OK. It's for serious!
 

I have a story that no doubt sounds familiar to many. I was chubby as a kid, and grew to genuinely fat by the time I graduated from High School. And it didn't get better from there. I had always been reasonably active and that didn't change in college. My problem is always been that I like to eat. A lot. Once I graduated college, I took on a sedentary job and my activity dropped substantially, and the weight piled on. then my wife got a job out of state and I talked my company into letting me work remotely. SO... now I have a job where I never have to walk more than 30-40 steps at a time, and it's a busy job, so it's always hard to find the time to exercise. And the weight piled on. Somewhere in the last 10 years, the bottom just fell out. I had a herniated disk first, which made me basically never want to move. That was resolved (surgery), but then I just never got back into actively moving.

In the last 3-4 years, my situation has just become impossible. I was 5' 11" and 360 lbs. My knees are a mess (difficult to stand for more than 30 minutes). I am SO out of shape that I sweat from the least exertion. Worst for me, it is impacting my life with my family and the activities we like to do, for example, I want to be able to actually ride a roller coaster with my daughter. I guess the very final straw is when my blood pressure decided to sky rocket and the doc says I'm a borderline diabetic.

ENOUGH ALREADY!

This is my moment to change. And not just a "diet." In fact, I do not consider myself as being on a diet. I could never sustain such a thing, though I've tried many times. THis must be about changing life-long habits and expectations.

SO, I started in April at 360 pounds (I'm guessing), my scale only went to 350 so I don't really know). Here at the beginning of Sept., I am at 331 lbs, so 29 down. I haven't set an end goal, because if I think about it, it just seems to far... too hard. But I have set a goal of being less than 300 lbs. by the end of the year, and less than 275 (less than I've weighed since college) by next summer. I hope to keep going after that. But with nearly 30 lbs under my belt (so to speak), I think I can do it.

The strategy is to eat a bit less, and healthier. I won't say no to anything I want, but I am mindful of how often and how much. I also want to exercise when I can. I am very out of shape, but I am walking a 1/2 mile a day right now. I think I can up that to 3/4 mile soon.

I'm a mess. But I determined to make that change NOW.

FWIW, I am doing this in "secret." It's not REALLY a secret, but I am not announcing a "diet" to anyone. I am simply making the changes and letting it run from there.

Welcome and congrats on your progress so far. Keep it up.

Smitty, welcome to the Forum and congrats on the first 30 lbs. :bravo:

You definitely seemed to have found a workable plan! Good luck!

Welcome to the forum. It seems you're doing a good job. Losing weight makes you feel so much better doesn't it?

Thanks for the warm welcome! Like a lot of fat folks, I've tried this many times before. But this time it feels different. I guess in some ways it feels like a "last chance." Not only was my health deteriorating, but I just plain HATE the way I feel right now. I've minded looking fat really, but I hate the way I feel. And my daughter is now 12, so not much time to enjoy time with her.

So thanks for the encouragement! It's going to be a journey, but I am actually looking forward to it!

Welcome! Don't be discouraged from past attempts. You probably learned something each time that you can apply to your life now and succeed in your goals. You have got this!