Almost There

While my story doesn't involve going from obese to 6 pack abs, for me, its a major victory. I thought I would share my story, in part to celebrate, but also to say thanks to the MFP developers and community for helping me get there.

In June 2013, I participated in my initial Ride To Conquer Cancer - its a 200km bike ride over 2 days. At the time I started my training in March 2013, I was weighing in at around 265. Over the next few months, I stayed at about the same weight, and couldn't figure out why the weight wasnt coming off.

In the "before" picture, I weighed in at 268. Over the next 6 months, I continued eating, packing on even more weight. I finally hit my heaviest ever at 278 by December 2013.

After reading a few articles about cyclists who lost massive amounts of weight, I decided that I would try and drop to 243 by my 43rd birthday (June 2014). It was more of a pie in the sky dream - I literally picked the number because it sounded neat.

So while I wrote down my goal, I didnt totally have a map on how to get there. With that, I started 2014 at 275 pounds.

My results were predictable. While I ate well, cycled etc, I really didn't lose much weight. Over the next 6 months, I lost about 12 pounds - far shy of my 32 lb goal. Worse yet, I had lost 5 pounds over the previous 12 months.

Finally, 137 days ago (June 26th, 2014), I decided I needed to get serious about this, otherwise, I would eventually give up this goal of losing weight.

I downloaded MFP and proceeded to figure out how I could lose 1.5 lbs per week.

The first 2 weeks were both tough and eye-opening.

Its amazing how many calories even "healthy food" can add to. I also found that although I was eating fairly well, my addiction to chocolate covered almonds was clearly the reason I wasn't losing any weight, despite biking 75km per week.

So, fast forward 137 days, and I've dropped from 263 on day 1, to 233 today.

My goal is to hit 225 by the end of the year. It will represent a loss of 50 pounds from the beginning of the year.



Lessons Learned:

• track everything, ideally, weigh everything you eat
• keep focused on what your goal is - there is a good reason why you are going through this change
• eat most of your calories by 1pm - dont understand the science behind it, but found i lost weight quicker when I did
• drink water - I drink 3.5 liters per day, 20% more on workout days, and 15% on warm days
• you will plateau - it happens, just keep following the plan, the weight will drop
• its not a race - if you are on track to lose a pound a week, dont get frustrated when you arent down 20 pounds after 3 weeks.
• there is nothing in the world like the feeling of trying on a pair of pants 1 size lower (I'll let you know about 2 sizes lower next year)
• there is nothing in the world like throwing away your 2XL shirts because you now fit into a large
• i survived Halloween because the extra calories those chocolate bars would have cost me simply werent worth it
• when I hit 243, I bought exactly 20 chocolate covered almonds (because i had lost 20 pounds and because it was my original goal). It barely filled the bottom of the bag. For the 350 calories it cost, it really wasnt worth it. Odd for a guy who would have taken 3 large scoop full - a week!
• your mind will play tricks on you - when you look in the mirror, you will be expecting to see a fat guy - over time, you'll start to see the real picture.
• surround yourself with supportive people - not all your friends and family will honestly support you - despite what they say - look at their actions. Its the support that is key.
• you'll be amazed at the amount of energy you will start having
• you'll be amazed at how well your reflexes work
• enjoy the compliments that start coming your way - its those words of encouragement that mean so much. You've earned it, so enjoy it.

Once I hit 225, I plan on adding an extra 100 calories per day for each pound I lose after that as I slide into maintenance mode. Once I hit 220, I will go full maintenance mode. I'm trying to overshoot by 5 pounds because I expect Christmas will be tempting. If I gain a few pounds over the holidays, I have a few extra pounds to work with, without "eating" into my gains.

My plan is to lose 50 pounds in 2014 - I plan on never finding it again - if that means I use MFP until the end of time, so be it!

Chris