'One' something...finally!

Weighed in this morning at 199.8 pounds. First time there has been a 'One' on my scale since I was in my 20's (thirty+ years ago). Less than 14 months ago I was within one all-you-can-eat buffet of 300 pounds.

I knew I was getting close to this number as last Saturday morning I was at 202.4. Had a good week and this morning I reached that sub-200 moment. When I started MFP last March I was at 285 and set my goal weight at 220 which at the time I thought that was a dream akin to winning the lottery. Reached that weight last July and kept going. This morning after stepping on/off the scale four times to confirm the weight I went and fetched my camera (had to wait until the weight locked in as my camera apparently weighs around 6 ozs).

I've been happy with the numbers on the scale for some time now and am focusing on maintaining, conditioning, fitness, and health. I've got a couple more 'goals' to acheive; the number of chin-ups I can do, going skydiving with my son, and maintaining the new-and-improved me. If it happens I lose a few more pounds that will be fine as I can still 'pinch and inch' in a number of locations. If it happens I add a pound or two of muscle weight that will be fine as long as the flab factor continues to be reduced.

In this posting it is my sincere hope that I can encourage somebody out there new to MFP and/or struggling. A year ago I was in bad shape physically and emotionally. I was worried about obesity related health issues, struggling with increasing weight levels, drinking too much, and in general quite depressed. What I had become was unacceptable to me and I was unhappy. I did work out some and tried to 'diet' (oh how I hate that word!). Then fate would have it to be introduced to this website and MFP has become the daily tool I needed to change my life. Pre-MFP of course I had heard of 'eating smart', 'increase your metabolism', 'proper excercise', etc., but I had never internalized or understood what any of that really meant. Daily use and study of MFP has changed that and in a matter of a couple months I changed decades of bad habits.

In the three months prior to MFP I had done a DIY diet and lost 9 pounds. In the first full week of utilizing the MFP food tracking tool I lost 4.5 pounds. It empowered me to relearn a lot of things and make changes. For example, I joined a gym for the first time and I hired a personal trainer (money well spent) who taught me how to excercise for maximum benefit. I now get up early every morning to either walk or do laps in the local high school pool. I eat well and never allow myself to get hungry.

Bottom line is this; since utilizing MFP nine months ago I've lost over 85 pounds, I can physically do things I haven't been able to do for years, I feel a whole lot better, look better, sleep a lot better, quit drinking, and am a whole lot happier.