The actual weight loss is motivating.

papa3x · January 2012

On Jan. 2nd, I started eating a lot more fruits and veggies.... particularly raw, but also cooked. I am guessing that I now eat 10x more fruit and veggies than before Jan 2nd. And my caloric intake has probably gone from about 3000 calories a day down to 1600 - 1700 a day. I am exercising just a little. ( Though as soon as this sinus infection clears, I expect to bump that up a lot )

So, at my all time high I was 326 pounds.... this AFTER having heart bypass surgery! I think I got depressed and food was my buddy, IMO. I started to lose weight when I saw 326. Over the next few years I yo - yo'd at about 290. Then in November 2011 I decided that enough was enough, and it was really time to get on the right track. I lost several pounds.... and then the holidays hit... I put most of them back on.

OK, so here comes the motivational part. At the end of December I watched the movie, Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. Basically the movie is about a guy who goes on a 60 day raw food only diet and loses a ton of weight. I decided to head in that direction, but nowhere near as strict as him. I did a 3 day juice fast made of veggie juices. Then around Jan 5th, I think, I started making low fat / calorie smoothies a couple of times a day, and eating a sensible meal for dinner. And only healthy snacks,.

I have basically eliminated all white foods. I have eliminated 90% of the processed things I had been eating. I have nearly eliminated all dairy.... and I ADORE cheese. The dairy was the hardest part. Now I drink almond and soy milk.

So far, the results have been STUNNING!

I'm down 12.6 pounds since January 2nd. And here is the "kicker".... I spent 5 days at a family reunion where I didn't really even stay on plan. I mean I did to a point, but with 40 people around eating pasta, hoagies, pizza, wings, scrapple, and other junk, it was hard to stay on plan. So, I did "OK". But I am down 12.6 pounds even with that.... I wonder if I would be down another few pounds had I been fully on plan for those days?

So, yes, folks, it has been a struggle my whole life, but I think that that movie gave me the perspective to fix my life, to be the guy I want to be, the dad I want to be, and the husband I need to be.

Good luck to all of you!

( BTW, I didn't even lose weight until about a week had passed.... so really, about 12.6 pounds since the 10th! )

EmCarroll1990 · January 2012

You should be extremely proud, I find even my minor weight loss to be inspiring, it's going to take time but heck, it works!

Frumpy2Fit · January 2012

Awesome story! Thank you for sharing!!! I hope you are celebrating all of your amazing accomplishments!

ryno0618 · January 2012

Thats awesome! day to day is tough, but when the weight starts dropping it totally is the best motivator to keep on going! Good luck man!!!

JasonGinMI · January 2012

Good job! Stay with it and you will see the results of your hard work!

CherryPie606 · January 2012

Wow! Go you! You're doing amazing and you're right, losing weight motivates me to lose more weight. Its great!

marlanc92 · January 2012

Congratulations man. I don't know if I could ever cut out so much dairy, but definitely eating more fruits and vegetables and healthier snacks definitely makes an impact.

sophiareal · January 2012

First of all, congratulations! Any kind of weight loss is a huge achievement for most people (including myself). And secondly, I hear ya! As you can see I have only lost about 3-4lb since January 9 (that's when I started paying more attention to my food again to get rid of those stubborn pounds that slowly appeared since leaving uni), but that in itself feels great - yes, it's only been a couple of weeks and it's not much, but there seems to be a consistent downwards trend and I feel great. Unlike you, I generally eat lots of fruit & veg already and have massively reduced dairy due to stomach trouble, but the real kicker for me was sugar. All these years I was trying to work out what I needed to do to lose this weight (other than eat less and exercise more) though this never seemed to do the trick in its entirety ... and then it dawned on me, I have a sister who is 1 year older with a great body (who doesn't exercise as much as I do) - main difference between the two of us? She has no sweet tooth, she'd rather snack on some salami then have ice cream. And that realization triggered something - I have now cut out all white sugar except for weekends where I allow myself a treat if I feel like having one (be it brunch with friends where I eat french toast, an icecream, a piece of cake, some chocolate) - although I actually don't often feel like a treat come the weekend (it's funny how quickly sugar cravings disappear once you stop eating sugar altogether), it does help me motivate myself to be good during the week.