Hi all, I am down to 185 which is is 5 pounds LESS than my goal (I'm a guy). The first time I weighed myself when I started working on losing this weight was last June and I was 302, however that was about 5 or 6 weeks after I already started working out and eating better so I probably started at over 320. Now I'm down to where I was in college, even less in fact. I posted some updates over the months in the bodybugg/GWF thread in the "general dieting" section. I won't get into it again here but I honestly thank god I bought the GWF. It has been extremely instrumental in helping me lose weight and just keeping me active. I still wear it every day and frankly don't see any reason to ever stop wearing it.
I never felt like I was dieting, I just stopped eating junk and started eating clean. In the beginning I definitely had cravings for things I used to eat but haven't had those in a long time. I still enjoy a lot of things but there are a lot of things I used to eat regularly I have no interest in any more. In fact occasionally I've gone and eaten those things just because I thought I should treat myself and when I ate them I didn't even care for the taste any more. In fact one thing that annoys me these days is when people think I must be starving myself, or am somehow not "enjoying" foods, or stupid things like that. It's not the case at all and frankly most of the people who make those comments eat like crap and are overweight and unhealthy themselves.
The main thing is I worked out regularly and really enjoy working out now. I actually look forward to working out. To people starting out who are thinking they feel nothing like that trust me I was exactly the same for at least several weeks if not months when I started. It turned from being a chore I dragged myself into doing to become what I feel is essentially now a hobby I enjoy engaging in. My workouts consist primarily of lifting weights and cardio interval training, amongst other things. Using my GWF I target a daily step count of at least 12,000 and a calorie burn of over 3000 (usually get around 3400 nowadays, was getting over 4000 with around this same activity level when I weighed much more). A couple tips off the top of my head I can think of for people who are hating working out is 1) find workouts you enjoy 2) find a time of day you enjoy working out and do whatever you can to fit that into your schedule. For me that time of day is in the morning, for days I do pure cardio I often get to the gym at around 5:30am before work. A lot of people actually work out then, I've come to love the feel of the gym at that time too. If you told me a year ago I'd be going to the gym at that time I'd think you were nuts, I couldn't imagine waking up at that time much less being at the gym and working out at that time. On days I lift weights I go a little later in the morning because I like to eat a decent meal and let it digest for a while beforehand. Occasionally when I miss a morning workout, I DO in fact dread going to the gym in the evening and may just end up skipping it. So it has become very important for me to just go in the morning, it also makes me feel awesome all day long.
In terms of lifestyle it has been great. I go out a lot more and girls flirt with me which hasn't happened in ages, I just enjoy things way more. I feel superb. I used to literally avoid looking at myself in mirrors or photos but now I like what I see. I love clothes again now, I used to just wear whatever fit and was comfortable. Now I love dressing up. A lot of people don't recognize me if they haven't seen me in a while, it has led to some funny situations. BTW, I do have a decent amount of loose skin which I'm very likely going to get removed.
I hadn't posted on this board in months until today. What brought me back here was going through an online photo album from around a year ago and seeing old pictures of myself. I actually avoided looking at old photos for a while now. When I saw those pictures today I couldn't believe how fat I was. Its amazing when I think about it because mentally and physically I'm in such a different place. Its like I don't know that person. However I realize that IS me, and I need to remember that and not let myself slip back to it because I know I'm not going to slip back to it overnight, but it could easily happen over time if I go back to my old ways. For people who are struggling with weight loss right now my main advice is to stick through it and go through the hard parts both mentally and physically KNOWING that it will get better. Your body will change and you will begin to enjoy working out and eating right (as long as you don't do crazy things like starve yourself).
Congratulations!
