This week I decided that giving up is not an option for me, so I'm here on the board trying to reconnect with this great community. So, what's my story? Well, like many, I was larger than average for most of my life, but I was not fat per se. I was even a college athlete, throwing the shot put and discuss. We throwers tend to be bigger folks but are still in shape.

After college, I went to grad school and really packed on the pounds and went from a little overweight to obese. My weight has fluctuated over the years, but now I've been significantly over 300 lbs for the last 4 years and I'm sick of it. So, last year I started one of the packaged meal programs (medifast) and it worked, but I stopped following it because I lost track of the reason why I started in the first place.

Recently, I've been refocusing on myself and doing some deep thinking about what my WHY is for wanting to lose the weight. I'm in my early 30s and while I have my health now, it won't be around forever if I don't change. I realize that on some days I'm just not going to feel like staying on my plan and I need to have something to center me. I'm working on finding that. I've restarted medifast because it works for me. I am already seeing results this week, but I do need support, so I'm back here on the forum because you all really understand the struggle of what it's like to live over 300 lbs.

Welcome back, Sweet Epiphany! It's never too late to start again.

Thank you, wannabehealthy!

Wishing you the very!!! best.

Thank you! I have had a lot of success since I wrote this post. I'm down 30 lbs in the last 6 weeks from 344 lbs to about 314 lbs. I still can't believe it. Medifast has been my saving grace. I'm really looking forward to getting out of the 300s soon.

SweetEpiphany, first of all, congrats for your message, loved it.

You said someting very important there :

That is so true !

I'm going through the same process as you and it's very tough, but we need to ask ourselves 3 important questions when it comes to losing weight : Why ? How ? and When ? In my opinion, those are the 3 most important questions and very often we have the wrong answers.

For example Why ? I will say it's for Health reasons and that's the true answer, but actually it's because I want to look different, I want to feel attractive again. The main reason my weight is bothering me is my love life. Now, is this the Why I should do it ? No, I should do it for Health, that's the most important.

However, that doesn't mean that wanting to feel good in our body to be more attractive is not good. But in my opinion it's not a Why, it's a How. I use that as a motivation not a end, that's a very different prospective. And the How for you could be Medifast as some point and something else at another moment. For me me now it's juicing, just for few weeks, then I change to something else. It's different for everybody, you just need to take time to find How it will work for you. It seems you did

Finally, the When, is maybe the most important. Because, even if you know Why and How, if you don't have the When, you will fail. The When is when is it the good time to start ? In my opinion you need to be a good state of mind or a shock. Either you need to be very positive as you will enter in a very difficult period with the diet, so a positive mindset can only help. Or, you experience something very traumatic in your life, than triggered something in you to make a change. It's very personal, only you knows the When...

But again congrats, for being on the right track again SweetEpiphany

Thanks for your thoughtful response Unapologetic Lover. So much has changed for me since I wrote this post. I have lost over 40 lbs since October and I just made it to 299 lbs, putting me under 300 lbs for the first time in years. I am loving my progress and feel very determined to keep going.

WOW ! Congratulations
I'm sure you'll rock even further in 2018.
In 1 year from now we'll celebrate, you'll see
Happy new year by the way and all the best things

I am just getting back here myself, so welcome back and HELLO! Your journey is inspiring. Thank you so much for sharing it. Congratulations on your success!!!

on getting below 300!

You look amazing in your picture!