Hello all,

I am a 38 year old married man with 3 kids. I love my family, and I need to change my ways so that I can be with them longer. I have been fat my entire life, and I am finally sick of it. I used to be OK with it, I was the "big guy" and all. But at 5'-10" and 287 lbs. I can not see my toes, let alone touch them. I "know" what I need to do, it's just the getting up off the couch and doing it that I am having to fight.

Wish me luck, thank in advance for all your support and encouragement.

Thanks,
Michael

P.S. Please help support and encourage me.

Welcome to the forums. You'll find tons of support and encouragement here

Good on you for taking this first step, and good luck on your journey.

Welcome to the forums. There's a men's corner, but feel free to post anywhere. We tend to be a very nice community.

Welcome! You can do it!

There's men's corner as well as a daily accountability thread that is very active in the weight loss support section. Feel free to join us.

Hi Michael! You will find lots of support here! People are so nice and encouraging, and there is so much great information to learn and advice, tips, and recipes to read. What weight loss plan are you going to be following? I wish you the best of luck! You can do this!

Michael, men do especially well on the IP protocol, there are lots of posts. There is an alternative site too, since IP is expensive. Don't know what you were looking to do as far as a plan. WELCOME to 3FC, great people, great support.

Thank you all for the warm greetings. I have adopted a lifestyle change, My eldest daughter has Celiac disease, and I am a carrier of the gene. Well, I can not afford to have the test done again, but being on the gluten free diet has helped me with joint pain and aching all the time, so I have been gluten free for about 7 months now. I plan on just cutting back on my intake and getting off the couch. I will check out the Men's corner.... Thank you all.

Michael,

Welcome. I have almost exactly the same stats as you. I am 5' 9.5" and was 285 to 300 the last few years.

I was motivated by similar concerns. And motivation is the key. With it I believe weight loss is not only achievable but inevitable. I finally became a dad when we adopted when I was 46. It took to almost 48 for me to just reach my breaking point.

But when I did start it has been, frankly, much easier than I thought. I've read literally hundreds of success stories on Huffington Post. Mostly for motivation but also to see what people were doing. I'd say 90% plus say they lowered carbs.

I never see anyone say yeah I reduced fat and upped carbs and whallah all this weight gone. In any case I targeted bread, pasta, and potatoes. I never buy bread and pasta for the house now and do have potatoes but much rarer.

Those changes allowed me to then quit fast food and my junk food snacking. There was a transition but even though those were an every day thing for me it wasn't super hard.

I am decided to do a couch to 5 K program. C25K. There are many free smart phone apps or for a few dollars. I never ran in my life. Tonight I will do a 20 minute run and I am already signed up for my first 5 K.

Running REALLY helps me loose weight. It not only burns a ton of calories but also revs up your metabolism for a long time. But it was hard when I weighed in the 270s which is when I started. But the C25K programs are all geared to be gradual with way more walking than running to begin with.

I still eat out quite a bit. But I have so many good breakfasts and lunches and most of my dinners it is OK. You don't have to give everything up, it just needs to not be a regular part and certainly daily part of your diet like it was for me.

But I have had many quesos, fried chicken, chicken wings, pizza since May 1. Just a lot less than before.

And for me the two best things have been my energy and I am not hungry any more. Carbs were just, for me and to me, the worse. They kept me hungry all the time so I eat too much. They kept me tired all the time so I exercised too little. I targeted them and I am on my way to Onederland this year.

It sounds like you might be going wheat free already. Just be sure when buying gluten free stuff, if you are, to check and see if they are using tapioca, rice, and potato flour. Those also have high glycemic indexes. Sometimes this cannot be avoided. But gluten free does not mean healthy. I think people can make that mistake. They are still high carb.

Thanks Diamondgeog, I know about the gluten free not being "healthy" automatically, BUT, it has helped with my joint pain significantly and my daughter loves that she is not the "only one that has to eat different" anymore. My weakness is potatoes, all kinds, doesn't matter. i can give up pasta without a problem, and breads are not too important, but there is not a spud around that I do not crave. But i have better things to live for than spuds! HERE I GO!!!

Keep up the great work!! I have never been told I have a gluten problem but process of elimination I completely do. I have been eating low carb for years now, nearly 3 to be exact and I have gone from 237 to 161 as of today. My newly adapted lifestyle changes are : No wheat, no gluten, no fast food, move 30 minutes a day. The no wheat, no gluten has been easy and great. Today I am craving chicken breast, beans and brocolli from El Pollo Loco...ugh, I know its fast food but I want it SO bad. I have been moving anywhere from 10-30 minutes a day, which 10 is not great but its better than Zero. From the 2nd til today I am down 3 lbs which my goal was 1.24lbs a week for 50 weeks! Week one in the bag, YAY!!

Keep it up, its worth it!!