I was sick and tired of being sick and tired (31/M 60+ lbs lost)

I've been overweight most of my life, and at times my BMI has crept toward morbidly obese. I always told myself "I'll start on Monday," or "This is just too hard, why even bother?" In 2007 I was supporting 270+ lbs on my 5'10" frame, and I was sick all the time. I couldn't walk up a flight of stairs without huffing and puffing and one day I felt so ill that I needed to go to the ER. That's the day that my life changed dramatically, I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes, my A1c was 12.1, which meant my average blood glucose level was somewhere in the range of 350. I was immediately put on metformin and was instructed to monitor my blood glucose 3-4 times per day. Within 3 months I dropped 30 lbs and had my A1c down to a manageable 6.5. I kept this up for a few years, maintained weight around 225 lbs and was generally happy and "healthy."

In 2010 my doctor left for a different clinic and I stopped going. I stopped tracking my blood glucose and stopped watching what I was eating since I thought that just by exercising I could take the weight off. I was wrong. I gained back 35 lbs and was around 260 lbs in 2011. I started MFP in 2011 and began losing weight again. I took up running and started training for 5 mile races as they are very popular in my area. I ran my first 5 mile race in December 2011 and kept going from there. It was a little up and down through 2012 and 2013, and I got another wakeup call in 2014 when I went for a yearly physical and my A1c had crept back up to over 9, my blood pressure was out of control, and I had high cholesterol. I immediately started logging and exercising again and lost 30 lbs, and was in the 215 lb range. I've been committing more time and effort to running lately and am now at 208 lbs, and for the first time in well over a decade my BMI is no longer in the Obese category. My BMI is 29.8, which is just inside the Overweight category. I'm striving for another 30 lbs for now, hoping to get down to around 180 lbs and evaluate where I stand then.

I've included a side by side facial pic to see the difference over 60 lbs has made in my appearance, it's funny, I think that now, almost 8 years after that first picture I look much younger and far healthier. I really regret the fact that I didn't take care of my body for so long, but my doctor thinks that with enough weight loss I should be able to kick my medications for diabetes and high blood pressure. I'm part way there with the blood pressure medication, as my dosage was reduced to 1/2 the initial dose earlier in the year.

Hard work does pay off, but you have to maintain. That's the biggest lesson I've taken away from this. Sliding back into bad habits will undo all the hard work put in. I've lived that cycle and this time I'm not going back.