success. I am happy for you!6 -
Thanks for sharing this fantastic weight loss success story. Please if you have a chance can you please share what you eat on a typical day? For example for breakfast lunch and dinner?I want to eliminate meat and dairy from my diet as well.Except for eggs.I now weigh 328 lbs and your story was very motivating.Did you also juice or have smoothies? Thank you.
Sure!
Usually for breakfast I'll have either steel cut oats with a scoop of Orgain protein powder (I get the one that has 30g of protein per serving). Or I'll have 2-3 large poached eggs and two pieces of Ezekiel bread (or any kind of sprouted bread simply because it won't spike your blood sugar as fast). Sometimes if I'm in a rush, I'll just do a protein shake with almond milk (or any kind of plant based milk you like. I'd prefer Oat, but it's never at the market).
For lunch I'll do a protein shake after working out, sometimes with steamed frozen vegetables (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, anything I bought that week). Sometimes I'll do a protein shake and a sweet potato.
For dinner I change things up all the time. Last night I had portabello mushroom fajitas, the night before I had boiled eggs, sweet potatoes, vegetables, and brown jasmine rice. Before that it was lentils, rice and spinach. I'm one of those people that could eat just about anything lol Even if it might be a weird food combination, it doesn't bother me.
For snacks I'll do granny smith apples, kiwis, strawberries, watermelon, or any kind of fruit that is in season. I also pick up those frozen mixed berries you see in the freezer aisle. Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, sometimes there are cherries. I throw those in a blender with some almond milk and a bit of PBFit powdered peanut butter and make a pretty low calorie smoothie that tastes really good IMO.
I'll also do air popped popcorn, though keep in mind that between the salt and the added carbs, you'll retain a bit more water. I always tend to weight more after eating popcorn because of the water retention, but it's a very filling, low calorie, high fiber snack. A little water weight doesn't bother me because as long as that body fat % is going down, the scale will eventually catch up.
This is true for a diet with a lot of slow carbohydrates like mine. You're not going to see drastic weight reduction in the first week or so like you would on a keto diet, simply because you aren't going to be dropping 10-20 pounds of water weight. But if you stay on it, and keep away from the temptations of fast food, and stick to the outer areas of the grocery store (save for the aisle with canned beans. I eat a lot of canned beans), you'll be good.
It took me 3 months of waking up in the middle of the night about to rush to Dairy Queen because I just had to have something! This kind of food is literally a drug that we've all gotten addicted to. And if you have binge eating disorder like I do, that drug turns into a chronic illness really fast.
If you find yourself in that middle of the night situation, ask yourself if this is worth pushing the reset button on the rehabilitation. Because once that three months is over, you don't get those cravings anymore. But you have to push through it however way you can. For three months, if you can have people not bring junk food in the house, and be mindful when you drive by the fast-food places, you can definitely do it.
I'm not gonna lie, food addiction is just as bad as any other. The first months on a 'cleaner' diet are going to drive you up the wall. You'll slip a few times, but don't beat yourself up either. Just focus on that goal. You won't be able to mentally see what you'll look like in 100 lbs lost when you look in the mirror, but try to picture yourself at a lower weight. Set reasonable goals you know you can hit each month. At over 300 pounds, it's very easy to lose 2-3 pounds a week, but as you get closer to your goal, the weight loss slows down. it's normal.
Once you start eating healthier, you'll notice your energy levels skyrocket. You'll start to want to do little things like walking, or doing a bit of resistance training. Then every week, as your body adapts to it, it will start to want to do more. You won't feel so bloated all the time, which makes you feel even more likely to want to exercise.
I can't stress 'set REASONABLE goals' enough. Don't listen to people who have diet advice where you can drop 10-15 pounds a week. Don't do crash diets! Take it slow. My Fitness Pal calculates your BMR, which will change as you continue to lose the weight. You don't have to do anything drastic to start either. Maybe take off a couple hundred calories from your BMR and eat that, you'll still lose weight, it'll just be slower, but at least you won't starve yourself with an unsustainable diet.
You want to find something that you can stick with for the rest of your life because it doesn't stop with losing weight. You still have to maintain that weight, and if you spent 2 years on keto and decide to start eating more balanced, your body is going to overreact (I'm not a fan of keto at all for many reasons) and you'll start gaining weight again.
This is everything I've learned over the year. Just be careful who you listen to, and above all, listen to YOUR body. What may work for me may not work for you, so you can change it up. As long as your diet is balanced, you're getting exercise, and you are living the healthiest and most sustainable life YOU can, you'll succeed. I'm rooting for you! If I can do it at almost 40 having been obese since early childhood, you can do it too. Anyone can! We just have to get off this hamster wheel called the Standard American Diet and push away everything we've been taught to believe about proper nutrition. It is actually so mind-blowingly simple that I get angry to think of all the years and money I've wasted, all the diet pills I've taken, when all I had to do was eat the foods we were meant to eat all along.
Keep away from calorie dense processed foods, frozen prepared meals, fast food, deep fried foods.
Eat more high fiber, plant-based (or lean animal-based. Chicken breast, salmon. Not gonna be preachy here) proteins, complex, slow-digesting carbohydrates that will give you energy throughout the day and not spike your insulin response, and keep it all balanced.
The biggest lie the fitness industry gave in the past was to be afraid of fats. Now it's love fats, be afraid of carbs, when really, a balanced diet of whole foods is all you need. I promise. Don't buy into any of the fads! You'll just end up hurting yourself in the long-run. Don't be impatient, lose the weight slowly, and tone your body. Build muscle as you lose fat and one day you'll look in the mirror and it will hit you out of nowhere. I still can't believe that I lost over 140 pounds. I've NEVER done that, and it was so simple but so hard to do at the same time.27 -
👀 You may want to consider sharing your story with Bowflex and the manufacturer of the bike. Just...wow!
I was really lucky here because a co-worker of mine had a Bowflex she bought but never used. It was just in the living room with clothes hanging on it. She asked if I wanted it and I of course didn't refuse. lol To be honest, I didn't even start using it until well into my weightloss. I use it occasionally now when I can't get to the gym, but I go to the gym mostly nowadays lol
Also the exercise bike was a $150 thing I bought on Amazon. It was the cheapest stationary bike I could find that would support my weight at the time. But it was just what I needed, especially in the Florida heat when I didn't want to go outside to walk.6 -
Congratulations on your accomplishment!
Your post resonates with me. In March, after a trip to the hospital, I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. My choices were continue my lifestyle and eventaully die or make a change. I transitioned from a vegetarian diet to a whole food plant based diet. I have managed to lower my A1C and now am in the pre diabetic range. Since making life style changes I have lost 45 lbs and still going. I completely understand what you mean about the little things in life such as sitting on the floor. I didn't realize how much of my own life I was not enjoying due to my size. Congratulations again on your success. I am happy for you!
I'm glad you were able to get it under control! Type 2 is reversible at the early stages, and a lot of people don't realize that. They think it's a life-long sentence. Diabetes runs in my family. My father is 1/4 Cherokee and all of his side has it. My mother didn't have it, but my uncle and grandfather did. I look at the 20 medications my father takes, and the cost of his insulin and I made the decision that that woudl not be me in my mid-life and later years. I want to climb mountains at 70, not be barely able to move.
I'm proud of you. You didn't just give up like a lot of people do when they are diagnosed. You changed and now you're seeing the results. Keep it up! That A1C can go even lower with enough time if you keep doing what you're doing.4 -
Your a big inspiration thank you for sharing this time and energy you put into answering my question.I’m going to take your advice. Please tell me what make and model stationary bike you bought from Amazon? Thank you so much and take care5
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wow, what a change. You look so good. Did you eat emotionally? I know I had to get a new mindset. When I wanted to eat when stressed I told myself that will just give me one more problem. When I get sick I want to eat, I had to tell myself food is not pain medication, take some medicine, food is not what you need. Yes and my mindset now is looking at food different. I look at how much damage it did to me rather than how yummy it is. I see that good looking food over there and say that looks so good but not good on me.
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Your a big inspiration thank you for sharing this time and energy you put into answering my question.I’m going to take your advice. Please tell me what make and model stationary bike you bought from Amazon? Thank you so much and take care
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014VX254A/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This was the one I bought. It was very reasonably priced and did the job. The seat isn't the most comfortable thing ever, but it's a very low-impact way to start getting in your cardio. When I first got it, I was only able to do about 5 minutes at first.2 -
brenn24179 wrote: »wow, what a change. You look so good. Did you eat emotionally? I know I had to get a new mindset. When I wanted to eat when stressed I told myself that will just give me one more problem. When I get sick I want to eat, I had to tell myself food is not pain medication, take some medicine, food is not what you need. Yes and my mindset now is looking at food different. I look at how much damage it did to me rather than how yummy it is. I see that good looking food over there and say that looks so good but not good on me.
Oh boy, did I ever. My mother was a big emotional eater, and I guess both my brother and I picked up on that. Medication through junk food. I could go through an entire pack of Oreos in one sitting and not realize it. Then I'd feel sick for a while, but I'd always keep doing it whenever I felt depressed, which was often. I've dealt with severe depression and GAD since childhood as well. A lot of trauma and abuse were no doubt contributing factors to everything.4 -
Once again thank you so much,and take care.I’m going to look into this bike thanks2
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Congratulations on the new you! 🎉👏Amazing commitment and consistency.0
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Truly amazing, a huge well done to you. And thank you so much for sharing you tips and story, it's a big inspiration to all us still at the beginning of the journey.
I have 130 to lose and I have so struggled. My daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at aged 3 and it has been so stressful, I think I gained 70lb just after that alone. But I'm so ill now. I feel tired, ill, everything hurts, I have Gerd and worse of all I feel so miserable. Thank you for the inspiration to keep going and I wish you many many Happy healthy years ahead x2 -
Bravo. You look incredible!0
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You are amazing!!! Keep killing it. Look forward to getting back to my college size of 170lbs now im at 262lbs and day 21
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Amazing work! Our stories are so similar. Here's to achieving your goal weight!
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Just an update on my progress: I'm down 150 pounds now, lost only 4 pounds last month, but lost just over 1% body fat.
On Saturday I went to a regular clothing store (not big and tall like I'm used to), and apparently I was a size 36 in jeans. I haven't been a size 36 since middle school. I ordered two pairs of jeans from Amazon from two different brands to see for sure, and yep, both size 36's fit me. Pulling them out of the box, they looked so small compared to what I usually wear. I knew I'd probably have to return them, but then I was able to just slip them on.
It's so weird that my mind hasn't caught up to the weight loss yet. I still think I'm much bigger than I really am.
This is just an updated comparison to where I was to now at 222 pounds. Still have about 37 or so more pounds to lose, and the weight loss is slowing down considerably as I get closer. I was only able to lose a pound a week last month, but I've also been gaining muscle too. So, I can't go off of the scale completely.
Even this extra large tank top I just bought is a bit big on me right now. That's insane. I used to be a 4-5xl t-shirt.
(I'm well aware of how gross the mirror looks lol. I've windexed this thing so much, but it's over 50 years old so...)
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Wow thats amazing...great job you should be proud!1
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Amazing dedication and success story!1
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Thanks so much for sharing your story. I'm in a similar place and hope to be able to share my own success one of these days!1
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