Hello Friends!
I feel the need to write one of those all-too-frequently seen "third time is the charm posts." I have walked this path of weight loss two times in the past with some success: In 2010, I dropped from 287lbs to 247lbs before regaining back to exactly where I started over a two-year period. Never one to be permanently felled by a short-term failure, I dusted myself off and tried again in 2012, managing to lose back down to about 250lbs or so. However, at the end of 2012, my grandmother passed away and I allowed my grief to serve as a license for undoing the habits I had developed over the years. Over the past 18 months, I have gained a whopping 70lbs, bringing me to my current 320lbs.
Given my higher starting weight, the task before me this time is in some ways more difficult: if I wish to reach my ultimate goal weight of roughly 170lbs, I have to shed a total of 150lbs, no small feat! To avoid being deterred by the mammoth task ahead of me, I have decided to split my journey into two (roughly) even legs: getting out of morbid obesity and getting to my ultimate goal. Undoubtedly, these two sub-goals will be further divided to increase their accessibility as well. However, in a lot of ways, losing weight and (keeping it off!) for a third and final time should prove to be easier than ever; I already know what works for me (straight up calorie counting and light exercise), I know how my body responds to certain foods and exercises better than ever, and I am in a much more stable place in my life financially than I was the last go round, meaning I'll have additional resources at my disposal throughout this process.
Even though I am not pleased with having let my body reach such a state of disrepair and disuse, I am grateful that I've reached my line in the sand and I'm finally ready to turn it around, once and for all.