I decided to start up a diary to keep me motivated and keep track of whats going on with my new way of life. I'm 353lbs and have a goal to get down to 200lbs one day but for now I'm just looking to get out of the 300's and start feeling better.

I plan on trying to drop 2lbs a week so I'm looking at around a year and a half to hit 200lbs. I've changed my diet and it's been a few day's without the junk food and I feel better. I know I need to start exercising but have trouble doing more than 15 min at a time so I've been trying to do my 15 min of exercise 4 to 6 times a day.

I've been on diets before and always seem to get derailed but to me this time it's not a diet it's more of a change in habits and lifestyle. I have family support this time so maybe I'll actually make it however one thing I did discover is I get discouraged easy by the numbers on the scales so I'm only going to weigh myself once a month so I keep my motivation up.

Feel free to comment if you like or if you have any advice I'm all ears.

As a fellow fat man (320), I can tell you it won't be easy. It will suck. It will be very hard. You'll have points where you'll want to say fuck it. That is all very normal.

Sometimes you won't be able to resist temptation. That's okay. You'll have slip ups. You'll fail, but remember, you can lose a battle, but still win the war.

Keep up your diary and remember why you are making these sacrifices. We are all in it together!

Best of luck!!!

Lee, I'm finally under 300 now. It has been a tremendously arduous journey, but it can be done. I started at 389lbs, so... yeah, been there, done that...

Not as many men in here as ladies it seems most of the time (although that makes some of the conversations kind of interesting sometimes )

Good for starting a journal. The big guys need to stick together.

Hi, Lee, and welcome.

Looks like you have some solid ideas - it's a lifestyle/habit change, not a diet; realistic goals and timetable. These are good keys to success.

Your food and diet are critical. I suggest tracking your caloric and nutrient intake using a free site like FitDay.com - it can really help you monitor your food intake.

As far as exercise goes - start slow. Try walking - you can probably walk for a lot longer than you can do something more vigorous. Your ability and desire to do more will increase rapidly. Then you can ramp up into something more intense.

Look around the site - read the stickies at the top of the various sections. Lots of good stuff in there.

Looks like you're on a good path! Good luck to you! I'm new at this, how do I post a new post?

Lee, BTW, doing cardio for shorter blocks of time, ie 10 -15 minutes at a time, 3 or more times daily is a pretty effective means of getting teh exercise in as well. Don't fret about it if you don't feel like you can hang at first. You'll adapt very quickly, and movement is movement, it all adds up.

Lissa, at the top of every index topic is be a button marked something like start thread. Use this to open your new topic. I would suggest either starting a diary, or introducing yourself in the newcomer topic.

I went to the park today to get some exercise and actually found something that let me move around more and maybe get more exercise. I took a basketball and everytime I made a basket I had to go to the other baseline and back. I was able to do this for over an hour which is an accomplishment for me because usually just standing for a half hour will make my feet and back hurt. I think the thing that helped me was the shooting baskets distracted my mind enough to make this a little fun for me.

As far as diet goes I've been really good vegetables and fruits make up most of my diet. I also haven't had any "junk" food in over a week and whats weird is I have yet to have a craving. So I hope this time I'm really going to do it.

I'm a fat guy (285 pounds) and wish you well- My advice is be wary of the portions you eat- I have the habit of eating ginormous portions- If you can cut portions down, that's half the battle.....

And don't dwell only on losing a certian ammount of weight, focus on changing exercise and eating habits- You may notice the positive side effect is weight loss..

Watching the scale is like watching the kettle, and we all know that a watched kettle never boils...

Good day today more energy and did more exercise (because I made it fun) Been pretty good about keeping track of what I eat and avoiding what's bad for me. I actually feel lighter on my feet today so I'm happy...

One of the great things is that once you become accustomed to it, you really do start to adapt and feel lighter, with more energy etc. I'm an exercise addict now. I really can't go more than a couple of days without a good workout of some kind because otherwise I feel like I'm slipping.

Decided to weigh myself and down 17lbs so I'm happy. I know a lot is water weight but still the scale is going the right way

Joined the gym which is a huge leap of faith for me but I know I'm going to start using it and it will pay off

Hi Lee, welcome to the forum and congrats on your 'lifestyle change' One step at a time is what you are doing and that is the best way to go. Joining the gym is a huuuuge step, so way to go. I have a gym membership that i have been ignoring for quite some time. Well..it is being brushed off *lil dusty* and it *and I* will be put to work.

Been working out at the gym everyday so far and feeling good. However I did get a little discouraged when I weighed myself only to see I gained 2lbs. I'm not going to dwell on it because the scale is just a number and I'm more concerned with overall health.

My food intake has been exactly followed for going on 2 weeks now and I'm really proud of that. I've had many opportunities to cheat but the funny thing is the foods and drinks I once loved and couldn't go without now make me sick to see or even smell.

I'm going to beat this and refuse to give up! I've been reading other people's diaries and found that the success of others really motivate me to keep this going and actually do it.

Congrats on the weight loss, Lee! I know what you mean about eating healthy. I love all the veggies and chicken I eat now! I weigh myself daily and used to let it get me down sometimes. But now I only focus on the weekly numbers and the general downward direction.

Weekly weigh-ins and weekly calorie counts helped me greatly. That way I don't have to do great every day, but every week must be solid.