I hope this helps even one person

Long story short, I'm here for a reason. I started out as a 44-year old 318-pound lazy person with congestive heart failure. Having said that, I thought (in the beginning) that I would take the easy way out, jump on the Atkins band wagon, eat what I wanted and lose the weight fast, right?? Um, WRONG! I lost a whopping 6 pounds, and just stopped. Dunno why, but my body put on the breaks.

I never understood the whole calorie counting thing, so I decided to do some research. And once I found out that it was a lot harder than I thought it would be, I said to hell with it and made the decision to give it a go, up to and including giving up my cigarettes at the same time. Most people would say that this was a big mistake, but I say, if you're gonna get angry, do it all at once and get it over with.

So I've been with MFP since February 20th, and believe it or not (including the 6 lbs I lost on Atkins), I've lost a total of 81 pounds (if I did it correctly, the "during" photo should be below this post). I know this drastic weight loss seems WAY too fast, but let me explain: I used to eat NOTHING but fast food. I was probably taking in no less than ten to twelve THOUSAND calories a day. And I was about as sedentary as a house. All day every day, sitting around with a cigarette in one hand and a fork in the other. I went from that to eating completely healthy at least 6 times a day, not eating after 6pm, and exercising FAITHFULLY five days a week for an hour per workout. Plus, I'm under doctor's care, and I'm assured that all is well. I have had NO dizzy spells, NO physically ill feelings of any kind, and I'm getting stronger by the day. And rest assured, I'm NOT done - but I'm well on my way!

It amounts to this - you can live, or you can die. You have to make the decision which way you're gonna go, and how you're willing to back that decision up. I chose life...you can too!