45 Pounds Down ... 25 to go!

Thanks, everyone!

The best part about losing weight through structured calorie counting is that I feel a hell of a lot more confident in keeping the weight off this time than I did the last time I lost the weight. I feel much more educated this time and understand more about what actually is going on inside of my body and how I'm fueling it.

So thanks again for the kind words and good luck to all of you!

First thing I gotta say is you never looked anything but handsome. But you look totally amazing. Your hard work paid off.

Thank you! It's just always difficult for me to look at that "before" picture because of the fact that I was 180 just a few short years ago. So seeing that before shot just reminds me of how much I let myself go for awhile. I guess I'm more embarrassed by that really than by how I physically look in it.

That said, it also works as a pretty solid piece of inspiration not to allow myself to keep letting my weight yo-yo so drastically.

Going from 250 to 180 to 250 to 180 in, literally, less than a decade ... it's rough physically and mentally. So this time I'm pretty dedicated to not letting it go back up!

Congrats! Keep up the good work. Do you find it easier this time around or more difficult? In any event, good for you. Keep focused and determined and you will get back to 180.

Best regards,
Mark

Without a doubt, it's a million times easier this time around.

I dreaded starting a weight loss program again, because of how difficult it was last time. Last time, I had no idea what in the hell I was doing. I was letting Weight Watchers tell me what to do and really decide for me, without understanding the basics of how weight loss actually occurred. And I was working out so hard every day that I felt constantly beat to hell.

I hated that feeling so much that I was like "Ya know, I guess I'm not *that* fat! I can deal with it."

That's why finding MFP and learning about the science behind calorie counting was such a great thing for me. It helped me understand the process. And once I understood the process, and wasn't letting someone's "Program" (Weight Watchers) decide for me, it all mentally fell into place.

I no longer had that feeling of dreading diet/exercise, because I felt better educated about what I was doing.

Now I eat more than I ever did when I was on WW and I work out far less. And I'm still losing the same average amount of weight and I feel totally healthy doing it, instead of feeling constantly run down.

Beyond that, just the mental factor of knowing I'd lost 70lbs before made it much easier this time to conceive of the very idea of losing 70lbs.

When I lost the weight the first time, I hadn't been under 200lbs since I was 13. I was a huge kid. And that mental block was really difficult to get over. That constant inner voice shouting at me that I was fat, had always been fat, and will always be fat. It made it really difficult to believe I'd ever be an adult under 200lbs.

When I finally hit 199 that first time, I literally broke down and cried because it had been so inconceivable to me for so long.

But this time, I know I've been there. I was 180lbs just 4-5 years ago. And just knowing that it's a "been there, done that!" thing changes the way all of this feels mentally.

So, yeah, to make a super long story short:

Physically it's easier because I'm better educated, eating more, and working out less.

Mentally it's easier because I've done it before so I am 100% positive that I can do it again.