Things you've noticed about losing weight

Hirgy03 · January 2013

Not sure which forum to post this in, so I'm going wiith this one. So I started all this back in October. I was around 265 (6'0"), male, 41 then (42 now). At that time, I was pretty embarrassed about my appearance, more specifically how I'd let myself really, really go over the last couple of years. I'd sit on the couch to watch the tube, grab a snack and have the snack or a can of beer or pop sitting on the top of my gut-shelf (as I liked to call it). I'd be out of breath from simply walking up a flight of stairs. For a long, long time I'd kept saying that I was going to get back in shape. 2 gym memberships were paid, but I wouldn't go (schedule for work is neurotic and irregular, and I just couldn't drag myself out of bed in the morning.

I finally decided enough was enough. I get up around 4:45 most weekdays. Hit the gym for a minimum of 45-60 minutes during the week (rotate between cardio, upper body and lower body). On the weekends, I try to hit the gym for about 2 hrs each day if we are home (which is about half the time).

When I first started, I simply worked on cutting down on the beer consumption and cutting out snacks (was drinking 6-8 Bud Lights each night and constantly was grabbing something out of the fridge, or donuts at work). Then, after a month of that I started hitting the gym. For the first 3-4 weeks, I went in about 4 times a week and would simply hit the treadmill for 40-60 minutes at a leisurely - brisk walk. Then, shortly before thanksgiving, I started to mix in weightlifting as well. Within a couple of weeks, I was pushing myself on the weights....not to the point of being concerned I would hurt something, but enough to work up a good sweat. For the last 2 months now, I've been really pushing things. While the cardio has dropped on weightlifting days (not as much time in the gym to accommodate the amount I was doing early on), I still get a pretty good burn/sweat going when I do focus on that.

I'm now down to right around 230 lbs, actually broke 229 this morning, but that jumps up and down for a while before leveling out so I'm not counting any chickens just yet! My lovely fiancee tells me that my snoring has lessened greatly at night. I notice that I am sleeping much, much better. The constant hunger is gone, and when I do get it, its almost something I enjoy in a way (weird maybe). Thanks to the calorie counter on here, I have really been following my lower and upper limits (something I never did before). In the mirror each morning, I am noticing my chest and arms becoming defined, and my gut is disappearing......no more gut-shelf! I have so much more energy. I'm excited about breaking into the "below 220" zone, hopefully sometime in early March. Also, I know I'm a guy, but am really looking forward to re-doing my wardrobe come May/June for this summer. Looking forward to the cruise we are taking in a week and a half (won't be embarrassed to take my shirt off at the pool (yeah, still have a gut, but now I'm not nearly as self-conscious about it).

I'm looking forward to purchase of a hybrid bicycle and a couple of kayaks come springtime. Looking forward to being more active when the nice weather rolls around again. While I still drink beers every night, I've made the switch to Miller 64 calorie beers, and limit them to a max of 3 each night (sometimes on the weekend I have 4-5 over the day), but nonetheless, I've really cut down on that. I still smoke (just not quite ready to go through the moodiness yet, and not in the right 'mental place' just yet to cut that out, but plan on quitting before summer comes around). I like the way I'm looking in my clothes these days, shirts/sweatshirts, pants....all those things are fitting again, or some are even hanging a bit loosely on me for the first time in years.

Yeah, for the first time in a long, long time I feel like I'm doing this the right way and taking a smart approach to it. Its now been almost 4 months, so I feel safe in saying that I've actually made a change in "lifestyle", and not just changing my routine for a short stretch. My fiancee is doing her own thing and really dropping sizes...she uses this site too. Together, we are making healthy choices when it comes to how we are eating, and the kids are even beginning to buy into it (which is surprising, being they are just 11 and 13).

Just felt like bragging a bit. Hope some of you decide to brag on here too. I'm having a real "pat myself on the back" kinda feeling this morning! HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

[Oh yeah, for my friends on here....I'm not abandoning my daily logging for good, was just really hitting a slump and decided to take a full week off to not follow calories so closely as many on here say that sometimes this kinda way of things will help me get a jump start on getting things going again...I'll be back to my daily logs next week} THANK YOU ALL FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT, ADVICE, LAUGHS AND SUPPORT