I Lost 126 Pounds After Learning How to Count Calories

Photo credit: David Katz
Photo credit: David Katz

From Men's Health

I became sedentary from the age of 20 until the age of 40. I wrestled in high school and was athletic, but after graduation I was burned out and my eating habits didn’t change. I immediately went from 160 pounds to around 200 pounds. Over the next 20 years, I put on an additional 70 pounds.

My lifestyle then was simple: eating and sitting with very little in between. I was 100 percent sedentary and eating all of the wrong foods.

My wife died in 2012, and dating again was a nightmare. My health began to deteriorate, and I had no respect from my peers at work. I had a chip on my shoulder.

In June 2018, a chiropractor friend suggested that I start to lose weight using meal replacements, such as healthy smoothies. I joined a gym to use the sauna and jacuzzi. These things together got me to start living a healthier lifestyle.

The major catalyst was when I discovered calories and learned about the calorie deficit. There was real hope. I joined the Lose It! app, started logging my calories, and started intense learning and researching. I built my lifestyle around my diet to make sure I succeeded. My diet still evolves, and that is the best part. Just a few weeks ago I quit adding sugar to foods like coffee. I’m always refining and evolving.

I went from 286 pounds to 260 pounds in a few weeks. From there it snowballed, and now I weigh 160 pounds.

In the beginning, I went to the gym every day and did 20 minutes of cardio, 25 minutes of weights, some swimming, and. used the sauna. Today I do 30 minutes of cardio, and one and a half hours of weights and sauna. I use the pool every day. I work and lift extremely hard, and I became a real athlete again. This time with a great diet.

I’m trying to this day to keep evolving and refining. It feels amazing to know I’m one of the few who can say they lost over 100 pounds—especially in under 6 months—and in the most legit way possible. I got married to a beautiful woman, have a child on the way, got my life back, and am working a job that I love. I got everything back and more.

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