Before I started asking questions in other threads, i thought it only polite to introduce myself here and to tell anyone who cares a little bit about me.
On July 28th of this year I weighed 325 pounds. I stand around 5ft 10inches... you get the idea. Not the picture of health. I looked terrible, I felt terrible, I didn't want to die. So I decided to alter my lifestyle. You have to understand, it's hard work getting to 325. I mean, that's a lot of damage. For dinner at night I might have a frozen pizza (all of it), chips of some sort (probably the whole bag, and those are big bags), polish it off with a pint of ice cream, and oh yeah, let's not forgetting downing who knows how much soda. That was just dinner. Other than that, I'd eat out of vending machines during the day. Me and the Fast Food industry were tight, we hung out a lot. The dudes from my local pizza joints knew me by the sound of my voice. I'd place my order, they'd say "Okay Phill, see ya in a bit!" Depressing. I didn't excercise... I didn't do anything. I was too embarassed to even go to the doctor. So then I turned 30, and decided to change.
I quit everything. No fast food. No snack foods. No pizza (frozen or otherwise), no sugary delicious ice cream. No eating out at all, for 3 months. No drinking alcohol. Instead I started eating diet frozen foods (smart ones, Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine). I went to the gym 5 days a week, 30 minutes of cardio / 30 minutes of weight circuit training. What do you know, I began to lose weight... fast. This was addicting. Soon I enjoyed stepping on the scale more than I used to enjoy that frozen pizza. Seeing my hard work pay off was awesome. Of course it wasn't easy. At first I would literally lay in my bed at night and think about running out to a gas station and picking up some chips. I would sit at work (I work in televsion), and watch all these commercials for fast food. Man, did I want Fried Chicken, or a roast beef sandwhich, but I never did it. My friends wanted me to go out and grab a few drinks, I had to say no. It was tough, but I knew that once I was out I would drink. I couldn't be trusted. Oh yeah, and when I drink... I eat the most terrible things possible. So I successfully gave it all up, and after a while I didn't want the bad stuff anymore. I had transitioned, I had left it all behind me. It's rare that I ever even think of fast food or chips anymore. Well, I still think about chips sometimes, but I'm over fast food.
After a while, I got sick of the Frozen Dinners, and started preparing food myself. Always congnizant of exactly what I was putting in my body. I measured everything. Mostly I began eating Lean Meats, Whole Grains, and Fruit... but never in excess of 1200 calories a day. Never.
Today I weight 259 pounds. I've lost 66 pounds. I can't even wear my old clothes, and though I still hate the way I look, I feel sooooo much better. My doctor says besides the extra weight I'm otherwise healthy, so that's a good. Things are going well, except. I was 259 pounds last Monday. The Monday before that I was like 260. Something's happened. I've stopped losing. When I initially began all this my mindset was that weight was just a number, I wanted to look and feel good. I wanted to be healthy. However, the weight loss is what gets me excited. It's my reward for all the sacrifice. When I see I've lost, I can't even describe that feeling, it's amazing. Now I'm not losing. I'm frustrated, because I'm killing myself in the gym, and my eating habits are solid and accounted for. That's why I'm here. I'm trying to figure out what's going on. I'm still big, there's still fat to lose. Why am I not losing it? There's a definite caloric deficit. Anyway, that's probably for other forums. I just wanted to introduce myself here, and say great job to everyone else who's decided to change their lives. Later.
Phillip
On July 28th of this year I weighed 325 pounds. I stand around 5ft 10inches... you get the idea. Not the picture of health. I looked terrible, I felt terrible, I didn't want to die. So I decided to alter my lifestyle. You have to understand, it's hard work getting to 325. I mean, that's a lot of damage. For dinner at night I might have a frozen pizza (all of it), chips of some sort (probably the whole bag, and those are big bags), polish it off with a pint of ice cream, and oh yeah, let's not forgetting downing who knows how much soda. That was just dinner. Other than that, I'd eat out of vending machines during the day. Me and the Fast Food industry were tight, we hung out a lot. The dudes from my local pizza joints knew me by the sound of my voice. I'd place my order, they'd say "Okay Phill, see ya in a bit!" Depressing. I didn't excercise... I didn't do anything. I was too embarassed to even go to the doctor. So then I turned 30, and decided to change.
I quit everything. No fast food. No snack foods. No pizza (frozen or otherwise), no sugary delicious ice cream. No eating out at all, for 3 months. No drinking alcohol. Instead I started eating diet frozen foods (smart ones, Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine). I went to the gym 5 days a week, 30 minutes of cardio / 30 minutes of weight circuit training. What do you know, I began to lose weight... fast. This was addicting. Soon I enjoyed stepping on the scale more than I used to enjoy that frozen pizza. Seeing my hard work pay off was awesome. Of course it wasn't easy. At first I would literally lay in my bed at night and think about running out to a gas station and picking up some chips. I would sit at work (I work in televsion), and watch all these commercials for fast food. Man, did I want Fried Chicken, or a roast beef sandwhich, but I never did it. My friends wanted me to go out and grab a few drinks, I had to say no. It was tough, but I knew that once I was out I would drink. I couldn't be trusted. Oh yeah, and when I drink... I eat the most terrible things possible. So I successfully gave it all up, and after a while I didn't want the bad stuff anymore. I had transitioned, I had left it all behind me. It's rare that I ever even think of fast food or chips anymore. Well, I still think about chips sometimes, but I'm over fast food.
After a while, I got sick of the Frozen Dinners, and started preparing food myself. Always congnizant of exactly what I was putting in my body. I measured everything. Mostly I began eating Lean Meats, Whole Grains, and Fruit... but never in excess of 1200 calories a day. Never.
Today I weight 259 pounds. I've lost 66 pounds. I can't even wear my old clothes, and though I still hate the way I look, I feel sooooo much better. My doctor says besides the extra weight I'm otherwise healthy, so that's a good. Things are going well, except. I was 259 pounds last Monday. The Monday before that I was like 260. Something's happened. I've stopped losing. When I initially began all this my mindset was that weight was just a number, I wanted to look and feel good. I wanted to be healthy. However, the weight loss is what gets me excited. It's my reward for all the sacrifice. When I see I've lost, I can't even describe that feeling, it's amazing. Now I'm not losing. I'm frustrated, because I'm killing myself in the gym, and my eating habits are solid and accounted for. That's why I'm here. I'm trying to figure out what's going on. I'm still big, there's still fat to lose. Why am I not losing it? There's a definite caloric deficit. Anyway, that's probably for other forums. I just wanted to introduce myself here, and say great job to everyone else who's decided to change their lives. Later.
Phillip
