My adventures with weight loss started as a 2005 New Year's resolution. No, that's not right. My most recent adventures with weight loss started as a 2005 New Year's resolution. My struggle with weight has been a constant throughout my life. I was overweight throughout my childhood. I first began losing weight my senior year of high school, but I didn't stop. I lost so much weight that some days I couldn't get out of bed. And what's worse was that I wanted to lose more. I was then rescued by my soon-to-be wife. Sadly, once I began eating again, I didn't stop. I arrived just shy of 300 pounds in December of 2004.
"This has to stop," she said. It did. Not only was I unhealthy, which bothered both of us, but I was genuinely unhappy with my appearance and my energy level. I knew I couldn't just stop eating again. I remembered having no energy and had no desire to ever go that route again.
My future mother-in-law recommended Weight Watchers. I was skeptical at first. I remember thinking "Right, I'm going to go sit in a meeting with a bunch of old fat ladies. Great." But I went; the first week was free anyway. The meeting wasn't too bad (but the attendance was primarily overweight older women), and I decided to go back again next week. I lost 3 pounds in only seven days! And I wasn't hungry all the time.
After losing 10 pounds, I hit a plateau. In case you're curious, 290 isn't the plateau I was looking for, so I had to find something else to fuel my weight loss. I'm something of a video game fanatic, so I picked up a copy of DDR MAX and a dance pad at Fry's. Man, is that game hard for fat uncoordinated people! I kept at it though. At first it didn't help because I couldn't dance for very long, but as I began to dance longer, weight started coming off again.
I'm now down to 260. It's not as low as I'd like, and I still have a belly, but I feel healthier and happier than I have ever felt before. I actively enjoy working out now, and I'm still not hungry all the time.
I guess I've rambled long enough. I'm fairly certain my moral is this: don't give up. That's it. Life's not easy, and it's certainly not fair, but we can tip the scales in our favor if we simply refuse to quit.