Near 400 to 220ish.

Thanks all. It's always uplifting to get such great comments! WARNING: This is gonna go long...

Couple things people asked: How'd I do it? No secret. You already know. Eat less, move more. At first I didn't care two wet rat's *kitten* about what I ate, just as long as I ate slightly less of it. I ate like your typical overeating American couch monster. Ice cream and chicken wings (with creamy, succulent OMG STOP TALKING ABOUT IT blue cheese!) were my two vices. In the first few months I worked at eliminating those. Then I started exercising (by which I mean waddling on a treadmill, because at near 400 lbs what I did wasn't really walking!).

After that it was just small, gradual changes. More veg, lower fat meats, cutting some snacks here and there, learning to get through longer periods without grabbing a bite. Drinking water. LOTS. OF. WATER. Increasing the exercising. Eventually I got to the point where joining a gym and lifting weights seemed viable. Started small and slow. The only "secret" is to make one or two small changes at once, make them into habits, and THEN make another change. I see people hit a wall because they try to do it all at once. "THAT'S IT I'M ONLY EATING SALAD AND RYVITA FOREVER FROM STARTING...NOW!" And then they get three hours in, freak out and go hit KFC for a family meal.

Or maybe that was just me.

What I have not done: eliminate any food or food groups from my diet. I eat pizza. I eat ice cream. I eat refined white flours and sugars. The difference is, now I eat them once in a while, not all da every day. For example, the other day I grabbed a big fresh tuna steak from the market along with an avacado. I'd been eating pretty well that week, and I was looking for a small reward. And then I saw these organic sea salt potato chips. A small bag, 300 cals total for the bag. I'd done cardio that morning and lifted weights that afternoon, so in the cart those chips went. I got the salty/crunchy thing I wanted, but the portion was controlled. even if I wanted more, too bad. The bag was empty. That's a big part of it...controlling portions. And I try to go higher protein, lower carbs, but I'm not obsessing. Some days it's 50% PRO, some days it's 50% CHO. On average I think you could say my diet is around 50% PRO, 30% CHO and 20% FAT. Days where I ride 40-50 miles the PRO drops and the CHO goes up but I try not to micromanage that.

However, I count and weigh EVERYTHING. Unless I'm eating out, in which case I either photograph it so I can make my best guess later, or I use what I've learned to make a best guess at how much of what is in what I am eating.

OH! Side note: I also figured out how to eat at the local Chinese buffet! First I avoid anything that is covered in cheese or sugary sauce, etc. I also avoid the highest fat items, although I eat plenty of fat! They do takeout, so one day I made a plate of what I like to eat, took it home and weighed each thing. I did my best to guess at salt/soy sauce/etc. and then really worked at memorizing what it looks like. I've done this enough times that I can make a 700 calorie plate that is half protein half vegetables now in my sleep. I can scale that up or down depending on my activity levels that week, or my plans for the next few days.

I've also gone back to school (nutrition & fitness. Should have a DTR certification in 2 yrs and I will be training as soon as I *look* the part, maybe by this winter). Which brings me to another question; How do I stay motivated? That's complicated. But I can give you a few things that help.

1. I love, love, love clothes. I'm a guy who likes to shop. You can't find truly great clothes - casual or dress - in 5x. And lets be honest, while I don't look down on anyone who is big, we all know that clothes work better on bodies that are on the smaller side of the spectrum. I hunt the Goodwill and Salvation Army stores around me like a crazed animal...I've replaced my entire wardrobe 4 times at a fraction of what it would've cost me new. Dead Man's clothes? Not a problem. I have a washing machine and I know how to use it. So clothes keep me looking ever down the road to success.

P.S. I am also a shoe *kitten*. Apologies for the language if you're offended, but that is the precise and exact term for it. Goodwill & the SA keep me in classic, well-made shoes for pennies on the dollar! I would sell my body to diseased sex tourists in Amsterdam for the right pair of shoes. Well...maybe not. Let's hope it never comes to that. I don't want to know what I would do.

2. Cycling. You cannot climb hills/mountains well if you are heavy. The laws of physics are not in your favor no matter how strong you are. The lighter you are, and the more of your weight is muscle, the better you will be at going up. And in order to experience the thrill of going down at 40-50mph, first? You gotta go up. I hate hills. I like to pretend I'm time-trialing on a nice flat 25 mile route I have mapped out. But even in that style of riding, being lighter with more muscle helps you go faster. So that motivates me...getting faster on the bike is something I crave.

3. My wonderful, brilliant, amazing and sexy wife. I am punching way, way above my weight class (ha!) with her. She's frigging hot, like legit hot, like "other dudes hit on her in front of me at the bar when we go to karaoke" hot. She loved me when I was enormous, and she loves me now, and I want to make sure I don't drop dead when I am 55. I don't want her to have to be a young widow, nor do I want to cheat the two of us out of growing old together. She got sick ten years ago, and I quit life (lost my business, almost lost the house) to tend to her. we both came out the other side of that better, smarter, stronger and more bonded. I'm not going to let the progress we have both made go to waste by dying young.

And that's too damn much writing. Wow. That was like a freaking therapy session. Do I have to pay all of you $95 for the 50 minutes?

BTW, I don't open my food diary, but I am an open book, so if anyone wants to ask a question that they think is too personal? No such animal. I'll answer virtually anything about myself.