I never believed in counting calories so heres my story

jalaibilla

Last summer (at my peak of 250#) I remember asking a buddy of mine who is a pro natural bodybuilder how he gets so ripped for competition, I asked "cut the carbs?" He said aside from his workouts watch your caloric intake. I didn't see it as something that simple so I never gave it much thought.

I have always considered myself a little health conscience, physically active and athletic. Most my family is obese, my dad has an amputated leg from being a type 2 diabetic. I am 6' tall and of polynesian descent, so I have what we call thick bones and its genetically difficult to maintain a healthy BMI which (at 213#) lists me at a score of 29, borderline obese. I don't care for the BMI much.

4 years ago my wife and I had our first child. I also got laid off from work, (construction) became a stay at home dad, got lazy, lost motivation and found too many reasons to have a few beers. 2 years later we had our second child. Not working and staying home all the time I was a couch potato and developed a "beer gut" LOL! So I went from my physical best of 195# in 2007 to sedentary worst of 250#. I just ate there weren't restrictions on portions. I tried eating less sugary and white flour foods. It helped a little.

Last September 2011 my wife and I got memberships to the local gym. Looking for a lifestyle change and wanting to get back into playing a few competitive volleyball tournaments and leagues I started the lifestyle change consisting of weightlifting and cardio. I would cycle into losing a couple pounds then plateau for a month.

April of 2012 I'm at 235 and I had lost about 15# in 7 months. One morning my wife told me about this "app" that her co-workers were talking about. So I started MFP on April 16th, 2012... It changed my life! I never thought I would get back into shape. I feel so much better. I lost 25# in just 3 months of using it. I'm currently at 210# and keep lowering my goal weight. My first goal was 220# to 215 to 210, now I don't see a problem with striving for 200-205#.

Along with tracking calories and portions, I now eat nutrient rich, whole, low cal foods within my daily allowed caloric intake (currently 1920). Nothing really crazy at all, I work out 3-4 times a week for 45-90 minutes, consisting of 33 minutes of cardio (about 350-400 cals) and strength training
(mostly hi reps). I like to add to my "calories remaining" by doing cardio and sports. I end the day/week below my calorie allowance. It feels surreal to fit back into clothes I haven't used in 4 years. It's also fun to research tasty low cal foods and recipes.

I would like to share a tip that helped me shred past them plateaus.. 900-1500 calorie burn 1-2 times a week when I plateau. It consists of biking uphill for a mile or 2, jogging on the beach, an hour or 2 of competitive volleyball, any suitable sport helps. Even 45min to an hour of "extra", vigorous cardio can burn up to 500-700 cals, on the day. From the app hit add, then cardiovascular then search for an exercise or activity it can give estimates on calories burned. After all that I might have a beer;)

If you've read all through this I hope it can help!

2009, 250#


2010, 240#


currently 213#

ilovemybuggy

Great job!

runfatmanrun

Nicely done.

islandnutshel

Thanks for sharing your story. It shows that you can have real success if you are consistant.

FitnessTrice

Thanks for this post. I have 20 lbs total to lose but it seems like ever since I got on a mission to lose the 20 lbs, it became a big mountain that seemed impossible to climb. Some people 20lbs is no big deal but it is a huge deal to me. Since April 2012 I have lost 7lbs but some days it feels impossible to reach my goal. Again, thanks for sharing your success story.

chauncyrenayCHANGED

Congratulations on all your success! Thx for sharing!

mama2shi

I am so happy for you! I feel the same, MFP has totally changed my life and my thought process regarding food and exercise (I never thought of weight lifting before, now I LOVE it!).

Enigmatica

Well done! Congratulations!

cobaltis

Congrats, whenever people ask me for advice I recommend counting calories too

kiki75243

Great job!!!

janeseal

I too am using MFP. Its so easy, just put the food you've eaten into the app and it calculates fat carbs everything. I was struggling to loose the weight but doing the exercise you add in the calories you have earned. Its so satisfying ending your day under your calories.

cpaman87

I also have found the food diary to be a huge plus. I never realized how much I was consuming in a day. Now I monitor it closely and strive to be below my allowance. And the weight just seems to be falling off after only 1 week. Amazing. Your story is very inspiring. Keep up the new lifestyle.

mamakjknows

Great story! Thanks for sharing. i have found a website that helps to give you better guidance on calculating calories burned by a particular exercise. I hope that you may find it to be helpful.

http://www.healthyweightforum.org/eng/calorie-calculator.asp

carriem73

Thanks for this post. I have 20 lbs total to lose but it seems like ever since I got on a mission to lose the 20 lbs, it became a big mountain that seemed impossible to climb. Some people 20lbs is no big deal but it is a huge deal to me. Since April 2012 I have lost 7lbs but some days it feels impossible to reach my goal. Again, thanks for sharing your success story.

try making "mini goals"- when you reach those, reward yourself and move on- for me, I have about 30 total to lose- every 5 lbs, I get a new outfit!!!! As I see smaller results, I get more determined to reach the overall goal!

Good luck to you and the OP!!!!

supplemama

Good job, you look great!

Papillon22

Great job! you look fantastic! :drinker:

ryno0618

awesome job! thanks for the share. keep up the great work!

gjulie

well done great to hear of your success.Keep going.

yelpat

Well done, you look great!

Leiki

Wow! You should be the poster child for why men need to be on this site.

tbresina

Huge difference, don't get too skinny! I love the dog in the background, he blends so well I almost missed him!

ttkg

Thanks somuch for sharing - I enjoyed reading your story. Congratulations, you put forth great effort and now you get to reap the rewards, which includes looking amazing!!

sndvl9702

Awesome story. I totally relate to it. Congratulations on your success so far!

darrensurrey

Well done!

curryinahurry

i read the whole thing but only have two words

sexy sexy!

ArmyRD

Thank you for your story. These are the stories that help everyone. Your honesty about how difficult the process is can be very inspiring. I love stories that start with 'I never paid attention to what I ate' or 'I was never athletic' and end with 'Now I love working out and looking for new healthy recipes'.

Great Job. Keep it up and keep sharing your story.

bassmanlarry

Thanks for sharing. I've spent the last few years looking for that special trick to drop the weight, never realizing it could really be as simple as calories in, calories out. Just keeping track of my calories, and being honest about my portions, helped me realize that at times I was consuming as much as 1500-2000 calories in just one meal!

Curvimami

Woohooo!!! Great job!!! :flowerforyou:

veromancha

you look great! All your hard work has paid off!

Ven79

Thanks for sharing your story You look great!
Posts like yours make me want to get up and workout!

byebyeluvhandles

Thanks for your story and congrats on your transformation. I too thought I would NEVER count calories, but since I started 3 weeks ago it has made a difference.