Do you believe in a TOTAL LIFE CHANGE? Neither did I!

brandonjclark
brandonjclark Posts: 6
edited September 28 in Introduce Yourself
Sup wit it? Lolz... Hey all, I'm a newbie to this site and have been using myfitnesspal on the web and my iPhone for about three days now. Here's a little back-story so you know where I'm coming from.

Around 15 years ago I got into drugs heavily. First pot and beer, then harder things like coke and speed. I graduated to crack and heroin at a ripe 'ole age of 22. I quit long enough for someone to find interest in me and had a child. Apparently, I wasn't quite ready to grow up yet and lost that family to drugs and a horrid *temper. Anyways, life went on....

Sort of.... I started to eat my way into hell as I sank further and further into depression due to losing my son as his mother left and took him to another state (never married). I cried myself to sleep so many nights and cried myself awake on others with the help of cocaine here and there.

To make a long story short, I'm lucky to be alive. That brings us up to around 2007....

Then I met my angel.... Now, I'm not sure if it was because I started to change or if she came along and I changed for her, but either way I don't really care! My Lynda has known me since I was actually a pretty cool guy in High School and I suppose she saw the future potential or latent past. Again, I don't really care. What I do care about is that along with her my life is now a totally different film. We went from Rocky Horror Picture Show, Showgirls, Freaky Friday, etc.... to Gone with the Wind, the Firm or ..... well, you get it....

It's been three years since I've taken any drugs, and I'm an active drug hater at this point. Just last July (that's right, almost a year now) I quit smoking cigarettes after inhaling that poison over thirty times a day for 17 years, one of my personal favorites. Instead of working a pay-nothing hard to get ahead position at a toner factory, I now run one of the largest private manufacturing computer networks in the world and am able to afford nearly anything I'd like. (quittting smoking really helped that out) And, to top it all off, we have two new children together whom I love more dearly than life itself and I even get to spend nearly every other weekend and some weekdays with my first son as his mother has moved back into the State.

So, what I'm trying to get at after all of this is that you are all meeting me near the end of my TOTAL LIFE CHANGE, as I only have one more thing to transform, my body. I've tackled *nearly every difficult thing in my life and now I'm ready to change my weight for the better!

Now, I'm not a dietitian or a professionally trained athlete so I will need some help from anyone who will give it. Around six months ago I started p90x but hurt a bone in my foot doing the "no-heels" lunges exercise in the Legs&Back video and put it off for my foot to heal. I started it back up again around a month ago but this time I've been taking it a little easier on myself. I perform the same exercises except my "week" stretches out much further as I only perform one days' worth exercise every other day. So if Monday I do Chest and Back, then Wednesday I do Plyometrics and Friday I do Shoulders and Arms.

So here's my CURRENT fitness situation:
age: 33
weight: 286lbs
height: 6'1"

See, the reason I came here is because despite my hard efforts in p90x (Believe me, I work hard, I'm a military vet!) I don't really follow the eating portion and most, including myself, would say I eat like *kitten*. So, I'm hoping that following myfitnesspal on my phone and the web will keep my goals in my head and allow me to reach my goals. See, when I quit smoking last summer I so by following my quit smoking phone app and it worked a MIRACLE. I figure I can fight each individual battle for my belly just like I did smoking. Well, since I spoke about goals, here they are:

Here's my FUTURE weight goal:

205lbs!

In addition, I expect I'll be happier but I might be putting too much on my weight as far as the happiness part. It might have a lot to do with the amount of stress I'm dealing with but that's another topic:)

Now, I understand that I want to set smaller milestones and reach those first but I'm not sure I'll be happy until I reach just over 200.


Alright, now that you know basically EVERYTHING about me, tell me how your experiences compare or how you can help me to attain my goals.

:bigsmile:

Replies

  • smbland
    smbland Posts: 22 Member
    I am very happy to hear that you have overcome your demons. We all have them, and it's great you admit to them. I have a friend like you, and it's really sad that I'll probably end up burying her unless she gets a kick in the groin like you.... That's a whole other story though. Anyways!
    I've been on here for about 2 weeks, met a few new people, and I must say, having the access from my iPod to the computer REALLY helps. It keeps me in check, and plus being on here, I'm not just proving to myself that I can do it, I'm proving it to everyone else too.. It's a mind game haha. The greatest thing, that I think, is the food database, practically everything is on here, and you will be astonished when you put in your normal day to day food intake and how badddd it is.... especially restaurant food, that has been the biggest eye opener. Also, seeing my actual calories burned and such from exercise makes it more attainable, and more real.. I really love this site, and in the last 2 weeks I've lost 6 lbs, and I believe staying here I will be able to meet my goals.
    Good luck, and again I am sooo happy for you. Welcome to My Fitness Pal, and if you need a pal, feel free to add me :):):):)
  • chovest81
    chovest81 Posts: 99
    First of all....Congrats! you have come very far in life. good luck with your weight loss goals and future goals! I have been one that eats away my problems...that is a hard cycle to break but i am working on it. I still find myself upset adn want to reach for a back of doritos or ice cream. But...its all a work in progress
  • hbrittingham
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
    Congratulations on quitting drugs! That is an awesome feat and should be commended more than anything. I am so proud of you!

    Enjoy your new journey. I know I am. I quit smoking 4 years ago and promptly gained 35 lbs. I am taking it off and for good. Just like I quit smoking 4 years ago, for good.
  • brandonjclark
    brandonjclark Posts: 6
    Wow! Instant support! Just add water:)

    Good to hear back from people already, thanks!

    smbland, thanks for the words and give your friend a good kick in the butt to get going on her life change.

    choveest81, have you had any success with curbing your eating responses with any particular technique, replacement habit or anything else?

    hbrittingham, I'm glad to know others out there can appreciate the hard effort it took to quit smoking....

    I too gained around 40 pounds after I quit but like my doctor said, that's easier to get rid of.


    *One more impatient question I have that I could undoubtedly answer by quickly scanning thousands of threads/topics:

    Is my "daily goal" supposed to be a thing that I work to match every day or stay below? Like I said, NEWBIE!
  • smbland
    smbland Posts: 22 Member
    I have a hard time REACHING my daily goal, I'm always under!!!! You should always try to stay at your calorie goal, it's a healthy # for your body, but if you go under or even go over sometimes, that is a-ok. always add in exercise :):):):)
  • brandonjclark
    brandonjclark Posts: 6
    Okay, so my daily goal is, like you said, a number that I want to try to attain every day, factoring in my exercise. Got it!

    See, after only these few days I too am having a hard time reaching my intake goal. Maybe that's part of the problem. I've been doing a lot of reading on lots of sites and many, including WW say that not eating ENOUGH calories a day puts your body into a "starvation" mode, effectively locking away fats so they cannot be burned. Maybe this is true, anyone have any input there?

    It sounds like a natural mechanism of the ancient, developing humanoid but I'm a sucker for such theories:)
  • smbland
    smbland Posts: 22 Member
    haha it's true, Brandon!!
    I work with a bunch of nurses and I was telling them about my calories and such and they all were like "omg you need to eat more!!" because the body goes into starvation mode, makes sense though. So I try to eat things like fruit, watermelon is great and is a natural diuretic, and I like peanuts, the lightly salted or honey roasted, and cottage cheese. You can look in the fridge and pick out the crappiest thing to fill up that number, but it's not going to help in the weight loss. I like to have a lot to pick from and make myself feel like I'm limiting myself, so those types of snacks really help me, especially throughout the day
  • brandonjclark
    brandonjclark Posts: 6
    Okay, this is starting to make a lot of sense now. So, after this is now seems paramount to develop an eating plan. Sure, I can go about and enter things I've eaten throughout the day and thank myfitnesspal for bringing my bad habits to light but ultimately I need to start planning these meals better and increasing the frequency with which I consume them, all in smaller portions.
  • smbland
    smbland Posts: 22 Member
    You got it dude!
  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
    Hi and well done so far on all you achievements - you'll do fine!!

    After all you have put your poor body through the best thing you can do to start you weightloss journey is to get some good quality fresh and healthy food into you to rejuvenate it. No junk - fresh fruit and veg and good quality proteins.

    Ditch anything over-processed and watch out for sodium.

    good luck!
  • brandonjclark
    brandonjclark Posts: 6
    Just thought I'd give an update to everyone.

    Today I jumped on the scale and I weighed 279lbs! YES!!!!!

    I've lose nearly 11 pounds this month, OMG!
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