45 Pounds In 90 Days, 120 Pounds Lost In Total (pics)

Since I was 5 I have been clinically marked as obese. Growing up was hard. I suffered from a deconditioned heart muscle, due to my size. I was picked on and bullied every day, and because I was often the bigger person, I was then punished by the teacher. This led me to eating more and more, while at the same time, my mother put me on diet after diet, gym membership after gym membership. We went to nutritionists, hypnotists, doctors, and even a witch doctor. Yes, a witch doctor.

At the age of 13, I was 260 pounds and had a very large chest, gynocomastia (not sure of spelling). and had surgery to get that removed. I was working out every day, doing heavy weight lifting for thirty minutes to an hour a day. But, nothing seemed to work. No matter what I was doing, I couldn't figure out how to lose the weight. As I got older, I got taller, so I didn't look like I weighed 280 to 300 pounds.

At around 17, I had tried, South Beach diet, Atkins, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, Zone, Biggest Loser, and so many more (but I committed to none of them and lost and gained all the weight plus some). I finally had given up drinking soda and gained 10 pounds. I gave up eating meat and was still gaining weight. Finally at 18, I started running 2 miles a day and was still gaining weight. At 19 after six months of no meat, no soda, and running 2 miles a day, I got on the scale, and staring back at me in that ominous way that scales can glare at you, I saw 347 pounds staring back at me. At this point in my life, there were no pictures, there were no parties, I had no friends, I hated my body, and I didn't get what the heck was wrong. I thought I was doing everything right.

I went upstairs, I got all the diet books I could find and I locked myself away in the room. For weeks, I read diet book after diet book, bought books on nutrition, psychology, physiology, and as I started putting this information to work, I began to drop the weight. First 5 pounds, then 10 pounds, all the way down to 80 pounds loss. Then for about 2 years I kept that weight off, fluctuating up and down fifteen or twenty pounds. About two years ago, I did an extreme but unstructured weight loss plan, with no idea what I was doing. Every day my body ached, joints throbbed, I wasn't getting any stronger, I wasn't feeling any better, but I was losing weight. But it was unmanagable, and I dropped from 276 to 235 in about an 8 month period, but within six months, gained it all back.

Today, I've hit an all new low in my weight and an all new high in my fitness. In 3 months, I've lost more fat, gone down more clothing sizes, gained more lean body mass and strength, have a clear well organized plan that will take me through the rest of my life. On the 12th week of my weight loss journey. I learned from all my mistakes. I feel more energized, I feel excited to workout, my body is stronger, my joints are more protected, and I'm overall better.

My change started with understanding that i needed structured workouts, also, that I did better at high intensity workouts, which, at gyms was difficult because people could interrupt the flow. So, I began to use Beach Body workouts that a friend of mine had. Specifically Power 90 and Focus T 25. I began enjoying them a lot. But with the holidays coming, I just didn't set up time.

On December 27th 2013, I weighed myself and saw 274.2 pounds on the scale. And I decided I would commit to change permanently. I took up the best diet that I had found that I found worked for myself and that made the most sense to me. A diet referred to as Reverse Taper, pretty much my goal is to create a deficit of 30 calories for every pound of fat on my body. Taking my TDEE and such, I started the diet at a very reduced caloric balance. Which is why initially I was dropping 5 to 6 pounds a week. As my fat continued to drop off, my calories have continued to rise, and my body has continued to take shape. Also, as you'll notice and that I find amazing. The scars on my chest from my surgery have begun to lighten up as I've begun to get more and more in shape.

My starting measurements
Weight: 274.2
Waist: 48
Love Handles at Their Thickest: 50

Current Measurements
Weight 229.2
Waist 37
Love Handles: 40

Before (you can still see the scars on my chest) December 27th 2013



After March 19th 2014



This is only the beginning. I have a full two year plan to completely reshape my body and then a lifetime maintenance plan. As I travel a bit occasionally, I've started creating my own fifteen minute workouts as well that bring out the high intensity I need when I can't do a beachbody program. I start my next ninety days protocol next week. My diet and eating clean habits are getting better, stronger, and easier and easier to follow (finding hugely delicious and healthy foods that I love to eat. The old junk that I used to love doesn't even appeal to me 90% of the time).

This is my life now. One committed to fitness and health. And I'm never going back to the old ways again!