6ft 2 - 290lbs. Looking for Sucsess Stories Similar to my build

tscreech10
tscreech10 Posts: 1 Member
Hey Everyone!

Hope you're all gearing up to have a great weekend. I've been on a fitness/weight loss journey for years. However, I'm reaching a little wall right now. I work out 5 days a week, my diet isn't great, and that's lead me to stall in my weight loss.

I'd love to hear some stories or see pictures of people around my build to see how they're getting on. And if you have any advice too!

Thank you!

Replies

  • FGS4
    FGS4 Posts: 11 Member
    6'2", started at 282lbs. It took me just over 12 months to get to goal weight (172lbs...50kg lost) and I've kept it off for a year and a half now. I think the biggest reason for success for me was mental; I'd tried to lose many times before but my head wasn't in the right place. For me it was all down to sticking within calorie limits (and remembering to recalculate those limits as the weight came off!)...I'm not an exercise person!

    Tricks I've used to help me along the way:
    - think of it as retraining rather than a diet and don't try to lose to much at once as that's not sustainable. I was happy to lose at a steady 2lb per week (slow rate of loss also meant my skin wasn't as loose afterwards as it could have been, although obviously there are issue areas in that respect after such a large loss!).
    - log everything. Even if you have a bad day, don't lie to yourself.
    - if you do have a bad day, don't beat yourself up. Draw a line under it and start again the next day .
    - drink a glass of water before eating anything. Every time! Being thirsty can make you think you're hungry, and several times when I realised that I couldn't face another glass of water it stopped me from having the chocolate that I shouldn't have been having anyway!
    - put something motivational on the fridge door as a reminder each time you go to open it. I hung a skirt on there that I wanted to fit into, tickets for a concert that I wanted to go to (but was worried about fitting in the seats for), photos of friends I wanted to meet up with but had been too ashamed, etc.
    - look for non-weight-related victories...being less out of breath doing something, fitting into jeans again that you'd outgrown, catching sight of your refelction in a window and realising you look slimmer...anything that works for you. I kept a little chart of my vital statistics (bust, waist, hips) and got a real buzz from watching the figures go down!
    - make sure you're doing it for yourself and don't let external negativity defeat you.

    Good luck. You can do it :-)
  • PattiGinTN
    PattiGinTN Posts: 3 Member
    I have a client who lost 200 pounds in a year with our healthy eating program. He is 6' and started at over 400 pounds. It's totally doable no matter where you start and what level of exercise you do or don't participate in. It definitely comes down to paying attention and tracking everything you put in your mouth. You can't out exercise your fork but you can fuel your body with what it needs to thrive while you exercise.
  • TameTiger
    TameTiger Posts: 2 Member
    Started my weight loss journey back in June of 2019. Standing at 5'9", I weighed in at my heaviest at 280lbs. 2 years later, I'm at 192lbs with 12 more lbs to go to reach my goal weight.

    Many people asks "What's your secret?" or "How did you do it?". I'll tell everyone what the magic formula is...
    THERE IS NONE!

    It's a hard-committed process with many frustrations and steel walls, but once you've achieved your weight loss goal, there's no better feeling in the world. You learn to discover your self discipline, you challenge yourself daily, you'll develop a habit of goal reaching you've never had before. This doesn't only go into weight loss, it carries over to your daily life as well.

    Here are some of my recommendations for achieving your weight loss goal:

    - Be honest to yourself. I've always thought "I don't really eat that much, why do I weigh so much?", until I started tracking the types of food I was eating and the amount of calories I consumed daily. If your BMR is in the 1900-2100 range, this get's accomplished in one meal at times if you're not careful what you eat.

    - Be patient. Don't believe these "Lose 50lbs in 2 week" gimmicks or ads. Successful weight loss takes time. You have to incorporate a lifestyle change and understand the nutrition plays a vital part to your success. I started with IF of 16:8 together with Keto. This alone took me down almost 60lbs in a years time.

    - You will hit plateaus and walls. Don't get discouraged. Your body is an amazing piece of machinery, it's capable of adapting to such a high degree that eventually, you'll have to adapt along with it otherwise you'll be at a standstill. Realize the more weight you lose, the lower your BMR becomes. I was stuck on 60lbs loss for a few months, so I decided to take my IF one step further to alternate day fasting. This method was amazing for shedding the pounds. In a few months I took off another 20lbs. One note however, I've noticed that when hitting a plateau, simply adding a few hundred more calories back into you diet for a day or two will jumpstart your weight loss again.

    - Be reasonable to yourself. Not all diets are going to work with all individuals. Some people might not be able to fast for a whole day. I won't lie and tell you I feel amazing and full of energy during my fasting days, I don't. It sucks and I'm constantly having urges for food. I drink plenty of tea, water and coffee to try to lessen the urges but nothing replaces a good meal. I do it though because it produces results for my weight loss goal. Eventually once I reach my goal I'll just go into maintenance mode and be more careful with my calories. If you don't choose a diet that you can commit to, this will only lead to failure and reverting back to weight gain.

    - Exercise! Whether you decide to weight train or just take a simple 45 min walk a day, just move! Your BMR is your resting rate of energy, you'll need to move around daily so you can increase your metabolic rate so you'll burn more energy. Many of us don't realize how little we move in a given day. Majority of us have jobs that have us sitting in front of a computer screen 8 hours a day. Then we go home sit on a couch and watch some TV, then head to bed. Spend 60 minutes doing something active daily and that will go a long way.

    - Make a lifestyle change. Yes, it's easy to just go to the local deli in the morning and order a bagel with cream cheese and a cup of coffee with sugar and milk for breakfast, but making slight changes gradually will help you on your weight loss journey. I've skipped breakfast now for over 2 years and can honestly say that it doesn't bother me a bit. I have my black coffee in the morning and just wait until 12pm to have my first meal. The meal I have consists mainly of protein and veggies. Nothing fried, high in carbs, or sugar. I pretty much eat the same thing for my first meal now (2 hard boiled eggs, salad with avocado and feta cheese, turkey wrapped with low carb bread, and yogurt with berries) for over 2 years and it doesn't even bother me any longer. As a matter of fact after days of fasting, I'm so looking forward to that meal.

    My last piece of advice, DON'T GIVE UP. It's easy to make excuses or just say "Oh, I can't live without breakfast!", but the fact of the matter is there's no reason why you can't. Our body was made to endure periods without food, it's simply because of all the media trash we see and are brainwashed by that make us believe that we need to constantly keep eating in order to survive and be healthy. Once you adapt to your new lifestyle, you won't even think about what you're eating any longer.

    I hope this helps in your journey and wish you the best of luck!
  • BendableButMendable
    BendableButMendable Posts: 60 Member
    I’m 6 feet tall and in March of 2020 I weighed ~250lbs, by March of 2021 I was down to 170lbs. Other than 3 months last summer where I went to the gym fairly regularly I was about as sedentary as a person can get. Weight loss really is all about caloric deficit.

    Once you set a smart goal for your daily calories it’s just a matter of being consistent with that. You can eat whatever foods you want and still lose weight, so don’t worry about following a fad or overly strict diet. Some people like to use intermittent fasting, some do keto, some will do the juicing trend of the moment; they all work because you have to be mindful about what you eat, but you have to find what works for you without it being overly restrictive. For example, I personally have tried intermittent fasting and my body did not agree with it at all, but it works great for others. You will, however, find that it is easier to maintain a deficit with some foods rather than others. Try to eat a good amount of fiber, protein, and healthy (unsaturated) fats so that you won’t deal with blood sugar cravings and your stomach wont empty too quickly. A 150 calorie serving of roasted peanuts is a lot more satiating than a 230 calorie Klondike bar (ask me how I know…). Beyond that be mindful of any specific health concerns you may have (high cholesterol, blood pressure, food intolerance, etc.) and your “diet” will sort itself out on its own. As a vegetarian I eat a plant-based diet. It’s just what naturally works for me and is what I’ve gravitated to even years before I heard of it as a specific nutrition strategy.

    If you want to see before and after pictures or get an overly detailed description of how many calories I ate you can check out this thread I started about my journey but it’s pretty long-winded and all the important info is in this post. Good luck to you as you get started on your journey, it will be rough at times but it really is worth it.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10836362/a-broken-man-but-better/p1
  • SweetW1ll
    SweetW1ll Posts: 18 Member
    I'm 6' and was 290lbs. I went on a major calorie deficit and tracked EVERYTHING thru MFP. That along with moderate exercise and I got to under 180lbs in 10 months.

    I started out just walking and doing 2 meal replacement shakes a day along with one meal of a protein & vegetables. I pretty much cut out sugar & carbs completely. The one thing I never gave up was alcohol. I drank the entire time through it but switched from beers to seltzers or bourbon.

    You got this. Hit me up with any questions.
  • CurtisHouse160
    CurtisHouse160 Posts: 53 Member
    tscreech10 wrote: »
    Hey Everyone!

    Hope you're all gearing up to have a great weekend. I've been on a fitness/weight loss journey for years. However, I'm reaching a little wall right now. I work out 5 days a week, my diet isn't great, and that's lead me to stall in my weight loss.

    I'd love to hear some stories or see pictures of people around my build to see how they're getting on. And if you have any advice too!

    Thank you!

    Just need to made the right decisions daily. I'm 6'1" and started in October 2020 weighing 284 lbs. Now down to 215 currently. I'm not much for exercising but I think that will change because I have a lot more energy now. I want to get down to, at least, 180 lbs. Keep on fighting, man. You can do it!
  • crusherbrickman
    crusherbrickman Posts: 46 Member
    I'm 5'11 SW: 290 CW: 241.1
    For advice, if you are at a plateau, try intermittent fasting. I was stuck between 245 and 247 for a couple weeks. Started IF this week and the weight has fallen off. I doubt it will continue, but I think the system shock it gave is what cause the weight loss.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,223 Member
    I'm 5'11 SW: 290 CW: 241.1
    For advice, if you are at a plateau, try intermittent fasting. I was stuck between 245 and 247 for a couple weeks. Started IF this week and the weight has fallen off. I doubt it will continue, but I think the system shock it gave is what cause the weight loss.

    I.F. can be a great tool to promote adherence and keep you consistently in a deficit but any benefits beyond that are marginal at best and placebo-driven pseudo-scientific hocum proclaimed by charlatans, at worst. That aforementioned consistency and adherence and/or a reduction in food waste at the time of weighing is what caused weight loss, not any sort of "shock" to the system.
  • KayakerJoe
    KayakerJoe Posts: 80 Member
    I went from 240 to 180 in about 9 months. No carbs, high protein and lots of weights and cardio.



    2 years later, I now do weights 6 days a week and manage my calories. Saturday I do what I like.

    Sunday I do no exercise but eat well.

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  • Back_4_more
    Back_4_more Posts: 92 Member
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    This was 6 years ago. About 5 months. No exercise for the 1st 3 months (-50lbs), just watched my calorie intake. The last 15lbs I was doing DDP and took almost 2 months to lose. I maintained for over 4 yrs until I had a major injury and gained a bunch but not all of it back. I'm still rehabing my injury but not trying to lose yet
  • benmassig
    benmassig Posts: 4 Member
    Six months from Jan 12th 2021 to July 12th 2021. Calorie counting, cardio six days a week (but never very hard...just burned 500-700 calories worth over the course of an hour). Weight lifting 5 days a week. Lost 47 lbs. Only one "cheat day" (Super Bowl Sunday didn't count calories). High protein diet and lots of water made it so that I was rarely hungry.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10838365/in-case-you-are-wondering-if-mfp-works#latest
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  • froggytommy1
    froggytommy1 Posts: 2 Member
    6'4 1 month and a half of going to the gym for 6 days a week staying a calorie deficit but still kind of eating what I want. (all my meals include chicken and some vege, if it being in a sandwich or not. -15lbs
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  • abracadabra9933
    abracadabra9933 Posts: 8 Member
    My 6'2" husband went from around 300 to 180 over a year and a half. What he does:
    • Doesn't eat breakfast.
    • Eats mostly vegetables and fruit at lunch and dinner.
    • Never eats fried food, chips, or crackers. Eats almost no sweets.
    • Watches portion sizes. Tacos? Only eat 2. Pizza? Stick to 1 slice, etc.
    • Drinks at most one or two alcoholic drinks a day - mostly hard seltzer.
    • After he lost about 60 lbs, he added exercise. Now he walks 4 fast miles a day and does 50 pushups every other day.

    What changed the most was his mindset.
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