Hello from FatDad :)

Well, here we go again. Another attempt to diet but this time I think it is different, it HAS to be different. I'm 48 years old next month and the half-century mark is looming. Let's face it, if I do it then it has to be now other wise I'll be too old to enjoy it for very long.

If not now - WHEN? NEVER!!!

I'm 20.5 stones (287lbs) in weight and it's the heaviest I have been and it's time to change - am 6'2" but I can't carry this much weight. I am now approaching the 300lbs mark and I hate it.

I want to prove to myself I can do this, I want to be healthier for longer so I can enjoy being with my wife and kids and they can enjoy being with me.

I'd like to be able to run 5k (no matter how slowly) but before that happens I would like to be able to tie my running shoes without feeling like my head is going to explode. I would like to walk around in the summer, or indeed the winter and not be sweating like a pig.

I want to be as least as thin looking as the thinnest of my three brothers, and I want to be able to go out and not feel ashamed of who I am. I would like to walk around in public with more confidence, feeling that my fat body is not the first thing people are going to see.

I'd like to be kinder to my body, to relieve some of the stresses I place on my knees and ankles by shedding some weight.

I want to move out of the obese section of the BMI scale and head more toward the lower side of overweight because I am broad shouldered and have a big frame and feel that to be in the 'normal' section of the BMI scale might be too thin for me but hey, let's cross that fantastic bridge when we come to it.

At this point my initial goals are simple and they are (in order of importance):
1) Food will become something to enhance my life, not be my life.
2) I will go from 20.5 stones (287 lbs) to 16 stones (224lbs) within one year.
3) I will run a 5K within a year.

I'll add to these as I see fit (no pun intended) but this is a good start.

I know this won't make the world suddenly perfect but it will go a long way to removing one of the biggest blights in my life.

I have a small mountain to climb but I have what it takes to do it and this is something I can do for me.

GO TEAM ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just did my first check-in after week one of my new lifestyle and I've lost 5lbs in the first week. I'm very pleased, I know this has a lot to do with getting rid of water etc. at the start of my new diet but if I can just keep aiming for a 2lb loss a week I'll be a happy man.

I know there will be set-backs but I just have to keep trying.

Week 1 = success!

I'm looking for friends to support me (and have a laugh along the way). Anyone from anywhere in the world would be great but if I can find friends from the UK that would be perfect.