Almost 5 Months & 73lbs later (pics)

Thanks to everyone for the kind words, encouragement, motivation, and friend requests! Many people have asked how the weight came off so quickly.

The first month or so, I was still very new at all of this and was in "diet mode" as opposed to "health mode", so I was doing a lot of the normal bad things that people who are desperate to lose weight do. I would skip a meal here and there, eat less than I should have, and wasn't listening to my body when it was asking for more. However, I was also not eating the junk I had grown so accustomed to over the years: I stopped eating greasy fast food. I stopped shoving food into my face until I was so full that I wanted to vomit. I gave up fried foods. I stopped making excuses to eat and eating two lunches and two dinners just because I had time between meals.

I noticed a lot of initial weight started to come off during this time. I lost the most during that first month: 22lbs.

Since then, I have been doing a lot of reading on MFP and have been learning the correct way to get healthy. I know I still practice some things that many people think are bad (e.g. I don't always eat back my exercise calories), but overall it's working for me right now.

So, what do I do? Let me see...

I keep two numbers in my head each and every day: My Basal Metabolic Rate and my calorie goal for the day. Those are my two most important numbers on a daily basis. What I have come to realize is the most basic of things: Take in less than you put out and you can't gain weight. When I started, my BMR was 2113 and I had myself on 1400 calories a day. It was tough switching from my usual lifestyle but I struggled through it and made it work. At that rate, I was at a calorie deficit of about 700 a day, meaning one pound gone every 5 days or so, and an average of 1.5 a week.

I felt like I wanted to take on a bit more so after a couple weeks I dropped my calories to 1300 and never looked back. I always made (and still do) sure I never went over my 1300, so each day I was at a deficit of 800, or an average of one pound every 4 days for an average of about 2lbs a week (give or take). Right now, my BMR is 1910 and I still keep my calorie intake at or under 1300. The loss will (and has) slowed a bit but I know as long as I keep my numbers straight, I won't gain.

I didn't start exercising until I was down about 40lbs. I went out and bought an elliptical machine and some resistance bands. I don't go crazy with planned exercise. I use the elliptical 2-3 days a week for 20mins a session and workout with the bands 2-3 days a week for 30 mins. I also went out and got a Fitbit device which keeps track of my steps, stairs, activity level and daily calorie burn from unplanned exercise (normal daily activity). My two important numbers plus my fitbit and the little exercise I do seem to be working.

I also take into consideration the unplanned exercise that I do. Mowing the lawn / raking for an hour, the 7000+ steps and 20+ stairwells that I walk every day at work, or the walking during an average weekend of shopping (do you know how much you actually walk at a grocery store or the mall? It's astounding.). As for my exercise calories, sometimes I eat them back, sometimes I eat some of them back, and other times I don't. It all depends on how full I feel. I have gotten used to not feeling so full and bloated like I used to feel, so if I am full and still need to eat back 300 exercise calories, I let them slide. I know some people frown upon that and sometimes I feel guilty not eating them back, but I also don't want to feel over full. If I don't eat back a hundred here and there, that adds to the deficit for the week and maybe an extra half pound (which I'm not going to throw back).

I know a lot of people say to not give up the foods you love and to just eat them in moderation. Unfortunately for me, the foods that I had loved so much and ate on a daily basis were crap and I for one am happy to have gotten rid of them. Fast food (McD, BK, Wendy's), all you can eat buffets (the Chinese Buffet is my cryptonite), tons of starchy foods, pizza 2-3 times a week ... all gone. And I don't miss them (mostly .. pizza is my 2nd love after my wife ).

I have learned to cook healthily at home. I use fresh ingredients and can control my portions. I know what goes in my body every single day. My wife and I are always on the lookout for fresh recipes and for the most part, the things we have made taste amazing. I realized I don't need fried foods to be happy. Baked, broiled, grilled all work for me and taste great. As for my beloved pizza, a FlatOut flatbread, some pizza sauce, turkey pepperoni, onion, peppers, fat-free mozzarella, and an oven makes me happy. And a personal pizza for under 300 calories makes it even better. Grilled chicken, baked fish, low-carb pasta ... the possibilities are endless. I don't even WANT fast food anymore. The thought if it turns me off.

I also don't buy into "cheat days". Do it or don't. Set your mind to it and get it done. I compare my weight loss journey to someone who wants to stop smoking. You can do it one of two ways: Get on the patch and ease yourself off of it over 6 months, cheating now and again or you can gather up your smokes, toss them in the trash, and make it happen.

I tossed my smokes in the trash.