Tired of being fat so here is my story...

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johnnyr24
johnnyr24 Posts: 90 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hello everyone. My name is John but people who know me call me Johnny. I am a 24 year old college student who comes on a mission. I think something smacked me aside the head or maybe it was just that I saw the light at the end of the tunnel because somehow I ended up here making a profile even though I never thought I would.

My current weight is 215 lbs but when I was 15 I used to be one sexy teenager who weighed about 140 lbs. I have gained so much weight over these past few years. In high school people were all over me for my cute and good looks. But the stress of me (at the time) still living at home with my moms "too many rules" and just stress of work and school was getting to me. When I get up in the morning I look to the mirror ashamed to even look at myself.

I lack motivation. The pizza place is right across the street from where I live with the Chinese place right next door. I managed to take all my takeout menus and rip them up into pieces and throw them away. I gotta start somewhere. Seeing how I used to look when I was 15 and now how I look at 24 is depressing to me. I love the way I used to look. The more I try to work out the less it happens. I am at a lack of willpower. My friend once ran a 25 mile marathon while I sit back and watch him finish. But me? I can barely make it from here to the nearest stop sign without being out of breath.

Maybe someday I want to complete a marathon like my friend. Maybe I want to go back to being sexy 140 lbs guy like I was at 15. I have had enough and am tired of living this way. I have lost so many friends and potential dates due to my weight alone. Yet here I am feeling all alone in this cold hard place we call earth wondering where to go from here hoping to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Just looking for someone who can relate. I need to lose those 75 lbs I gained somehow no matter how long it takes. Well thanks for reading about me. Hope you are all well this afternoon.

Replies

  • rle2512
    rle2512 Posts: 44 Member
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    hey guy! good for you, gotta start somewhere. I am on the same journey started sort of in the same place as you are. I used to be a varsity soccer player at 16. 140 lbs on a good day, Had two babies fresh out of high school back to back...started a desk job, "no time to work out" "no time to cook" got my self up to 196 lbs. Over the past year with diet and excersize ive gone down to 158. I have 18 more lbs to lose before im at my goal. Couch to 5k is a good program. I started it with my best friend, we started only being able to run 2 minutes at a time, we can now run 8 miles straight. (6months progress and going) Get rid of the junk, start slow, dont kill yourself with the diet.
  • Palagi18
    Palagi18 Posts: 3
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    Just start off slow. I mean, the start of December, I decided to diet for the Advent season. My starting weight was 209. now that it's December 13, I'm down to 198. All I did was cut out ALL junk food, eating out, meat, except for seafood, but I eat a lot of vegetarian food. I don't eat after 7p.m. I hardly work out, due to the fact I work two full time jobs. But my first job causes me to move around and be on my feet. So, that's kind of a form of exercising. Drink plenty of water, that's all I drink really.

    But I do want to get to a reasonable weight and actually feel good about myself. But good luck and hope any inputs you've gotten will help you achieve your goal :)
  • chasethesky125
    chasethesky125 Posts: 59
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    Welcome aboard! The fact that you're here is progress :) It'll be a slow journey, but every second will be worth your results in the end! I've never really been at that "healthy weight" but I used to be a soccer goalie (lol the least amount of movement possible in the world of soccer)
  • WildlyCurly
    WildlyCurly Posts: 151 Member
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    I too was amazing looking and fit when I was a teen. I was skinny, beautiful and athletic. I was a great hockey player, then I got injured. So I became depressed and ate a lot, it did not help that I attended culinary school where food was EVERYWHERE.

    I am also a fan of Chinese food and Pizza like you. We have a lot of similarities in our stories. Let me tell you, if I can lose weight you sure as hell can. I started off weighing a lot more than you, and I can guarantee you that I am way shorter (I am 5'1)

    In august I made a choice to lose weight and I started out at 238! I am now 180.8! It took a LONG time, almost 4 months to lose it!!! but it was worth all those days of hard work. I still have quite a lot to lose. I have about 83 more pounds to lose but I won't give up.

    Good luck on your journey, I know you will succeed :)
  • Maddius
    Maddius Posts: 78 Member
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    G'day Johnny, I related to your story when you spoke of looking in the mirror and feeling ashamed. You've taken the first step to getting your new body mate and more importantly gaining the fitness to do Anything you Want. It's all about discipline in self and maintaining the focus on where you want to get to. It's not an overnight thing, but if you're prepared for some ups and downs you will find the change you want. On exercise start slow, be content with even 5-10 minutes 3 times a week to begin building a new habit, then start to stretch the exercise time out. MFP is a Great resource and there are some Amazing people on here to help. The one thing I've adopted is to Never Give Up. Good luck mate.
  • johnnyr24
    johnnyr24 Posts: 90 Member
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    hey guy! good for you, gotta start somewhere. I am on the same journey started sort of in the same place as you are. I used to be a varsity soccer player at 16. 140 lbs on a good day, Had two babies fresh out of high school back to back...started a desk job, "no time to work out" "no time to cook" got my self up to 196 lbs. Over the past year with diet and excersize ive gone down to 158. I have 18 more lbs to lose before im at my goal. Couch to 5k is a good program. I started it with my best friend, we started only being able to run 2 minutes at a time, we can now run 8 miles straight. (6months progress and going) Get rid of the junk, start slow, dont kill yourself with the diet.

    Thank you for the kind response I appreciate it. This couch to 5k program sounds great although around here it is much too cold outside and snowing a lot lately so I would have to see if they even have such a program in here since I live about 45 minutes away from New York City. But this is great to hear from someone who has been where I am now and to hear that change is possible and that most importantly I am not alone in this journey. Gives me hope and I agree I won't kill myself with the diet. I am trying to get back into the gym routine so I am taking baby steps for now. Thanks for the reply :)
  • johnnyr24
    johnnyr24 Posts: 90 Member
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    Just start off slow. I mean, the start of December, I decided to diet for the Advent season. My starting weight was 209. now that it's December 13, I'm down to 198. All I did was cut out ALL junk food, eating out, meat, except for seafood, but I eat a lot of vegetarian food. I don't eat after 7p.m. I hardly work out, due to the fact I work two full time jobs. But my first job causes me to move around and be on my feet. So, that's kind of a form of exercising. Drink plenty of water, that's all I drink really.

    But I do want to get to a reasonable weight and actually feel good about myself. But good luck and hope any inputs you've gotten will help you achieve your goal :)

    Thank you dear for taking the time to respond to me. I use the gym at school. I believe it's about $25 a semester for students and this gym has everything a regular gym has. I am doing my best not to eat after 7 pm but it depends on the day. Sometimes I work all afternoon and do not get a break until I get home after 7 sometimes but I always pack me something to go and after 7 I am only drinking water. It seems hard because food is on my mind so when I try to think of something else I feel like I am hungry even if I am not. I am always on the go and I do eat a lot and I mean a lot of junk or fast food for a college student. If I am busy and do not have time to cook myself something then the fast food or school campus food seems like the quicker option but I am starting to make my meals a few days in advance to save time. I always grew up hating veggies unlike my sister who loves them so that is my weakness but I am working on it. Thanks for the input.
  • johnnyr24
    johnnyr24 Posts: 90 Member
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    Welcome aboard! The fact that you're here is progress :) It'll be a slow journey, but every second will be worth your results in the end! I've never really been at that "healthy weight" but I used to be a soccer goalie (lol the least amount of movement possible in the world of soccer)

    Thanks for responding. In high school I was on the basketball team and I also did track and field which was good. I used to actually enjoy these things but then I became so unfit these things became hard to do and now I no longer do them. But I will not stop here. The fact that I am at my lowest point in life and that I came here to make a profile shows me that I am ready to give up the battle and win this thing for good. Thanks for the input :)
  • johnnyr24
    johnnyr24 Posts: 90 Member
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    I too was amazing looking and fit when I was a teen. I was skinny, beautiful and athletic. I was a great hockey player, then I got injured. So I became depressed and ate a lot, it did not help that I attended culinary school where food was EVERYWHERE.

    I am also a fan of Chinese food and Pizza like you. We have a lot of similarities in our stories. Let me tell you, if I can lose weight you sure as hell can. I started off weighing a lot more than you, and I can guarantee you that I am way shorter (I am 5'1)

    In august I made a choice to lose weight and I started out at 238! I am now 180.8! It took a LONG time, almost 4 months to lose it!!! but it was worth all those days of hard work. I still have quite a lot to lose. I have about 83 more pounds to lose but I won't give up.
    Good luck on your journey, I know you will succeed :)


    It is good to find people here who relate to me and people who understand what I am going through and just to know I am not alone. I am glad you shared your story thank you for that this gave me a boost of confidence and seeing as how you are not done I know that once I get started I can get motivated to be where I need to be. Thanks for sharing.
  • johnnyr24
    johnnyr24 Posts: 90 Member
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    G'day Johnny, I related to your story when you spoke of looking in the mirror and feeling ashamed. You've taken the first step to getting your new body mate and more importantly gaining the fitness to do Anything you Want. It's all about discipline in self and maintaining the focus on where you want to get to. It's not an overnight thing, but if you're prepared for some ups and downs you will find the change you want. On exercise start slow, be content with even 5-10 minutes 3 times a week to begin building a new habit, then start to stretch the exercise time out. MFP is a Great resource and there are some Amazing people on here to help. The one thing I've adopted is to Never Give Up. Good luck mate.

    Thank you for taking the time to respond to me I am glad I could just relate to people and that people can relate to me at some point or another. Right now I am taking baby steps getting back into the gym. It is not easy but I know ti is worth it. I guess being so low in my life and having to see myself like this for so long eventually made me snap at myself and say enough is enough and that is why I am here. Just glad I can have people let me know that I am not alone which is great and makes me feel better about myself. I thank you for posting to me.
  • LVCeltGirl
    LVCeltGirl Posts: 473
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    Johnny,

    Welcome to that first step of your lifestyle change. If you're using the school gym, then you can probably do the Couch to 5k program. You can find good free guidance for it if you have a smartphone and you can use a treadmill (I'm assuming they have some cardio machines) instead of a track (that cold weather is a great deterrent and we want to help take away your excuses). Also, if you have internet, then start looking up workouts you can do at home. There are a lot of them out there that require minimal space to do. I'm trying to learn planking which uses a lot more muscles than most people think.

    Reach out, add people as friends, build a support system. That's one of the greatest things about MFP for me. I know that the friends I've made on here will give me a pep talk whenever I need it. All I have to do is update my status and they'll cheer me for my weight loss, they'll cheer me for exercising and logging it and they'll give me ideas on how to turn a bad day around.
  • johnnyr24
    johnnyr24 Posts: 90 Member
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    Johnny,

    Welcome to that first step of your lifestyle change. If you're using the school gym, then you can probably do the Couch to 5k program. You can find good free guidance for it if you have a smartphone and you can use a treadmill (I'm assuming they have some cardio machines) instead of a track (that cold weather is a great deterrent and we want to help take away your excuses). Also, if you have internet, then start looking up workouts you can do at home. There are a lot of them out there that require minimal space to do. I'm trying to learn planking which uses a lot more muscles than most people think.

    Reach out, add people as friends, build a support system. That's one of the greatest things about MFP for me. I know that the friends I've made on here will give me a pep talk whenever I need it. All I have to do is update my status and they'll cheer me for my weight loss, they'll cheer me for exercising and logging it and they'll give me ideas on how to turn a bad day around.

    Let me start by saying that yesterday I checked the weather and the temperature outside was about 32 degrees and a few days before it was closer to 20 degrees out. I went outside today just to check my mail from the mailbox of my building and it was so cold I swear it felt like you could die from how cold it felt. Yet somehow when I go on a drive to the store I see people running outside as if it was the dead middle of summertime or something. I have no clue how they find the energy to muster through the cold and snowy times but they do it so I know if they can do it I have no excuses for myself no matter how cold it gets. When I am at home I do zumba as I have the workouts at home.

    When I am at school I use the gym as it is open to the public but students get the student discount and the gym pretty much has everything a regular gym has only it is not as big as a regular gym. I will have to ask around about the couch to 5k program. On my phone I just downloaded a c25k app from the appstore that gives you a workout routine to stick to and tells you what to do to reach the 5k goal. I will have a look into that and see how it goes for me. Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate everyone's encouragement. Tonight I got tempted to order a pizza from across the street but I was a good boy to myself and ordered a salad instead. Yay me lol.
  • JJJJ25
    JJJJ25 Posts: 37
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    Another thing that might be helpful is to learn how to cook a few simple meals. A protein, carb, and vegetable. Do you have access to a kitchen? It will save you money, as well as give you a useful skill.

    As for exercise, try all sorts of things until you find the one activity you love. You will stick to something if you like it. I used to equate running with fitness, and forced myself to run for a couple of years. Hated every step. Then I found weightlifting. I'm happy doing powerlifting routines, with lots of walking and short intense bursts of cardio (i.e. sprints) every now and then. But I do not force myself to run anymore.

    Good for you for getting started. Take it one day at a time. Don't give up.
  • Gingermilander
    Gingermilander Posts: 7 Member
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    I need to get back into things. The past couple weeks I haven't been doing so well. I had Chinese and Pizza today actually :( My husband quit his job and is suffering from OCD and Anxiety which has caused me to work my *kitten* off running an in home business. This time of year is so slow that I'm starting a full time job Mon and having a hard time leaving the stay at home mom world and working 5 days a week plus 2 days a week doing parties while my husband becomes the stay at home dad and is having a hard time dealing with his issues. My kids are getting older now (6, 3, and 1) and my daughter turns 4 on Mon when I start work. Things have been stressful and I'm not very good at eating well during this time. Hard to stay motivated. I was working out 5x a week! Now I'm not. I feel like because of my husband though I am dong everything!
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,472 Member
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    sexy? and want it back?
    well do it
    think about you
    and only you
  • johnnyr24
    johnnyr24 Posts: 90 Member
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    Another thing that might be helpful is to learn how to cook a few simple meals. A protein, carb, and vegetable. Do you have access to a kitchen? It will save you money, as well as give you a useful skill.

    As for exercise, try all sorts of things until you find the one activity you love. You will stick to something if you like it. I used to equate running with fitness, and forced myself to run for a couple of years. Hated every step. Then I found weightlifting. I'm happy doing powerlifting routines, with lots of walking and short intense bursts of cardio (i.e. sprints) every now and then. But I do not force myself to run anymore.

    Good for you for getting started. Take it one day at a time. Don't give up.

    I have access to a kitch yes. What I do not have very much access to is time. I am a very busy guy between work and school and it seems that going for that quick fast food bite or eating something quick at the cafe on campus is faster and saves me the time not the money.I am thinking about cooking my meals in advance from now on to save me the time this way I do not have an excuse as to why I had to eat out when I can pack a healthier meal for me on the go. I try not to eat after 7 so if I am at school late night or other days in the week when I work late sometimes I come home without having eaten and all I do is drink water and go without eating that night although I know that is not the healthy way to do it I will work on fixing that. Thanks for hte input.
  • johnnyr24
    johnnyr24 Posts: 90 Member
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    I need to get back into things. The past couple weeks I haven't been doing so well. I had Chinese and Pizza today actually :( My husband quit his job and is suffering from OCD and Anxiety which has caused me to work my *kitten* off running an in home business. This time of year is so slow that I'm starting a full time job Mon and having a hard time leaving the stay at home mom world and working 5 days a week plus 2 days a week doing parties while my husband becomes the stay at home dad and is having a hard time dealing with his issues. My kids are getting older now (6, 3, and 1) and my daughter turns 4 on Mon when I start work. Things have been stressful and I'm not very good at eating well during this time. Hard to stay motivated. I was working out 5x a week! Now I'm not. I feel like because of my husband though I am dong everything!

    I am sorry to hear about the situation you are currently dealing with. I hope that with time things get easier and better for you and I would hope that you get the motivation you need to stay doing what you need to do. I hope that your husband is able to resolve his problems and able to feel better soon. I tell you I am single and not looking for anyone at the present time and I thought I was going through a rough patch but reading your response reminds me that I am not alone and that there is always someone with a bigger struggle. But hang in there I know you can do it and will be fine. Hopefully everything works out for you. Best of luck and thanks for responding.
  • johnnyr24
    johnnyr24 Posts: 90 Member
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    sexy? and want it back?
    well do it
    think about you
    and only you

    The issue I once had is I used to love. I loved too much and that was just it. It's like cupid came down and struck me with tons of arrows and it was hard. I met someone very special who was a dear friend of mine and I feel hard for her. I used to tell her how beautiful she was and how I thought she was amazing and at some point i stopped and just admitted I was in love with her. She told me she was not interested in being more then friends and that she had her mind on someone else so I was thinking to let it go. But then I got this sudden rush of motivation that if I somehow lost weight and was no longer considered above my weight for my age that she would find me attractive and ask me out.

    I lost a ton of weight and she noticed and complimented me but when it came time to me asking her out again she said she was not interested no matter what I do. So that is when I got into this sadness more so a depression over her saying no to me asking her out again so I began to eat and eat until I was about to explode and before I knew it I had gained all my weight back and then some. Now a days I no longer use people as motivation because I feel that if they let you down then you are all by yourself without that person and you may lose your motivation which proved to be the case for me. So now I self motivate myself. I try my best to use myself as motivation.
  • SBMarie93
    SBMarie93 Posts: 16
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    We aren't very far apart in age and our stories are kind of similar. I'm gonna friend you and if you have any questions at all message me or post on my page or something. Workout idea's, random chats, I'm here.

    And if you go on my page don't let my excessive work out ideas scare you. I'm one of those people where I don't realize how long I should really work out. I have days I go 30 mins for a day, and I have days where I just go like Forrest Gump.

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