When I graduated high school, I weighed 250 pounds. I was never teased and had plenty of friends. I never considered myself to be fat. Plump, maybe..but fat..never.
In college, instead of gaining the freshman 15, I lost the freshman 100. It took a lot of will power to make it happen. I didn't watch what I ate before, (obviously) but to lose the weight, I watched my diet like a hawk. Everything was tracked. Junk food was gone, replaced by fruits and vegetables and healthy protein (lean meat, chicken). I also ran every single day. I started off slow, but eventually was running 5 miles a day, everyday.
Losing the weight was the best thing I have ever done for myself, but it wasn't easy. Like I said, it took a lot of determination. I had some really dark days (a battle with anorexia, now body dysmorphic disorder), but I am glad I had to go on the journey that I did. It taught me a lot about myself and was instrumental in making me the person I am today. I am much more confident than I ever was before and now know that I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. That is a great feeling.
If I had to go back and do it all over again, I strongly recommend doing weight and cardio exercises together to lose weight. I focused all of my attention on cardio and ended up losing pretty much all muscle mass. I started weight lifting about two years ago and have spent a lot of time in the gym trying to tone up. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you will burn throughout your normal day. Hit the weights.
If you want to lose weight, you really have to be committed to the cause. It is not easy and it takes a lot of work to get the results you expect. Creating your dream body is 90% diet. All the gym time in the world will mean nothing if you are still eating a whole pizza after work each day. Keep track of everything, and really work on eliminating junk food entirely. Fruits. Vegetables. Protein. If its processed and packaged, its probably not good for you. I love the website fitday.com. Its an awesome website that lets you track what you eat, your exercise and caloric intake. Best of all, its free.
Don't discount the benefits of a fitness club membership either. So many gyms are popping up with memberships as low as $10 a month. (Planet Fitness) Every single one of us can afford $10 a month. For me, I don't have enough motivation to work out at home. I've tried. I have to go to the gym, where I have no distractions and can only focus on working out. While at the gym, really push yourself to the limit. Read articles online to find new exercises and really push yourself to your limits. Make the most of your gym time. I see far to many people come in and sulk around from machine to machine with zero enthusiasm and motivation. Also, don't be afraid of free weights. Machines are fine to help you perfect your form, but your body will get more out of free weights.
My final piece of advise is to start slow. Don't expect to run three miles on your first day. Congratulate yourself if you can run half a mile on your first day. Slowly but surely, you will gain endurance and will be able to complete three miles with ease. Set realistic goals for yourself. Don't force yourself into losing x amount of pounds or running x amount of miles. I despise scales and haven't weighed myself in months. Pounds mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. Losing weight should be all about feeling better in your own skin. If I wasn't as fixated on a magic number while I was losing weight, I probably wouldn't have become anorexic.
All of that said, be kind to your mind. Don't give up if you don't work out for a week. Don't give up if you eat a whole pizza while out with friends. Just pick yourself up and keeping going. Remember, quitters never win and winners never quit. I give myself one cheat day a week where I can have that Dr. Pepper if a feel like it or eat that hamburger if I so chose. Choosing to eat right and exercise should never be a means to an end. It should be the beginning to a happy and fulfilling lifestyle.
“I can't imagine a person becoming a success who doesn't give this game of life everything he's got.” Walter Cronkite.
I weighed less than 120 (lbs) when graduating from HS, went as high as 150 while in my '40s, and now maintain about 145 lbs at 5'-8" high. My waist has only increased from a 30 to a 32 over all these years. I could use a little weight re-distribution though. Men tend to get a little belly later in years no matter what their weight. I'm no exception, and really need to exercise my stomach area to get it down a bit.
