A Re-Introduction

AdamKast · January 5

Hello, my name is Adam. I'm now 40 years old and I am a Wisconsinite living in the Chicagoland area. I've struggled with weight my entire life. I've done it all. Atkins, Keto, I've even talked to Richard Simmons once. Nothing really stuck. The most success I had was with Keto, but that wasn't a sustainable lifestyle for me, and I gained everything I lost back and then some.
In March of 2017 I decided to embark on what I call my Weight Loss Odyssey. (I'm a sucker for mythology and I like it better than Journey) For a while I was doing very well.
In March of 2017 I was a whopping 410 lbs. By August of 2018 I was down to 318 lbs. I was so proud of myself. After that the weight started to come back. I lost my dad, I stopped doing Keto. I started to put on more weight and got back to 410. I started to lose, fell of track, gained more. Lost more, gained more. I'm now at my heaviest at 440 lbs. When I saw that I had a very hard time. I also recently had my yearly check up. Thus far I've been incredibly fortunate to not have many of the ailments people my size often get. No diabetes, No Apnea, Nothing. However, after my labs, my cholesterol is getting up there. My blood work is showing that I've got issues with inflamation due to my size. My blood pressure is creeping up. This was all a massive wake up call to me that I need to stop the on again off and stay focused more than ever.
So..Here I go again. Starting over. This time I'm more determined than ever to get to a healthy weight by doing things I can maintain the rest of my life.

I'd love to make some new friends who know what I'm going through and make some accountability buddies too! Feel free to reach out or add me!

mtaratoot · January 6

Welcome!

It sounds like you've been traveling a rough road. I hope you can find an easier path.

You are wise to be thinking about how you can approach this with a plan that you'll be able to stick to in perpetuity. Many people try to rush things and then either fail or go back to old ways when they get to their goal.

Set some reasonable goals that are measurable and time bound. Use the tools here to track your progress, and log your food completely and honestly. Go slow, and most important, stick to it. It sounds like you're ready for that. You've already been this far on your Odyssey, so maybe you'll have smooth sailing back to Ithaca.

Have you checked out the "Most important posts" yet? Give 'em a look!

mcaravan5819 · January 6

I understand the struggle my friend. I'm 38 years old, and I live in Newfoundland, Canada. I've tried several diets over the years, weight watchers was definitely the most successful for me, in 2016 I managed to lose 38lbs in 6 months just from following their point system. However, it was not easy and I often found like I was depriving myself and eventually fell off the band wagon in 2017 when I had a car accident and started binge eating again in the evenings. Binge eating has been my biggest struggle over the years. I have all the tools and knowledge to have healthy meals but none of that matters if I gorge on food every evening before bed.

In 2022 after the covid 19 lock down I had gained almost 80lbs from where I was in 2016. I was determined to do something about it so I reluctantly joined a gym with a friend of mine. After about a year I had managed to lose 38lbs just from working out, without having to make too many changes to my diet and I found as I lose weight and watched my body change for the better, the bad habits slowly were less frequent m Also, if I did slip from time to time and fall back into bad habits or gain some weight back it allowed me to be more forgiving with myself because the gym helped the consequences of over eating to be less impactful and eventually I would end up back into my good habits again.

Fast forward to Summer of 2023, I'm working full time and decided to take on some post graduate education, I had less time for everything, family, friends, the gym, everything was a juggling acts and slowly I stopped making time for the gym. Here we are in January 2024 and I'm struggling now again with binge eating in the evenings, and haven't been to the gym in months. One positive thing I've noticed though is that my body changed enough over the 2 years at the gym that I don't gain weight back as fast as I once did. I've managed to maintain a significant amount of muscle, which burns more calories, and the fat that I have gained back is mostly on the mid section and no where else, so I've only put on 15lbs since August. But all that aside I feel very unhealthy, tired all the time, my skin is breaking out and I have more inflammation in my body (that I can feel) than ever. I know I need to get back to the gym and start eating right again but for whatever reason finding the motivation has been really hard. I long to feel how I felt before but it's a struggle to get off my butt and just do what I know I need to.

I understand how you are feeling and I hope you can find a way forward, just as I hope I can as well.

Keep your head up, I'm sure you will find the right path for yourself.

Matt

JREmore · January 6

I know you pain all too well bro! Let's connect and continue this odyssey together! With support we can all succeed! Also I was in the flip side as far as being from Chicago, IL and living in Madison, WI lol.

A Re-Introduction

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