I'm back, obese person doing at least 4 months of low-carb

Hi all,

I'm back.... I am a life-long obese person. I have been obese from age 6 or 7 onward. I saw a movie last night about a "fat" kid in high school and his struggles. That kid only weighed 188lbs at age 14. I weighed about 280lbs by age 14 and by graduation at age 18, I was at least 320lbs and wearing size 54 pants. I had to buy from the "big and tall" section of the JC Penney catalog as a kid starting at age 12-13, because it was the only place I could find jeans that fit once I got over about size 42.

I struggled weigh weight loss many, many times. I remember listening to weightloss tapes at age 12, spending my summers walking around in 100degree temps in the neighborhood trying to exercise/sweat out the fat. I perhaps got slightly thinner, but the weight didn't melt off. I didn't drop clothing sizes.

Over the years starting from age 12, I've done weightloss tape diets, Richard Simmon's "Deal-a-Meal," Atkins (by the book), low calorie/fat diet, Quick Weightloss Centers program, untold numbers of supplements, including ephedrine-containing supplements in the early 2000's. If I eat a caloric intake, as suggested for weightloss, of around 1900 calories, I do not lose weight. I maintain my current 300lbs-ish status. In fact, I can eat poorly.... fast food, Big Macs, pizza and still more or less maintain weight so long as I don't gorge. I'd say I can eat from 2000-3500 calories a day without gaining. To lose, on a low-cal diet, I have to drop below 1600 calories consistently every day. I've done it before. I was down to about 278 back in 2013. I got lazy and gained some of that back. I got up to nearly 320 again before I decided to turn it around.

What I'm doing now to "kick start" my weight loss is a 4 month ultra-low carb diet. That is, I am eating NO breads, no sugars, and no starches that don't originate from vegetables. I am eating a very small amount of fruit, maybe 1/2 of an apple a day, on average. I am going to start using MFP to track my carbs & protein. I'm not concerned with fat intake and not overly concerned with the total calories, so long as they are not excessive.

Doing this "low carb" thing for a week and a half now, I've lost 9lbs. I'm at 300.0 today and I plan to be back to 278 by next month. My goal is 40lbs by Christmas.

I know everyone says it's not "safe" to lose weight quickly, but frankly, I find that to come out of the mouths of people who have very little or nothing to lose weight-wise. Sure, if you are 170 and need to get down to 145, you don't want to lose 10lbs a month. That's maybe too fast. But if you weigh 350, losing 10lbs a month is more than appropriate, if not a tad bit slow.

Thanks for your support. I know I'll get flack about the low-carbing, but the scale doesn't lie. I ate bacon-wrapped chicken and grilled vegetables last night (cooked myself), and this morning I was down in weight again.

To the finish line! BTW, after 4 months, I plan to go to a modified lower-carb, no-sugar diet, but adding back in healthy carbs, such as brown rice. My goal is 195lbs. I'm 40 years old. If I read 195lbs, it will be the first time since about age 11 that I was under 200lbs. Keep that in mind prior to, as a thin or moderately overweight person, giving advice to life-long obese people.

-Z