5'8 Male over 330 lbs early in this year, if you told me on January 1st of this year that I would be under 200 lbs before the end of the year, I would have been more likely to believe that the lives of the entire world would be upended by a global pandemic than me losing over 130 pounds in a year. This was the year where I was able to find the secret ingredient to basically have a "perfect" time with weight loss and lose 2-3 lbs/week on average with a BMI in the high 40's to low 50's for most of my late teen to adult life. Motivation is key, and it's something that can't be taught. I've always known what it takes to have successful weight loss, but always lacked the drive to steer away from the instant gratification that eating too much and drinking too much brought. I've always been a social eater/drinker and I was able to use the changes the pandemic brought to my advantage and my wife and I now make almost all of our meals at home. I've been able to make healthy lifestyle changes to be able to still eat and drink everything that I enjoy, much more in moderation, and stick to a 1200-2500 calorie/day range, with an average daily calorie target of 1700-1800 calories. It's worked and it has paid off.
Fad diets and restrictive diets that may work well for some people have historically never worked well for me, so I stuck with my calorie counting and have logged over 250 days on MFP, and it's paying off. This won't work for everyone, but it worked for me. The key is to still enjoy what you want to enjoy and have the diet just be something that will come more naturally over time, everyone is different.
I am now within 15 lbs of my father who was never obese in his adult life, and weigh much less than my mother who has had a weight problem her whole life, and through whom I developed unhealthy eating habits as a kid. My mom is somewhat motivated, and I hope she sticks with it, but motivation is something that can't be taught. Some words of advice that I saw from someone on this sub (in the century club thread) that I shall paraphrase "It takes a long time to get good at something, losing weight is a skill like any other that needs to be developed."
My wife got me a fitbit for my birthday in mid April in order to keep me motivated, and I think it worked, considering I'm down 102 lbs since getting it . I am now imminently about to be out of the obese range for my height, so I think that goal was accomplished! From a 3/4xl to a large (even the large is a tad loose now), from a size 50 pants/jeans to a size 36 (I was a size 40 in 6th grade!!), I have blown my own goals (to be down 100 lbs by March 2021) out of the water.
For those of you struggling, I've been there. Don't be discouraged, just keep searching to find what works for you. Losing weight will be a difficult challenge, but it can and should be fun and enriching. If it doesn't feel that way for you, make some changes. And do not make changes just because they worked for someone else. Do what works for you. Stay safe out there friends, and Happy Holidays.
EDIT: Thank you sooooo much for the gold!!!
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