Learn How I Lost 150 Pounds in Just 14 Months

This is not just another fad diet book – that fill libraries, bookstores, and internet, but the real story of how I lost 150 pounds in about 14 months (and keep the pounds off). A story, which I believe anyone who can walk, will benefit from.

First I go back a bit and explain how the middle-aged 0 6 ‘”a man with a medium to large frame should be 335 pounds. Well, it’s not difficult and does not seem to take all that long. That is to eat lots of fast food, burgers, and little or no exercise for several years. Sound familiar? In 30 I and 40, I was quite active with scuba diving and just in my own work. Then all of a sudden my job changed to where I was sitting at a computer eight hours a day ( and still is), instead of a busy technician building and testing things.

With age also comes slowing my metabolism (I am now 54), coupled with lots of work sitting down and eating fatty burgers and other high-calorie foods. Especially bad eating a big meal before bed. It did not take long to find myself at 335 pounds. I blew a big fat like a whale and my big belly hanging way above my belt line. I have to buy 3X shirts and 50 “waist trousers to go around my mass. I looked and felt very sad.

The time came when I finally said enough is enough! I do not feel well, out of breath all the time, and could hardly walk up the stairs to the bedroom. I went out and bought a good bathroom scale and weighed himself digitally next morning (undressed and after using the bathroom). The maximum limit on the scale was 330 pounds. Scale gives me an error message (a big fat capital E). That means I am heavier than 330 pounds! My God I thought! It can not be! That morning, I weighed myself working on a shipping scale. My weight is about 340 pounds fully dressed and after eating breakfast. That means the actual weight I am around 335 or more.

Steps I did to lose the pounds …

I know I do not want (or able) to buy an expensive gym equipment. I also do not want to spend a lot of money to join a health club. There must be a better way. I did some research on the internet about aerobics and metabolism (the rate at which the body burns fuel) and came to the conclusion the answer to my weight problem is to increase my metabolism through aerobic exercise, and by changing my eating habits. Strict definition of aerobic is “with oxygen”. The body uses oxygen to burn fuel. Aerobic exercise improves oxygen consumption by the body and burn fuel more efficiently. I learned that aerobic exercise (like walking at a fast speed for 20 minutes or more without stopping), will increase your metabolism (possibly up to several hours), even after you stop exercising. This is only one additional facility aerobics.

I would encourage everyone to read, to search the internet on “metabolism” and “aerobics”. There is more information there than I can possibly be placed here, or need. The information is widely available – no need for me to reinvent the wheel.

After getting a new digital scales panic when I went “Tilt”, this is what I do …

1. I created a spreadsheet on my home computer so I can track and record my weight every Saturday morning (you can choose any day you want, as long as you are consistent at the time of your own body weight). Once a week is best.

2. I looked on the internet about losing weight, and learn about metabolism, aerobics and aerobic exercise (and how they affect the body and calories). I think I should be around 180-185 pounds for my height and frame, so I adjusted the daily calorie intake for that my weight. No special diet to speak of, just calorie intake adjustment, although I try to eat healthy foods most of the time.

3. I invest in a good pair of walking shoes. This is very important!
4. I measured out one mile (using the odometer of my car), and timed how long it took me to walk one mile at a fast speed (fast pace means walking fast enough to lift my heart and respiration rate). It took me 20 minutes to walk one mile. One 20-minute mile is not all that fast, but fast enough for a person weighing 335 pounds. And 20 minutes is the minimum time to exercise aerobic exercise benefits the heart. Of course I am not over my neighborhood sidewalks. Most houses and apartments, and some businesses.

5. I walked a mile per day, every day, for about the first month (20 minute walk after dinner). I noticed my energy level was building and I feel better. After approximately 10 days first, my digital bathroom scale began to give me the number instead of a big fat E error. Progress for sure!

6. I increase the distance of the second month and a half miles a day (or 30 minute walk after dinner). The pain in my legs gradually disappeared.

7. I continued this pattern with increasing distance of one-half mile until I got to six miles per day (made three miles before work and three miles after work). Six miles a day may be a little extreme, so you may want to adjust the running suit. But it worked for me and got to the point where I can walk three miles without breaking a sweat. The pounds melted off!

8. After I lost nearly 100 pounds, I went back to the scale of four miles a day (two before work and two after work). I’m running faster miles too, about a 17-minute mile).

9. After 14 months, I reached 185 pounds and that’s where my body seems to want to be. I walked four miles a day to day, pay attention to my daily calorie intake, and has stabilized at 185 pounds.

Can I still eat a big fat tasty burger and ice cream once in a while? OH YES! I love it! But I own religious body weight every Saturday morning and my weight seems happy and stable at 185. I do not shy away from foods that I love, but I have learned what, when, and how much I could eat and go with. One has to experiment and adjust accordingly.

I hope every day for my walk. In fact, I get a sense of accomplishment after each walk. Benefits edge I guess. Another benefit is that walking the edge is a great stress reliever … especially after a hard day at the office. All in all, I am in better health. That 150-pound barbell I was carrying all day long gone. Heart and cardiovascular system much healthier … all because of walking.

Perhaps one of the greatest benefits (other than the obvious health benefits) is that the people in the neighborhood and the store owner to stop me all the time and comment on how I look. These are the people who will see me walking by their houses and shops every day. They see a very obese person turn into a thin person.

The bottom line …

I’m sick of being fat and I know it’s killing me and that I should do something and fast. I am a definite candidate for a heart attack or stroke. After doing a little research, I found the best way for me was aerobic walking coupled with changes in eating habits. There are other types of exercises that will work too, but I believe there were no good for the human body then walking. The benefits are great and the cost is, well, the price of a good pair of walking shoes and comfortable clothing. It’s fun too! Forget those expensive treadmill indoors boring! Take a walk outside the room!

If you can walk, have a place to walk, by all means go for it! If you’re like me, you will increase your energy a hundred fold. Start slow at first if you are way out of shape, a few minutes a day. Brisk walking and swing their arms. Increase until you can do a mile, then half a mile, and so on and so on until you reach your goal weight. This is a lifetime commitment, so do not stop after reaching your goal weight.

My family and friends at work all say I am half the man I used to. They’re not too far away! I went from wearing 3X shirts and 50 “waist pants, large shirts and 34″ waist pants. Yeah, I have to buy all new clothes but I do not mind sacrificing a bit.

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