My Major Weight Loss Experience [SW: 425 CW: 220 GW: 190] [Male 6'5"]

Yeah so I am on a throwaway because I don't really like talking about my weight or weight loss. This is definitely uncomfortable for me. Brief back story, I had/have been fat my whole life. Before I even have memories I was morbidly obese, BMI obesity probably starting around age 8 or 9. My family is overweight and I just never really learned or understood any healthy eating habits, a pretty terrible excuse for leading a life of terrible health habits if you ask me. I am sure a lot of you know this but over time you just become conditioned to it. I always thought I was destined to be big forever and didn't really think about it much or try to do anything about it for a long time. I always hated it about myself, still do. After I graduated college I was the biggest I had ever been and felt worse than ever so I decided I wanted to try to get healthy. So here I am a couple years later down over 200 pounds as of just before the new year. No signs of stopping. I completely changed my relationship with food. Physically, I feel the best I ever have in my life. Mentally, it is definitely very freeing to unburden yourself from a deeply rooted food addiction. Feel free to ask questions about the actual weight loss process and I will try to reply. I definitely want to try and help anyone else with their own weight loss journey, as I understand that is what this sub is traditionally for. But it was pretty easy for me once I put my mind to it, to be completely honest. It's really just CICO and exercise. Which leads me to my point, I've never felt worse about myself than I do now. After realizing how easy it is to be healthy I am finding it hard to forgive myself for the way I lived my entire life. I have succeeded in most other areas of my life so far/am happy with my life, but I can't get over this big failure of my life. Maybe I am being too hard on myself, but I can't shake this feeling of overall failure even despite getting my health on track now. The thoughts of all the ways being obese my whole life has held me back to this point is not an easy pill to swallow. I destroyed my body before I even realized that I was in control. I really feel like I never gave myself a chance to be all I could be... I am now being showered with a lot of "you look great" type comments from people, which is honestly a really hard thing to hear when you don't believe it yourself. I feel like my self esteem has only gotten worse with weight loss, as dumb as that sounds. The more weight I lose the more critical of myself I become. It's not something I can really talk about with anyone because all the close friends/family around me think I should be feeling the best I ever have (my friends and family are great and very supportive so they bring up the whole "you look great" type comments very frequently). Maybe this isn't the right sub for this, but in a way it feels good to type it out somewhere. Anyone else experience something similar after major weight loss?

PS. I don't mean to discourage anyone from their weight loss goals, trust me I feel infinitely better now so don't stop until you reach your goals. I definitely won't!

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What are your biggest small motivations for continuing your weight loss?

By that I mean the small things you’ll be able to do/feel more confident doing once you’ve hit your goal?

For me, it’s the following?

1.) I have a tattoo on my side that I got when I was quite a bit thinner. I’m so motivated to be able to show that off again, because I honestly forget it’s there 95% of the time.

2.) Jumpsuits and rompers!! These came back into style right after I gained some weight. I’m also quite short so they just make me look frumpy. I’d love to be able to rock one with confidence.

3.) Stairs- I got quite out of shape in the last year and a half. I used to hike all the time and now I can’t even make it up 3 flights of stairs without being a little winded. It’s embarrassing and I can’t wait to be able to do it with ease again.

I know the first two are things I could do now, but I just hate the way I look when doing them. I just can’t wait for that confidence boost.

What are yours?

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Loose skin and confidence after weight loss

So i started my weight loss about 1.5 years ago at 142 kg (313 lbs), smoking a pack per day. I'm male, 30, 190 cm (6'2), 83 kg (183 lbs) and quit smoking about one year ago.

I do a lot of sport now, about 12 hours per week. Cycling about 300 km (186 mi) and running about 50 km (31 mi) per week. Got my running time for 10 km (6.2 mi) down to 45 min at a pace of 4:30/km (7 min/mi).

I signed up for my first olympic distance triathlon in july this year. So i needed to start swimming again after not doing so for more than 10 years because i was embarrassed of my weight.

So after losing 59 kg (130 lbs) i have some loose skin, mainly on my belly.

Three weeks ago i started swimming three times per week in a public pool. I noticed i get a lot of weird looks from people. Some really staring at my belly.

But here comes the catch: I really don't care!!

Two years ago i would have left immediately if i had noticed this. Now all i think is "yeah, look at me and see what i have accomblished". I know what i have done and what i'm capable of, so this gave me a big boost in confidence.

Anyway, i just wanted to share this because i feel awesome 😁

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Lost 40lbs last year, gained almost all of it back, and now I’m starting over.

In January of last year, my PCP prescribed me Phentermine pills to help with appetite suppression and weight loss. Almost immediately after I started taking them, I began to feel extremely hyper/shaky/jittery, but they were working so I kept taking them. I took them for 3 months and lost almost 30lbs from just not wanting to eat and having increased energy for activities. By April, I had stopped taking the pills, but I was still eating less and making better food choices with increased activity levels, so I continued to lose. Throughout April, I felt almost high, with an elevated mood and increased energy. I decided to get a second job, so I was working about 55 hours a week. At the beginning of May, I had a three day stretch where I hardly slept or ate anything, and then I went into psychosis, resulting in a 5-day hospitalization. I was immediately diagnosed with Bipolar Type 1 and started on medication. It turns out that Phentermine can cause Mania in people with Bipolar Disorder, and I had had my first ever manic episode, followed by psychosis. After getting out of the hospital, my life felt like it was falling apart. I had missed two weeks of work, lost my second job, and started losing friends as well. I felt completely disconnected and uncomfortable. My depression spiraled out of control, and even though I was medicated and seeing a therapist, my mental health was in the worst shape of my life. My old habits of eating out, overeating, and living an overall sedentary lifestyle came back with a vengeance. I stopped caring about myself. I had to give up alcohol due to my meds, so I overcompensated with sugary drinks and food. Within 4 months, I had gained back almost all the weight that I had lost. The holidays brought with them a sense of joy and togetherness that I hadn’t felt in a long time, and I am now at a place where I feel hopeful again. I want to get my life turned around and get my health under control. I really appreciate this community and I want to thank anyone who has read this far. It feels good to write all this out and know that I am likely not alone in mental health playing a huge role in my weight fluctuations. I’m ready to make a change.

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Weight loss tips for those with a history of disordered eating

I found the general weight loss tips thread, and thought it would be beneficial to add some tips specifically for those who have struggled with eating disorders or disordered eating patterns in the past.

Personally, I've gone from a BMI of 17 to 27 to 22. I've seen that it's very common to start out underweight, and overshoot the healthy range so that you have to lose weight again. If you've had unhealthy thought patterns in the past, it's incredibly easy to go back into them while you're trying to lose weight in a healthy manner.

So, here's some tips I've gathered during my journey:

- Focus more on fitness than weight. I'd argue that the gym is more important to us than people without a past of disordered eating, because it keeps us in check. If you're training for a 5k, you have to eat a baseline amount of calories, or else you won't have the energy to improve for your race.

- Consider avoiding any sort of fasting. It might work for you, but I know that it makes me fall back into unhealthy thought patterns.

- Tell someone else about your goals regularly. Having someone to keep you in check and make sure you don't fall back into old habits is very important.

- Count calories, but have a strict lower bound that you absolutely will not go under except under very special circumstances (ex. stomach flu). For me, that's 1200 calories. It might be different for you.

- Weigh yourself weekly, not daily. Weighing yourself daily is a good way to start obsessing over your weight again.

- Recognize unhealthy thought patterns when they start. If you catch one and can't shake it off, talk to someone about it asap. Let them talk you out of it.

- I'd recommend seeing a therapist, nutritionist, etc. while doing this. I know this may not be possible for everyone, but it can be very helpful.

- Let me reiterate the importance of having a fitness goal. It's the only thing that's worked for me long-term. It shifts your focus from getting thinner to getting stronger/faster/whatever, which I find decreases unhealthy thoughts and increases self-confidence.

I hope this helps, and feel free to add more!

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Trying to lose weight at 40... feels impossible. Need encouragement.

I recently turned 40, and today the scale reads 278 pounds. I am a 6’1’’ male. I have never weighed this much and I just stood shocked, looking at the scale.

I was a normal weight up until my mid 20s when I started to gain pounds, probably due to the desk job and long hours. By 30 I was 255, unhappy with my appearance and managed to get back down to 190 with extreme diet changes. Met my wife, got married, had kid, and by 35 I was 255 again. I knew I needed to lose the weight, but time went on and now I’m 40 and 278 pounds.

Over the last few years I’ve had some health issues that my doctors contribute to poor diet and anxiety. I have had significant anxiety most of my life, and while I’m being treated for it, I don’t think it’s working well. My anxiety is all health related... I have been convinced I’ve been dying of countless diseases due to pains and symptoms that have all been created by my anxiety. The only things I’ve actually been diagnosed with are a fatty liver and diverticulosis, which my gastro doc says both are highly treatable with diet and weight loss. He wasn’t very concerned. I’ve also noticed my blood pressure is starting to increase. It’s always been normal until the last year.

My anxiety has me believing that I can’t fix anything at 40. I’ve ruined my body, damage is not reversible, and I’ll just die young and leave my kid without a father. That I’ll never feel good again like I did when I was young. Heart or liver disease or cancer is next and there’s nothing I can do.

My logical brain does understand this is probably not true. I really want to get back down to a normal weight. I have a gym membership through work that I don’t use. I’ve downloaded and messed with myfitnesspal. I just need to find the motivation to start. Part of me feels like I have to lose a ton of weight ASAP, but slow and steady would probably be better.

Sorry it a lot of this seems like rambling. I’m just laying here on my phone getting over a nasty case of strep throat that tore through our house. Feeling down and just looking for some motivation. Interested in hearing from anyone, but especially folks my age who are on this journey. Thank you!

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11 years ago this month, I started my Personal Weightloss Journey

This month marks 11 years since seeing that NASTY overweight Christmas photo of myself and embarking on a personal weight loss journey!

After seeing the photo I practically made a V line to Walmart and purchased an exercise bike. When I first told my parents, I bought an exercise bike and that "I'm going to ride it 20 mins every day" their response was typical of anyone hearing that, which was akin to “ok whatever you say”.

I ended up riding that bike for 20 mins a day (usually in the morning) for about 1.5 years. I remember riding the bike during almost every episode of “Battle Star Galactica”. Something else I watched while on the bike was an internet show called “Dignation”.

It was kind of depressing because for the first week I saw no change ☹. But then slowly but sure the weight slowly dropped.

Then around July 5th, 2011 I retired the bike and started walking 3.6 miles every day. I’m proud that I only missed 3 days! 1 for the flu (still walked the next day feeling like crap), 1 for an ice storm and 1 for Christmas.

There were times I got home late and would do my 3.6-mile walk at 11pm – 12am.

Before losing weight, I had a REALLY BAD eating habit! To give you an idea for how bad it really was, for dinner I would have hot dogs and for supper, I would have a jack’s pizza and for a snack, I would eat a bag of corn chips while watching TV. When I was my heaviest, I remember weighing myself and seeing 220 on the scale and not really caring. (At least not until the photo)

My primary goal was 179lb. With all the bike riding and all the walking, the best I could do was 182lbs. Then after listing to a podcast about “Low carb” I gave it a shot.

The first week while walking and doing low carb I got to my lowest of 180lbs. It was only a month or so, that I blew past 179 down into the 160’s.

Then in 2018, I tried low carb again while helping someone lose weight and dropped into the 150s where I’m currently at today. I’m no longer low carb, but more of what I like to call “Lower carb”. That just means I don’t go out of my way to eat carbs but I don’t totally ignore them either.

I was trying to think when the last time I went out solo to a fast food joint that had a drive-through was. My best guess is 2007 (Even then I walked in)

If I made losing weight sound effortless and easy, I apologize. If there is one thing you take away from this story, take away this, It's hard, requires dedication and you have to be ready to change your eating lifestyle for the REST OF YOUR LIFE!

People who do not wish to change their lifestyle will lose weight, but will more than likely gain it all back.

When I'm home I have a salad almost every day for lunch. I weigh myself, Usually, twice a day (Might be a little overkill but it's what works for me)

I weigh in the morning when I wake up and at supper. At supper time and depending on what I weigh, the weight will dictate what I will allow myself to eat.

I'm very proud that I have been able to keep the weight off for 11 years. (and counting!)

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