Hello, Brand new user right here!

bedazz562

Hi! My name is Brandon and I live in Long Beach, CA. I just downloaded MFP about a week ago and so far I have lost 5 lbs using this awesome app.

A little background:

In High School I was a two-sport athlete, great physical condition. However, out in the college world, way too much freedom and unfortunately, gained about 70 lbs in the last 12 years.

Being a teacher, most of my lunches were fast food, and I was drinking 3-6 regular pepsi's a day!!! I knew that I needed to live a better, more healthy lifestyle, but there was nothing to motivate me, not even the thought of being around my two daughters for a long time (Sad right?).

My "Realization" moment:

One of my students asked me to play him one-on-one on the basketball court and I agreed. I came into the game overconfident that my experience and skill would make up for the lack of in-shapeness (if that is a word). I was terribly mistaken. I was almost out of breath immediately and felt like fainting for almost the entire match. Needless to say I lost pretty badly and that was my "wake-up" moment! I needed to get into shape for my family, for my self and so I could get a re-match haha! So I weighed myself (237lbs) and swore off soda that day! (Which was about a month ago).

Since then:

Since not drinking soda for a week, I had dropped about 3 lbs and was even more motivated. I started to play basketball with the students during recess and lunch and started limiting my portions on my meals (instead of two pizza slices, just one). And with another week of no soda and limited portions, I had lost another 3 lbs.

MFP:

My mother of all people introduced me to MFP and immediately I was blown away at how intuitive it was. Barcode scanning and entering was easy and having a daily calorie goal was just what I needed to show me just how much I was eating! Before I started limiting my portions, I was probably eating between 3500-5000 calories a day! Now, with my goal at 175 lbs (I was 155 in high school), my daily calorie goal is 1660. It has actually been pretty easy to maintain and thanks to Runtastic's Pedometer syncing flawlessly to MFP, I can keep track of all the exercise that I do seamlessly.

As of today, a day before my 33rd birthday, I am at 223 lbs and haven't felt like this in awhile. It is amazing what just dropping 14 lbs can do. I am no longer tired during the last part of my teaching day and I have more energy to interact and play with my daughters after I get home from school. For those of you who say "I can't do this" you can. I felt that way for 10 years. You just need something to trigger that inner motivation! Also, some of you might say how did you quit soda cold-turkey? I found something that still had bubbles yet 400% less sugar; Kombucha tea! My local eco-coffee house sells it and it is delicious and just at about 80 calories.

Exercise:

As far as exercise goes, I have already mentioned the pedometer app where it will keep track of my light walking/running, but I am gradually easing my way into p90x. What does this mean? It means that I am starting with the yoga and stretching for a few weeks, then moving into plyometrics, and then when I feel I can "hang", I will start with the standard workouts. I know it is a pretty intense workout, but I look forward to it!

I have three goals: The first one is 215lbs, then second is 200 lbs, and the final goal is 175lbs. I might post pictures but still am undecided. Why I am really here is to share my story, to look for support and to also give support to others.

Thank you for letting me share my story with you, and good luck to everyone! I know it is an old cliche' but I think it is true of my situation: If I can do it, you can too!

delvin2

Hey Brandon. Add me if you're looking for folks to connect with. I'm just over a week into this thing and have already experienced great results.