My year on MFP: 120 lbs lost (pics)

When I joined MFP last year (pretty sure it was late April), I weighed 370 lbs (I am 6'1" tall). I was actually down from 395 lbs in December. I was working hard in the gym, but wasn't tracking my food intake. Joining MFP coincided with finally getting my testosterone back up to normal levels after having had testicular cancer 18 months prior. Having normal testosterone levels allowed me to have more energy to workout and, combined with eating at 2500 calories per day, the result was I started to lose 2+ lbs per week.

Once I started to lose weight, the momentum built and I have continued to lose weight, pretty much uninterrupted, for one solid year. My "secret" has been three things:

- Set a reasonable calorie goal
- Log everything you eat
- Do something active EVERY day

I have used the TDEE method of setting a calorie goal and my goal has remained 2500 per day. At the start I was losing 2 lbs per week. Now that my weight is lower, I am losing roughly 1 lb per week. My diet is fairly close to 50/25/25, although when I am being really good, my protein is higher and my fat is lower. I've never really worried too much about trying to reduce my carb intake below 50%. Also, my diet is high in sodium. I often read on these boards how high sodium diets will "slow down weight loss." This is not true. If you have a high sodium diet, you will carry more water weight, but you'll still lose weight at the same rate. I've never worried about sodium intake.

I know there is a common belief on MFP that strength training - especially lifting heavy - always trumps cardio: that's not what I've found. I think for someone seriously overweight, cardio is king. My weight loss progress has always slowed when I have tried to reduce cardio. The elliptical machine has been my best friend. It's great because it allows you to work hard with low/no impact, which I firmly believe is important for someone who is 100+ lbs overweight. I cringe every time I read someone advising someone who is morbidly obese to attempt a walking or running program: I think that's only a recipe for getting injured. I now do cardio six days a week, I lift heavy 2x/week and do circuit training 2x/week. I wish I had found this "happy medium" on strength training many months ago. I hope posting this article will help someone else in a similar situation.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/weight-training-for-fat-loss-part-1.html
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/weight-training-for-fat-loss-part-2.html

I didn't really do measurement prior to starting my weight loss, although I believe I've lost almost 20 inches on my waist and 4 inches on my neck (given the changes in my pant/shirt sizes). My glucose readings under control with maximum doses of two different diabetes medications, I now take only the lowest dose of metformin and my glucose is in the non-diabetic range. To keep my blood pressure under control, I used to take max doses of three different medications, now I just take the lowest doses of two of those. Soon, I will probably be off both of those medications.

Here are the promised pics, which do a better job of telling the story than I ever could. I don't have my very first progress photo (although it is in my profile - you can see it there), but this one was taken roughly one month after joining MFP.









That's my story. I give a lot of credit to MFP, and more specifically to my supportive group of friends and those I have done weight loss challenges with on this site. Challenges are such a great opportunity to find supportive people with similar goals.

I have a very small friends list, so I probably won't take many people on after posting this. I am happy to respond to messages on here if anyone has a question they feel I can help with. If you do want to send a friend request, tell me why you think we really need to be friends

My plan is to finish my current challenge - the end date is July 4th - and then I'll be done with the weight loss portion of this journey. At that point, I will eat at maintenance calories and concentrate on getting stronger through a 5x5 Stronglifts program.

That's all. Thanks again to all who have helped me on here and good luck to everyone who is in the same boat I was in a year ago.