Newbie on his way to health!

Hello,

My name is Keith.

A few weeks back, I went into the doctor’s office to get a referral. The doctor told me I had gained almost 25 pounds since my last visit. I hadn't been to my primary doctor for a while. Last time I was there, he told me to lose weight and I headingb to becoming pre diabetic. So eighteen months later, I have gained weight not lost. He did a blood sugar test and said it was still too high but not yet diabetic. I decided I need to lose some weight and turn this around. I was around 250 pounds that day. I’m glad to say I’m down to around 235 today. I want to be somewhere around 190 pounds in the next six to eight months. Would love to weigh even less than that but want to get a realistic near term goal and go from there. Most of my weight is in belly right now. Would love to slim that done and look better.

My friend and co-worker, Gilbert, suggested that I log my calories in Myfitnesspal.com. This has been a huge help. I’m controlling my portions and eating smarter. I’m keeping to between 1200-1500 calories a day and eating a low fat, high fiber diet. I’m considering going onto an Atkins diets for a couple of months and really cutting down the carbs. I understand that Atkins really helps burn the fat. Would love to hear about others experiences on Atkins.

Additionally, I’m walking every day. I’m trying to get in two 15 to 20 minute walks during my breaks at work plus one 60 minute walk with my dog Cashil once I get home. Cashil loves having a nightly long walk. I downloaded a pedometer for my iPod Touch and use that as I walk to track my steps, distance and calories burned. Between my nightly walk and the work walks, I’m hitting around 10,000 steps a day. This is burning between 500-600 additional calories a day. I don't have a scale but I do have a Wii Fit Plus which is allowing me to keep track of my weight. I have done some of the Wii fit exercises as well. Kinda fun.

I plan on hitting the gym come October. Costco has cheap gym memberships for LA Fitness on sale. There is less than a mile from where I live. I will do the walking for exercise September to get used to being more active. Plan to do a lot of cardio at the gym and start to do some weight training.

I see my primary doctor again early December. By that time, I would like to be 210 to 215 pounds and have my blood sugar greatly reduced.