3yrs and I have lost over 320 pounds! You can do it too!

I have lost 320ish pounds by changing out I eat, educating myself and working on my overall fitness.

In May of 2012, the path my life was taking changed. I had a flip switched in my brain, as I suddenly and heartbreakingly had this fear rush through me that my son had to defend his obese father to his friends. The thought brought tears to my eyes, as I imagined bringing more pain in my sons life, or him being embarrassed to be seen with me. I knew I couldn't have that! I love my son to much...

That lit the fuse, so I started looking through diets. Which one? Which one will get me to where I want to me. I mean I have tried almost all of them it seems in the past. They worked in the short term but I always gained the weight back. That's when it hit me, none of these diets worked for me because it wasn't something I could live with. If I am going to truly make this a lifestyle change then I need to change how I live forever, not just for a few months. So, I scheduled an appointment with a dietician so that I could educate myself on what a proper diet looks like, figure out things I may be doing wrong, and identify ways that I can incorporate the "must have' foods in my typical menu. That visit was instrumental in making sure my path was going to lead me down the right path.

I had my trigger moment, my education/diet plan and now I just needed keep my head on straight and keep myself motivated and focused on my goals which led me to create the Daves Road to Better Health page. On this page I have listed the things I wanted to achieve such as being able to ride a roller coaster or any ride for that matter with my son. Being able to take my wife to the ballet or theater, being able to play softball, buy clothes at a regular store, ride a motorcycle, the list goes on and on.

I am happy to say that I have been able to accomplish all of my little goals in the past 3 years! I have done all of things mentioned above, and I have found even more things to do that I could have never done when I was over 500 pounds.

I am not going to sit here and tell you that it has been easy for me, because it hasn't always been. I have struggled with many things through out this time. I know now that I was addicted to food, it was truly my drug of choice. I ate when I was sad, stressed, bored, happy, angry, depressed and occasionally when I was hungry. All of these emotions didn't suddenly stop when I started this lifestyle change. I had to find ways to control my eating during these times and channel those emotions elsewhere. I prayed a lot, I leaned on my family, I leaned on my friends. Sometimes, I leaned on perfect strangers on forums or my weight loss page. This all helped me gain control of my emotional eating habits.

I had to be honest with myself and own up to my mistakes. If I had a bad meal or day. I didn't allow myself to say well I will start back over tomorrow or worse next week. I started right back over and regrouped. When I had a dreaded plateau, I didn't throw in the towel and give up instead I stayed true to the course and eventually found my plateau would break and the weight loss would happen.

I had to be honest with my friends. If I was going over for dinner I asked what was being served so that I could either planning my day out right or possibly bring an alternative.

I don't have cheat days ever! If I want something I am going to have it. I just limit myself on the amount. Instead of eating the entire bag of chips, I eat a serving. Instead of eating a king size candy bar, I eat a piece of dove chocolate. Now, back to being honest with myself. I knew that I had what I call an avalanche food which was delivery pizza. I could eat a large and still be hungry. I knew I would have a hard time controlling myself so I did cut it out of my diet for about 2 1/2 years. Instead I made a healthier version at home. I had to do that until I was mentally strong enough to push the plate away

In the end, I am sooooo much happier. I am living a life that I never imagined being possible. I mean I celebrated my 3 year anniversary on a motorcycle in Washington DC! I mean how cool is that! I am not going to say I have my life back. I am going to tell you I have a life I never dreamed possible!

I want others to realize they can do this too. I want them to realize they are not alone. Food is an addiction that you can't run from or completely avoid. You have to eat to live while making sure you don't end up living to eat.

I am happy to say that my wife and I started a weight loss support group at our church so that we can hopefully help build that community of support locally and help others see that they too can get to where they want to be.

I know this is a very long post, but too many people are out there struggling with their weight. They feel lost, the feel scared, they feel abused. The abuse can come from themselves and from the cruel words and stares of random strangers. There are people that feel imprisoned and don't know they can break out. I just want people to realize they can do it! You can do it!

You deserve to be happy, to be healthy, to enjoy your life! So, go out there and make it happen! Please, make it happen for you, for your family, for your friends.