74.2 lbs gone (pics)

Well let me start by saying this has been an experience! I was a pretty athletic guy in my younger days and not used to being overweight. Due to medications for an autoimmune condition and a stagnant lifestyle I ballooned up to 335lbs. On a 5'8" frame this was less than cool. I'm currently weighing in at 260.8lbs and still have about 60lbs to go, but I figured now would be a good time to share a little bit of my story and hopefully encourage a few people along the way. First let me say that MFP has been a lifesaver! I have a small group of excellent and encouraging friends who I have had the pleasure of getting to know over the last year. They have been a huge support system and have really helped me out along the way. The past year has been filled with ups and downs, both in life and on the scale. My weight loss chart is full of sharp increases and declines, and of course plateaus. I don't have much to offer in the way of advice other than to say, weight loss is not a lineal process. Once I accepted that and stopped looking as day in terms of good and bad I was much better off. I hope any one who reads this will too. "Bad" days can cause bad weeks or months, so just thinking of it at as a normal day (or part of a normal day) that is in the past and focusing on the here and now has been helpful in ways that are hard to articulate. One of my biggest problems was I would over eat and then see the whole day as a waste. That kind of thinking is a killer. So I'd just say that the past can't be undone and focus on the here and now. The benefits of that mindset for me have been: 8 belt notches, 12 inches off my waist, 2x shirts (from 5x), decreased blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, and gains in the gym. So I guess I'll share what I have done although I think weight loss methods should be an individual decision. I went the lower carb route. I don't subscribe to a specific diet but I do enjoy some of the Atkins meal and snack bars as well as the chocolate royal shakes. I just find that they settle any sweet cravings that I run into. I also like to snack on the Russel Soffers sugar free candy from time. I eat a lot of lean protein such as eggs, chicken, steak, fish, canned tuna, etc. I eat a ton of veggies, low carb wraps, and drink abnormal amounts of water as well. I don't do a lot of cardio but as my user name suggest I do go to the gym to lift quite often. I have found that when I do too much cardio I stall. I either get ravenously hungry or burn out. A friend of mine recommended that I don't reduce my calories too low and do heavy cardio because when a stall (plateau) hits there is nowhere to go. I walk pretty regularly but save my running for when I hit a plateau...no exceptions. As soon as my weight starts to drop I ease back off. Doing this has pretty much eliminated plateaus and allowed my weight loss to progress at a steady and predictable pace. I also do VLCD one or two days a week and stagger my calories throughout the week. One day a week I allow for a break even day. I don't eat garbage on that day though, just greater quantities. I don't know if this helps in any way, but it has become my routine and I like it. So this is the short version of my story thus far. I wish you all success and healthy living and hope that this post serves to help or encourage you in some way.

"Train your mind. Where the mind goes, the body will follow."
Livinatthegym7677