Well on my way...

I've not posted a lot, but I was in a very bad place a year ago. I'm a 5'-9", 61-year-old male and my doctor told me I needed to lose 100+ lbs. and recommended bariatric surgery. I was around 325 lbs. I started down that road and quickly became disillusioned with that option. I'm not at all suggesting it's not a valid option for some folks, but as I researched, it became scary and concerning to me. I also realized that it was a huge lifestyle change regardless. What really killed it for me was that I wouldn't have been able to drink coffee or alcoholic beverages! Not that I drink that much (alcohol; coffee - yes!) but I do enjoy my occasional beer or cocktail or glass of wine with dinner and I was really grieving having to give that up.

So I decided to try physician and nutritionist-supported weight loss for the first time ever instead of going it alone. I started logging on MFP and by choosing foods wisely, I feel very satisfied at about 1700 calories / day. My mother was a registered dietician, so I know what I'm supposed to eat - I just didn't always do it. I also started strength training with a fitness trainer twice a week. I've steadily maintained about 1.5 - 2 lbs. a week weight loss and I'm down over 50 lbs. in the last 6 months!! I want to lose another 50 lbs. and I hope to have done so by the next time I go to my family doctor for my annual checkup! I'm so motivated and I feel better than I have in decades. Our family took a big active National Parks trip out West this summer and I was able to keep up with my much younger wife and 15-year-old son without getting winded! I ate more on the trip than usual and still lost 2 lbs. over the2 weeks we were gone!

The other morning, I woke up early and was going to get dressed and get some work done and standing in my closet, I started trying on clothes I hadn't worn in years and THEY FIT!! Some are style dated and I won't wear them, but I still probably doubled my wardrobe options! I'm down several notches on my belt and it is so satisfying when I notch down another one. Two more to go and I'll have to buy a new belt! In addition to MFP logs, I keep a spreadsheet with milestone dates on it like Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthday, etc. and my projection of what I'll weigh at each one. So far I'm tracking right at my goal to lose about 1.5 - 1.7 lbs. per week. I'll be so pumped to go to my annual physical next year and show the doctor I did it. My blood pressure is down and I'm hoping I can go off my statins for cholesterol as well. My joints don't ache as much and I have so much more energy at work and at home. I'm hoping I can get re-rated for my life insurance and reduce those premium costs as well.

Sorry for the long post, but I know folks here can appreciate it. I've kept it quiet at work and in general, but people have started to notice the changes and comment!! I much prefer that to making a big deal out of it and having that added pressure for extended family and friends to wonder whether I'm on target. If you've read this far, thanks for doing so and I wish you all success on your fitness journey!