Still a long way to go...

Hello everyone,

I was over 300 pounds by the time I was 19 and a ridiculous 6 months of crash dieting and 4 hour per day workouts got me down to 190, but it clearly wasn't sustainable.

Then, unfortunately, I was diagnosed with cancer (twice, testicular, then thyroid 9 months later) in my early 20s and I had no medical insurance at the time. Thankfully, I was able to beat the disease both times, but the financial and emotional strain drove me back to using food for comfort during 5 years of remission. Somehow, I got a girlfriend in this span and leaned on her far far too much for any semblance of happiness. She eventually broke up with me, citing my depression and my weight as reasons. By this point, I'd let myself get back up to 295 pounds. This was in June of 2010. By September, I was 325 pounds and my doctor flatly told me I was killing myself. Borderline diabetic (and diabetes runs in my family) and my blood pressure on a GOOD day was something 180+ over 110+. That was it for me.

My doctor knew I struggled with self esteem issues and a lot of depression, so rather than give me a bunch of drugs as "treatment," he put me on a program requiring at least six weeks at each step.

Step 1: Remove all sweets and sodas and replace with water.
Step 2: Change the way I eat. Don't look at it as a "diet" b/c diets eventually end. Just make smarter choices and aim for around 1400-1800 calories a day.
Step 3: Work in 60 minutes of cardio exercise.

I lost 25 pounds in step 1 from mid September to the end of October (I've since been told a lot of this was water weight).

Another 25 pounds from the beginning of November to the end of December (amazing given I had Thanksgiving & Christmas dinners in there). Unfortunately, I hadn't learned how to properly read food labels and what to avoid yet (other than sugar), so I reverted back to that "crash diet" I mentioned earlier.

I started exercising at the beginning of January doing some Leslie Sansone DVDs my mother loaned me. In total, I've lost 21 pounds since the beginning of January. I'm changing my workouts every month and I've signed up to start doing P90X in May after I run out of Sansone DVDs.

My job gave me an iPod Touch as a Christmas gift and I found the MFP app just last week. I always found the eating part to be the most difficult and this tool has been perfect for me.

As I type this, I weigh 254 pounds. I don't have a goal weight in mind. I just want something I've never had my entire life.

Abs.

I could go back to that massive crash diet and get everything off quickly, but I want to do things right this time so I can maintain it. Last time was a diet. This time is a lifestyle change. I truly believe I was blessed with a second chance at life (and I met several people in treatment, many of whom have passed on now, who won't or didn't get that chance) and I'm not going to waste it.

So hello everyone. I'm told this is much easier with other people to lean on, so here I am.