Here is my weight loss story so far…
(TL;DR at the bottom)
A bit of background info to start - I’m 28, male and somewhere between 5’9 and ’10. I have the classic case of a long history of comfort eating/mindless eating and secret eating (grabbing chocolate and snacks and taking them to my room).
My first ‘trigger point’ came when I stood on my bathroom scales in July 2014 and it read 19st 6 (272 lbs). I also did the classic ‘fat guy’ thing of wearing XXL shirts with a t-shirt underneath; this is the only way I could present myself and be less conscious of my body. I joined myfitnesspal the same day in an attempt to keep a track of what and how much I was eating. At this point, I was unemployed and still recovering from a bout of depression that started back in 2010. I tried to lose weight several times before this but I had the old story of not being able to stick to it, hating P.E at school (partly due to being bullied/teased for being fat), leading a very sedentary life and kidding myself that I was not as big as I thought.
Between July 2014 and January 2015, I had some progress with weight loss, coming down to 18st 1 (253 lbs). I found work abroad (usually 4 or 5 month contracts) just after this, bringing the challenge of resisting temptation with all the new food on offer. Late in 2015, I stopped weighing myself, fell off the wagon and my weight slowly began to creep up again. I didn’t actually weigh myself again until early 2017 when I’d gained 7lbs of weight back and my weight didn’t really change for the next year for various reasons. Over this period, I tried going to the gym a few times, maybe once a week but after a few weeks, I would become disinterested and stop going.
In April this year, I had a proper reality check which I see as a mix of being fed up of seeing photos of myself I was ashamed of, fed up of always being the fat single guy and fed up of being unable to play with my nephew and niece for long because I would be knackered. I began following loseit and progresspics for inspiration, I got back to the gym two or three times per week, really pushing myself towards goals and I took the literal first step of couch to 5k. I started working on some of my personal issues (especially regarding my relationship with food) and along the way, I found a new lifestyle change to try - Paleo.
My first week on Paleo was pretty much pure hell to me. I went cold turkey, switching out most of my drinks for water and occasionally green tea, cutting out alcohol, refined sugar, caffeine, potatoes, rice etc leading to a double whammy of headaches and ‘hunger’ (adapting to smaller portion sizes and different food intake) that lasted for at least the whole week, maybe more.
But after that, I could not believe the change that happened! A combination of my new lifestyle and gym work meant I began to have a lot more energy, focus and motivation. I give myself a ‘cheat day’ every week or so where I eat bread and/or more unhealthy stuff. At the start, it was a struggle to resist against my old self wanting everything bad and wanting to start again another day, or next week, or next month. As time went on, sugar cravings and constant urges to eat became less and less as I learned more about the effect that different foods have on my body.
Since May, I have weighed myself at regular intervals (mostly weekly) and after working through occasional obstacles of seeing little progress and becoming disheartened, I stepped on the scales this morning to see 16st (224 lbs), the lightest I have been for at least the last decade.
There is still work to do and progress to be made because I have plans to lose quite a bit more, but it gives me a sense of accomplishment and pride hitting a first goal that I never imagined I would reach. To add to this, I need to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe which for once, I am actually excited about because I know more things will fit me and look good. I even bought a new pair of gym joggers the other day that were fitted!
I thought I would share my story so far in the hope that I might inspire other people in the same way I’ve been inspired by everyone brave enough to post here. Much love!
P.S. I’m planning to run my first 5k sometime next year and hopefully I’ll feel comfortable enough to post a progress pic sometime soon!
TL;DR Lost just shy of 50 lbs in the last 4 years or so (36 lbs of that in the last 6 months through Paleo and gym work/couch to 5k) after years of bad food choices and giving up on attempts to lose weight. Planning to run a 5k next year. Still more to lose but it feels great!
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from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/2yxpaOw
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