Loosing weight for first time in a long time

Ready2Loose75

Hello fellow weight fighters.

Vital statistics. 38 yo, 6'1. Started diet\lifestyle change on Jan 28th at 400lbs.
Work in IT, sit on my butt all day, and most of my past times involve little movement, except over the summer when I am actually very active outdoors.

Been overweight since I was 12-13 really and its just continued to gradually go up over the years.
Decided I will loose as much as I possibly can by the time I turn 40.

I've tried to diet a few times before but I was never able to stick to anything for long or had any real results which basically discouraged me from trying. Not sure what was different on Jan 28th but I decided to do some more reading (I've researched diets and nutrition hundreds of times), decided on a path, and 3 wks later and I am having no real problems sticking to the plan.

I decided to focus on low Carb, really low Sugar, and very low grain. So a little Atkins, a little Paleo, and a few of my own restrictions.

#1 Soda and sugar drinks. I was practically addicted to them all. From GA and Coke mind as well come out of the faucet for me. When I wasn't drinking coke, it was Sweet Tea, Fruit Punches, Sports drinks, and killer fraps. That is all gone %100. Drink water like a man dying of thirst now.

#2 Bread, Potatoes, Rice, Pasta, etc. These were my main food groups. I'm half Korean and giving up rice and noodles is pretty much Heresy. Its getting easier though.

#3 Eat more often. My usual eating pattern was no breakfast, large late lunch, and a large late dinner and snacks later as I am usually a night owl. Now I always eat some breakfast, healthy lunch, and a reasonable but usually high protein dinner with snacks every cpl hrs between meals. Its still mostly meat, I'm still not much of a Veg eater.

Exercise is not a big part of my routine yet. At my size my body has a lot of weight to shed and it seems to want to. I do about 10-15 mins of weight training every other day and about the same in cardio the other days. Plan to start doing some long walks and eventually add more workout time but I'd like to loose as much as I can before I push my body to much.

Compared to what and how much I was eating before I'm at a pretty high calorie deficit and am always under my daily calorie intake recommendations here. So far I'm loosing weight at a very good rate. I don't know how long I can keep that up. Hoping for another month or two at least. I know many ppl on Atkins can plateau once they've lost a significant amount so I am ready to adjust when/if that happens.

Reading what other people here are going through and their successes and even failures is all inspiration for me to keep at it.
Thanks all

GBrady43068

Best of luck to you.

#1 Soda and sugar drinks: This is one of the easiest ways to cut empty calories.

#2 Bread, Potatoes, Rice, Pasta, etc.-While low-carb will help you lose weight in the short-term, in the long run you'll need to make your peace with HEALTHY amounts of carbs. You need 'em to help power your workouts as you do more.

#3 Eat more often. My usual eating pattern was no breakfast, large late lunch, and a large late dinner and snacks later as I am usually a night owl. Now I always eat some breakfast, healthy lunch, and a reasonable but usually high protein dinner with snacks every cpl hrs between meals. Its still mostly meat, I'm still not much of a Veg eater.:

The main thing is...don't eat your biggest meals/snacks right before bedtime (I.e. when you're usually at your LEAST active). Since you're a night owl, it matters less whether you eat after 10PM than if you're eating a lot after 10PM but not DOING a lot. What we were told (and has worked for me) in my Diabetes Prevention class is to work on an "inverted pyramid"...biggest meal earliest in your day if possible (whenever your day starts), less for lunch, least at dinner. This is because you have more time in your day to work off breakfast (whether you're eating it at 6AM or 2PM) than you do to work off dinner.

And while I don't think you will be able to have sustainable change by forcing yourself to eat vegetables you loathe, it would be a good idea to try out more of them and try and find at least a couple that are "bulky" with fiber that you like. Those are typically big "bang for the calorie" foods....leave you fuller longer for less hit to your calorie goals. And the side bonus is they're usually nutrient dense too.

Capt_Inzane

I started at 350 now around 265-275 depending on the scale I pick. I'll throw ya an invite as I'm from Georgia too and in IT.

Stay active and use this site. You have to stay determined!!

Ready2Loose75

That is some awesome progress Zeroaccess. I don't know what it would even feel like to get back down to that weight. I love my job, but its really done nothing for my health over the years. I keep a weight at my desk now and I've started doing some short workouts through out the day when I can.

Thanks for tips GBrady. My schedule is pretty weird. I'm probably more active after 6pm than before. I also try and get in some exercise after dinner and I am up usually a good 5-6 hrs after. In fact, time to hit some more weights now.