East coast here.
I am about to turn 25 years old. I am 5'9 and 271 lbs. My obesity has gotten way out of hand the past few years. I am trying to at least get to 231 lbs before the end of the year. Realistically I think I will be able to get to 210 and still not look like a bunch of loose skin. Either way, I'm going to lose at least 40 lbs. I am sick of being so heavy. In Feb. 2010, in the midst of diet and exercise I was 230 lbs. I am going to take this lifestyle change a lot more seriously than the one I tried a year ago.
My European scale only gives me weight in kg so i have to convert, but it was a good deal and it is very accurate. I was weighed at the doctor's office 6 days ago and was 276 with all my clothes on, and since then I have cut soda...so my current scale seems quite accurate.
Here are photos I just took 20 minutes ago or so:
http://img508.imageshack.us/i/week12.jpg/
http://img203.imageshack.us/i/week1d.jpg/
My plan is simple. Plenty of water. No soda (I drink quite a bit). No fried foods (this will be tough). White carbohydrates consumed in stringent moderation. Lots of eggs, chicken breasts and whole wheat toast. Low impact cardio & strength training. I'm talking sit-ups, elliptical, push-ups, and jogging in place or something.
I've done this all before and had an okay time doing it, but life (and gout) got in the way. I got gout during my last period of diet & exercise because I was using protein supplements to counteract hunger. I won't be able to do the protein supplements this time, so I will take it a bit slower. I will have plenty of time to accomplish my goal. I know how rapidly I can build my metabolism and get on the road to healthiness; my biggest concern is building a lifestyle I can sustain so that I won't gain weight back again. Will post more in the coming weeks about my methods.
Btw I really like this forum and hope more guys come to the men's corner and use our battle as inspiration. We will not give up, there's a lot on the line!
Edit: Btw I know our goals seem a bit skewed, I'm trying to lose quite a bit of weight and he is just trying to look better...but he is in his upper 30s I believe and a very tall guy with knee issues (plus he's married/has a family), so training will be much more difficult for him. I feel that our goals will be equally difficult to achieve, and I am satisfied with the terms.