1 Year Anniversary - 130 lbs lost - Before / After Pictures - Story (LONG POST)

Hello fellow pal's,

Last January, 2014, I moved into a new house, and my brother got the bright idea of buying a digital scale, since we left our old one at the previous location. I'm still not sure why he decided to do that because we were both extremely obese. I stepped on the scale for the first time, and looked down to see 408... I immediately felt ashamed that I had let myself get to that point, it was unusual for me because prior to that moment I had never really cared about my weight.

Like many other Americans I had convinced myself that it was just genetics and I wasn't really that fat etc... I realized in that moment that all of those lies I had been telling myself, I was no longer going to accept. I WAS going to make a difference and I set out immediately on this journey.

The reason April is my Anniversary and not January is because it took me a couple of months to really get going, I did some research and got myself a gym membership etc, I started going to the gym and I told myself I don't care how stupid I feel or ugly etc, I was just going to do SOMETHING every day.

After a few months of just working out at the gym, doing some walking and doing the weight circuit at Planet Fitness, I realized I was going to have to make some serious diet changes. I had tried several diets before, but what really stuck for me was the IIFYM diet. Basically, eat what you want, just don't eat more calories than you burn and watch your protein levels... I could do that!

I stuck with the IIFYM diet until January of this year, using myfitnesspal to track my macros and calories, it REALLY opened my mind to just how expensive calorie wise some foods are. I have switched to Atkins recently after determining that I have a high sensitivity to carbs and feel fuller / more energetic on a high fat diet.

I am somewhat of a workaholic, so I don't really want to cook and eat a clean diet. The majority of my meals are out, either drive through or other restaurants, so it's not like you have to eat kael to lose weight, although you will be more healthy and I'm not advocating for my choice, simply explaining it's no excuse to not lose weight. I just got my blood work results back a few weeks ago and I have completely normal levels across the board, my blood pressure is great, sugar levels etc, and my doctor is very happy with where I am now.

I could not have made it to where I am now if it wasn't for the IIFYM diet and myfitnesspal, I owe both of these sites a lot. The reason I wanted to share my story is that I hope it inspires someone else out there who is where I was, that it shows how you can make a difference despite genetics and you don't have to do it

Unfortunately, I do have an umbilical hernia, some gnarly stretch marks, and I've always had excess tissue in my chest, which I believe I'll need surgery to fix, so I'm no swim suit model or anything, but compared to where I was before, it's night and day:

Before / After from the Front:





Before / After from the Side:





I still have about 25 lbs left to go for my goal, I'm hoping to be there around August / September!