1 year later

[savealotman1]

So here I am . It has been a year since I started my journey and I have been succesful. A year ago i bought a biggest loser food scale and joined a gym. I have athritis in the right side of my lower back an L5 disc issue and athritis in both my knees. My Dr. told me that a lot of my issues could be resolved or at least minimized with weight loss. So I decided to take charge and get healthy. I truly beleive we are all responsible for our own well being. I started out at 254lbs at 6' tall. I am now 203.4 and continue to skinny down. I definitely saw a lot come off at first. Now I am seeing a loss of about 1lb per month. I did it the right way changing my diet and doing a cardio and strength building routine. I continue to aspire for more. Now that I have reached my goal I want more. My new goal now is to get my 6 pack for the spring. I know that a lot of you have found success with a restricted calorie diet. Everyone is different and everyone has different goals but I disagree with this type of nutrional plan. I never followed this type of diet and while I have increased my protein intake I continue to eat healthy. The key for me is the gym when I workout I have absolutely no desire to eat anything unhealthy and while I do enjoy the cheat day. When it happens those foods that are not healthy really have no appeal to me. My philosphy is simple whatever i put in my body has to have some type of nutrional value it has to benefit me in some way nutrionally. I do not follow a low calorie diet my average daily calorie intake is between 3300 and 3800. Yes some days i do dip below 3000 but most days do not. I know i do have an advantage that my job is physical and i am on my feet and walking constantly and lifting heavy objects. But my job was the same before I started this journey. My opinion is you have to eat to lose weight. Quality is what counts. Starving yourself is the worst way to lose weight at some point you actually train your body to survive on less so when you choose to increase your calorie intake your body doesn't need it. By staggering your intake you keep your metabolism off balance and it can't adjust to it. I can appreciate everyones struggles and wish you all the best.

[VitoVino]

Excellent success story in the making! Congrats on your achievements so far!

I've noticed you're infrequent here in the forums. Have you checked out the best advice on the internet for tips? Seriously, this is some serious advice and I can't imagine finding any better, anywhere:

FitDay's Best of Series: Breaking a plateau


FitDay's Best of Series: Tips for Weight Loss

[jaymagblue]

Congrats on the weight loss!!
I'm pretty much in the same boat , I started at 258 and 9 months later am at 196, I also gave my self a year to reach my goal at 175, but the last month I only lost a pound. Is it that much harder to lose weight as you get closer to your goal?

[Jwoods236]

That is my goal. I just started at 262 and my goal is 200. I have tried every diet imaginable and have either yo-yoed back to my original weight or completely failed all together. I am 30 and I don't want my weight to lead to more problems down the road. Any advice would be appreciated.

[jmagalong]

To lose the weight I did 3 things
1. Stopped drinking juice and soda and drank water
2. Joined a gym and made myself work out 3-4 times a week, nothing drastic I started doing 30 minutes at first each time I went
3. Counted my calories , I kept track of everything I ate and kept myself on a low calorie regiment.

I never really went on a diet, I just changed the way I ate. Everything I did I went slow and just kept up with it

[jacech8]

Exercise and burn more calories than you take in ...

[TATER1000]

I have been on every olive splitting diet all the way to full on gastric bypass. I have been as high as 413 and after all the 49 years I have found what works for me. PALEO. I have found that eating Paleo or Primal has been the easiest and most rewarding program in my life. I dont have an exercise program, I eat when I'm hungry and I eat all I want when I'm hungry. There are just a few things I no longer eat. I eat real meats and real vegitables along with real fruits and some seeds and nuts but I no longer put in my mouth any grains, legumes or processed drinks or foods. It works! I wish I could tell everybody what this Paleo has done for me. I get most of my info from Marksdailyapple.com and track the results here on fitday. I no longer have to take my heart meds because the doc took me off them. I no longer have to take pain meds because I got the gluten out of my diet and the systimic imflamation that goes along with eating grains and legumes, so I no longer hurt in my joints. I no longer have to take allergy meds because my allergies have gone away. I have the energy of a 5 year old and my mind has cleared up from a fog that has lasted 49 years. That's my story and its a true one. Paleo for life! Grok on my friends.