New guy here!

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Anycleavers
Anycleavers Posts: 38 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I've always been the fat guy all my life. I'm surprised I made it to 49 with my eating habits. You name it, I overdid it. Fast food, junk food, gorging, bingeing.

In January I was at 330. I'm tall, at 6'2" so I hid it well, but I was very unhealthy. I am now down to 263 and well on my way to my goal of 230. I never thought I would be going down this road, but here I am and it's so damn exciting!

It came about almost entirely by accident. I had a drawer in my kitchen that was full to the brim with dounuts, danishes, multiple kinds of cookies, snack cakes, at least 5 different kinds of chip. I kept that baby stocked and I was paying for it.

January came around, resolutions and all that. And I said to myself, "I wonder if I can go without dipping into the 'drawer' for a week." Well I did, wasn't easy, but I noticed my watch was a tiny bit loose. Thinking it was my imagination, I figured I go a little longer and see what happened. Well heck, after another week, there was a difference. Not much, maybe a fraction (hundredth) of an inch, but I could tell. That was the impetus. I just kept seeing how long I could go without eating from my junk drawer. I didn't change other eating habits, yet. Well it snowballed and before I knew it I was down 30 lbs. This was only by cutting out the junk food, so that shows you how much of it I was eating.

The real turning point came when someone at work mentioned that I look different. That blew my mind, I didn't think anyone noticed. One day soon after I was fooling around on my phone and came across MFP. This. This little piece of software has literally changed my life. Once I started tracking calories and more importantly, THINKING about what I was eating, the pounds started to come off. I'm down to 263 now with a goal of 230. I now feel great about the future. I have to go now, work calls. But I leave you with this thought. If I can do this, anyone can.

Cheers
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Replies

  • MichelleB82
    MichelleB82 Posts: 20
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    Hey

    Your story is very inspiring all the work is paying off well done :)
  • emilygh1974
    emilygh1974 Posts: 65 Member
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    AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :wink:
  • sweetd_cali
    sweetd_cali Posts: 323 Member
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    Hi! Great job so far :)
  • jekissa729
    jekissa729 Posts: 65
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    Great story!!! Keep up the good work:smile:
  • tiphgeorgecharlie
    tiphgeorgecharlie Posts: 3
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    Amazing, you should be so proud of yourself :smile:
  • APBTChampion
    APBTChampion Posts: 93 Member
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    Congratulations - Keep it up, we're here for you no matter what!
  • snipalicous
    snipalicous Posts: 69
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    Awesome! Very inspiring, Keep up the great work!
  • TreeHugger2013
    TreeHugger2013 Posts: 65 Member
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    That is awesome - but I'm sure it is nothing compared to how proud you must feel! Congrats ... hard work definitely pays off!
  • SherryR1971
    SherryR1971 Posts: 1,170 Member
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    Excellent! Welcome!!
  • gpteran
    gpteran Posts: 37
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    Absolutely inspiring! That's what I always suggest... small changes because they add up to less weight. You made what seemed to be a small decision and looking at for some it might be BIG and other SMALL. All it took was decision and you turned into a commitment to success! Great job... Can't wait to see what you look like once you hit your mark.
  • JohnnyBLean
    JohnnyBLean Posts: 67 Member
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    Kudos to you!
  • 01carla
    01carla Posts: 14
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    i read stuff like that and think to myself - will it ever be me able to tell that story?
    and know its only me that can make that happen,
  • Iron_Maiden
    Iron_Maiden Posts: 326 Member
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    Cheers to you! :drinker: You're not alone!
  • Jimmytreatingtons
    Jimmytreatingtons Posts: 128 Member
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    Great stuff, keep it going buddy!

    Hopefully the nice people on here will keep you going and you can do the same for other!

    Good luck, and fee free to add me if you like.
  • jerbear1962
    jerbear1962 Posts: 1,157 Member
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    Isn't it weird how such a small change can start that snowball effect. It's great that you've done this and I wish you luck getting down those past 30 pounds. Feel free to add me as a friend.
  • mexicalinina
    mexicalinina Posts: 19 Member
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    Welcome . . . what a motivating story. Feel free to add me!
  • ponderosakaren
    ponderosakaren Posts: 60 Member
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    Came across your post by accident and found it pretty inspiring! Love the snack drawer tale....I sense most of us have one of those and it seems to open and close and get empty all by itself! I'm sure you'll meet your health goals if you keep up the way you've been doing....you clearly have an iron will that you've been demonstrating nicely since January! Good luck with the rest of your journey...
  • ponderosakaren
    ponderosakaren Posts: 60 Member
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    Oh, and I forgot to add....if you'd like another friend and want to share with somebody half a world away then I can be that person! I live in Auckland, New Zealand...not too many of us kiwis on here but we're happy to hang with anybody as we're all in the same boat! cheers, Karen
  • Anycleavers
    Anycleavers Posts: 38 Member
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    Wow, thanks for all the kinds words and encouragement. You guys are incredible. Just some random observations.

    The thing that really clicked for me was seeing the numbers. While I'm not very good at math, I love some data. I look at data all day at work, I have my bike and car maintenance records in Excel, I use MInt for my finances, you get the idea. Geeky? Damn straight.
    So when I finally started keeping track of calories and just realized the 'secret' was just taking in less than I am expending, that my friends was truly a revelation. Its just numbers. I see the data laid out in front of me and it JUST MAKES SENSE. It's not esoteric, without definition, it's just simple math. That was when my mind opened up. It's very clear, I can't believe it took this long for me to find this out.
    It's almost like a game where I have a score to beat.

    Anybody that is going through what we are, will agree it's not easy, in fact it can be down right difficult to quell the desire to overeat, but at least I now know.

    I am now a MFP zealot looking to convert the unaware. Just kidding. ; ) But when people ask how this happened I do explain this software and show them how it works. Then it's all up to them. I have a guy at work that thanks me every time I see him for showing him this software. He's very fit and started running, from being diagnosed as obese.

    I have had a few episodes of backsliding, but the next day is one with no mistakes and I will start over fresh.

    Make small changes, gradually. It WILL make a difference.

    I have always loved to cook, now I just cook 'better'. Less butter, cheese, pastas and more veggies. I do have cravings once in a while. Like when my old friends Ben and Jerry are calling me over when I'm in the supermarket. I'll pick one up, turn it over, check the calorie count and put it right back. Thinking, "man, that's going to blow my numbers for the whole week, heck maybe the month."

    Ok, gotta go do work. I will friend everyone back when I get more time.

    Stick to the plan and keep a goal in your mind at all times.

    Cheers
  • sweetd_cali
    sweetd_cali Posts: 323 Member
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    I have always loved to cook, now I just cook 'better'. Less butter, cheese, pastas and more veggies. I do have cravings once in a while. Like when my old friends Ben and Jerry are calling me over when I'm in the supermarket. I'll pick one up, turn it over, check the calorie count and put it right back. Thinking, "man, that's going to blow my numbers for the whole week, heck maybe the month."

    Ahh, you've met my ex-boyfriends Ben and Jerry? lol, I do the same thing. I think about how long I'd have to work out to burn it off! Then I have a fudgsicle for 40 calories :)

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