What prompted me to lose weight

I am a 60 year old slightly shy man who has never posted anything to a forum such as this – so why now? Answer to show what motivated me to start my weight loss journey and to thank a friend and MFP for their help.

I have had problems with my weight for many years and in the last year or so it has gone up to over 330lbs – (I am 6ft tall). I have become more introverted as my weight has gone up, often avoiding contact with people so as to avoid discussing the issue with anyone. I always had it in my mind to do something about it but never mustered the will. Having turned 60 in 2014, I hoped that would be the motivation but it wasn’t. But then by chance, in 2016 someone my wife knows visited our house who had clearly gained a lot of weight himself but was now starting the journey of losing it. He was very humble about his weight gain but thank God he had the courage to ask me why I had put on weight. He told me what he was doing and said it could work for me too and he said he would be very grateful if I could join him as a ‘buddy’ on the journey, to help us both.

In telling the story above, I am merely saying that the catalyst to start to lose weight can be self-imposed or sparked by someone/thing else – it doesn’t matter and in my case I’m not ashamed that is was someone else who kicked-started me on my journey.

I weighed myself in October 2016 at 155kgs (340lbs or 24 plus stones) and was horrified, the heaviest I’ve ever been I believe. Forgetting what calculators say I should weigh, I am targeting a reduction to 100kgs (220lbs or 15.5 stones) and if, sorry WHEN I get there, I will reassess where I should go then. I have waited until now before posting this story so that I can at least say that I have made a good start – I have lost nearly 20kgs (42lbs or 3 stones) in about 3 months. By maintaining this progress, I should hit 100kgs sometime in the Autumn 2017.

For me, I have religiously used and followed the advice of MFP. I have logged everything, stuck to 1200 calories per day, created a calorie deficit (my TDEE is about 3000 calories per day), watched the macros (Carbs 45%, Protein 30%, Fat 25% and less than 25g of sugar a day) and am continuingly building up my exercises little by little. Exercise is mainly brisk walking with the aim of an average of over 10,000 steps per day. By choosing wisely what I am eating, (lean meat, lots of green veg and unrefined carbs) I am finding the 1200 calories per day OK and I am not feeling starved. I hope you can see that there is nothing revolutionary in these numbers if you stick by 1200 calories per day.

I read the MFP forum often. I have read numerous heart rending stories about people and the problems they have had with life and weight and some make my problems look small. But I have been genuinely inspired by reading their success stories and I wish to thank them for having the courage to tell all. To those of you who have ‘beared their soul’, please do not underestimate the impact that you have on newbies such as I.

Sorry about this long post – I hope that it both inspires/motivates others, shows what can be achieved by someone of my age and that it also thanks people on MFP for showing that a healthier lifestyle is possible for anybody with a good dose of motivation, determination and application!

My best wishes and good luck to you all.