I weigh the same as you. Watching what I eat and hitting the gym. Feel free to add me.

I started at 324 and am down 21 pounds now. Feel free to add me

Hi All,

First off if you need a friend or someone to talk to, or some one who can help encourage you feel free to send me a message.

Second, I just want to take about 5 minutes of your time this Sunday and encourage you with this post. i started out at 575lbs, I am now 509 and feeling great. I have a long way to go but I am committed to killing this old Fatman so the NEW Matman can arise.

As I have been working hard on this journey I have found that my number one help in this journey is God & him alone. See, I have lost everything in my life. A wife (she had an affair), family, friends, job, ministry, & health. My Weight has been the cause of all these problems in my life. After a few months of slowly killing myself by overeating I came to a Bible passage in John 5:1-9 where Jesus asks this crippled man if he wants to be made well? I could identify with this story and it was like Jesus was asking me, "DO YOU WANT TO BE MADE WELL?" Duh, I responded and said YES, not only well, but I want to LIVE.... and this started my journey. Like a boxer I have been on the comeback trail to regaining my life.... A TRUE LIFE.

I workout 6 days a week doing Water aerobics from home in my pool & 3 times a week at Planet Fitness. I am fully committed to becoming health and the Man of God that He wants me to be. I have stumbled onto 5 keys that help me and will help anyone who is battling obesity or other addictions. Whether you have had hurts, hang-ups, & habits. We can over come them all.

The 5 keys:

1. Motivation: Why do you want to get healthy? (you got to do it for yourself, not your family, friends.. but for YOU.) You deserve to have a LIFE.

2. Understanding: Learn about your body and how it works and digest food & what triggers cause you to food binge at times.. Learn to distinguish between head hunger and true hunger. When you stand at the fridge or the cabinet and its not meal/snack times and say hum, hum I wonder what I can eat... This is a sign of head hunger and boredom.

3. Conviction: Once we learn and understand how our bodies work and how food is just fuel... When we are tempted to eat things that we know are not good for us we will have the conviction, not the willpower to overcome those times of the cookie calling out.... EAT ME, EAT ME.

4. Knowledge: Know what you plan on eating this week. Make a list before you shop, plan out your meals, and if you have to go out to a fast food restaurant checkout there nutritional information.

(Personal Example this week from my Facebook post) Hey friends if you have not tried the Fresco Style tacos from Taco Bell you are missing out. I stopped by today for a quick lunch and grabbed 2 of these @ only 170 Calories each. Taco Bell has tried to make there choices a little healthier by offering "Fresco Style." Fresco Style replaces the cheese and/or sauce with a fiesta salsa made of diced tomatoes, onions, and cilantro.... I give it an AAA+++ rating. If you want to try a tasty taco with out the extra fat calories give this a try.

5. Trust: You must learn to trust your body to reset itself as you are on this journey. Dont use your new found freedom to say No Big Deal I can eat bad and get back on track. Listen this is true for some, but for many once you get off the track and derail its hard to get back on and move forward... What I have done to get back on track is first to have an accountability partner, but second, go ahead take 5 minutes and beat yourself up... it's ok really! Now, shake that off and make your next snack or meal a better choice. That's it.

Again this is to encourage you and not to beat you up. I pray for everyone that is dealing with weight-loss but above all make sure your motivation for weight-loss or recovery is clear, that you understand this is a NEW LIFEstyle & not just a diet or fad that interrupts the destructive path you are now taking.

Respectfully,

Matt Hylton

Thank you for your kind word and congrats on your journey. We can all do it, we just keep moving forward. Remember you cannot cut out all fats & sugars because if you do your body will crave them. Allow yourself 1 small treat ever other week. Also, if you blow it, remember to make your next snack or meal a better choice. I only allow myself 5 minutes to have a pity party and pout, then I shake myself and keep moving forward. I know that weight-loss maybe hard for some people but its not a temporary fix to issues or problems. Only God can deliver us from hurts, hang-ups, & habits.

Matt

We started off at the same weight 365lbs. I'm always looking fo friends who are struggling with this long journey we have. *note I'm going to continue using journey even if its supposedly too cliche