I have struggled my entire life with my weight. From as far back as I can remember, I was never your average size person. I never realized that I was overweight until I got into Junior high school, and certain people did not hesitate to point out my flaws. Throughout my youth I wasn’t extremely overweight, chubby is the term I would use. Even after I got out of boot camp, when I was in the best shape of my life, I still held on to some stubborn weight around the midsection.

After I got out of the Navy, at 21 years old, is where my problems really began. I no longer had the mandatory exercise program. I also found that I really enjoyed good, fattening, unhealthy foods. Combine this with my love of beer and more recently my love of bourbon and my weight began to skyrocket.

I am a 6-foot-tall man, and I currently weigh in at about 265. This is not the heaviest I have been, nor is it the lightest. For the past 10 years or so, I have been on a roller coaster of weight. I go up and down, round and around. The lowest I have seen in recent years was 227 lbs. But the shocking highest I hit was 278 lbs. This hit me like a brick. Last year, after I stepped on the scale and it read 278, I looked in the mirror and realized that something has to drastically change.

I have known for quite some time that there are a lot of hereditary health issue that run in my family, and being overweight only exaggerates those issues. I realized that I am reaching middle age, and if I don’t so something soon, things could go wrong for me really quickly.

I made a mental pact that I would lose the weight this year, and keep it off. Being the typical procrastinator that I am, I got off to a really slow start. I bounced up and down a little bit the first couple of months, until one day I woke up and I really felt like shit. This was two weeks ago, and so far I am on the right track to get where I want to be by my 40^th birthday in November.

I thought I would share my story with everyone in hopes that it will encourage others to do what I am doing and get yourself into shape. My goal is to do this with the least amount of sacrifice. In the past I would go on crazy crash diets. I have tried multiple things, from extreme calorie deficit, to all juice, to low or no carb, low fat, etc… This time it is different. I have said it before, but I feel that it truly is going to be a whole different scenario this time.

I am not dieting. I am going to do something like I did back in 2013 when I got my weight down to 227 lbs. Only this time it will be slower, more meticulous. I have a created a plan and a goal that is measurable and attainable. I am going to share some of this plan with you, it will work for me, but it will take a lot of discipline.

Two week ago when I woke up feeling like shit, I decided to fast. I jumped headfirst into a water fast for 48 hours. I had not done any research on the subject, it just felt right. I came to find out, that I was right and wrong at the same time, but I educated myself on the subject, like I tend to do when there is something that I don’t know enough about.

This two-day water fast kick started my journey and opened my eyes to what I really need to do. I need to exercise at least 5 days a week, I need to eat healthier, I need to eat less food and I need to stop drinking alcohol every day. By themselves, these things are easy, but combined they will prove to be difficult. There is nothing more enjoyable in my life than eating good, tasty, and usually unhealthy food. Along with that, I love to eat to my heart’s content. And if you don’t know, I love alcohol of all kinds.

The most difficult part of this for me will be the lack of alcohol. I am not an alcoholic, I often go for days on end without a drink and don’t even think about it, especially on work nights. However, I love to tie one on over the weekends, or have a glass of wine with dinner or a few beers after work. These empty calories, along with the mass quantities of tasty, unhealthy food are the main reason I am overweight.

How you might ask, how do I plan to overcome this? Really it is quite simple…stop doing those things. That’s it. The drinking thing, I have that covered. I have enough willpower to keep myself from the constant drinking. The hard part is the occasional drinking. I made myself a deal that I will not touch a drop of alcohol until I lose at least 25 lbs. This is my first challenge, especially since I have a wine tasting trip to Walla Walla Washington planned for the end of June. So I basically have until then to drop the first 25 lbs.

This lack of alcohol will be the biggest factor in my weight loss journey, it has gotten the ball rolling and I have not had a drop in almost two weeks now. I have complete confidence in myself to keep this promise of not drinking, now that I have begun to combine this with the other steps, the challenge really begins.

Step two consists of calorie deficit. This is something I have become accustomed to over the years while riding this weight rollercoaster. Everyone knows, in order to lose weight, you must have more calories going out than you have coming in. 3500 calories equals one pound of fat. So in order to burn one pound of fat you must burn 3500 calories more than you take in. To accomplish this, you must do it at a rate that will not be too much of a deficit or too hard on your body. Otherwise you will suffer and rebound back to worse than where you started. A good goal it to shoot for is a 20% calorie deficit. And the most you should possibly shoot for and do it in a healthy way is 2 lbs per week or 7000 calorie deficit. This is what I am shooting for.

According to the professionals and a nifty online calculator I found, I need to take in no more than 2300 calories per day to lose 2 lbs per week. I have found this number to be false. The first time I tried this, I saw almost no result. This was still too many calories for me, so I reduced it. I dropped to 2000 calories per day and I saw a slight improvement, a little less than 1 lb per week average. So I went even one step further. I dropped to 1700 calories per day. This started doing the trick, especially when I added in 35-40 minutes per day, 5 days a week at the gym. Technically, this is a 50% reduction in calories according to those scientists, but I have put in the time and I know what works for me.

So now I am not drinking alcohol, I am on a calorie deficit trying to consume less than 2000 calories per day…closer to 1700 if possible. I am hitting the gym 5 days a week with minimal strength training and mostly light cardio. Which brings me to my final step in this endeavor…fasting!

Through my research, I have learned that fasting can have some very powerful effects on the human body. A simple 2 or 3-day water fast can and will have great results in not only weight loss but in my overall health. After my 48-hour crash water fast, I saw some minimal results in weight loss, but I did notice that besides the headache, I felt great. I learned that the headache is normal, but mine was excruciating. I never should have jumped right into a fast like that without preparing first. Part of my current plan is to perform a minimum of a 48-hour water fast once per month. This is not something to be taken lightly and it does require planning to be successful. However, it should be much easier now that I am alcohol free and eating better. If you would like to try a fast, I recommend doing so reading first. http://www.allaboutfasting.com/

I want to discuss something that I have not really touched on yet. Though my change in diet will now consist of healthier food, I will not sacrifice the things that I enjoy (except my alcohol intake), this is the key to my future success. For example, I allow myself a treat every day, usually in the form of a couple pieces of dark chocolate. I am finding foods that I enjoy eating and making healthier versions of those foods. When I do have a craving for one of my favorites, I eat it. As long as I maintain my calorie deficit I am still on track. The only real sacrifice I have made is giving up alcohol for the time being and forcing myself to go to the gym every day. Over time I will be able to indulge in my favorite alcohol in moderation and possibly cut my gym visits down to 3 times per week…but not until I am at a happy weight. The maintenance after weight loss is imperative. It is the reason I have failed so many times in the past. I know this now, and I plan to change that this time around.

I would also like to mention that the last time I did this, I killed it. I lost a total of 40 lbs over a 7-month period of time. I was feeling good, the results were obvious and people began to take notice. Here is where I went wrong and how I climbed back on that weight rollercoaster. I refused to keep up with the maintenance and fell back into my horrible ways. Even with minimal effort, I could have avoided this massive weight gain.

Last time, I started in the winter, after the holidays and like I said, I was killing it. As summer rolled around, I began brewing beer again, enjoying the barbeques and hanging out with family, eating drinking and being Mary (inside joke I know it is spelled merry). I was tracking my calories less and less and I practically stopped going to the gym. By then, the holidays rolled around again and I boy do I love all that good food, sweets and alcohol. I quickly began to regain the weight. Honestly, it took me just as long to gain it back as it did to lose. I knew it was happening, I felt terrible, and I noticed that the clothes were getting tighter again. I have climbed on and off the roller coaster sooooo many times since then, but recently I realized what it is going to take to keep me off that crazy weight rollercoaster.

Will power!! It is all a matter of will power…that’s it. I lost the weight last time out of sheer will. All I had to do was maintain that loss, but I got lazy. I told myself things like…it’s only a few pounds, I will hit the gym again next week. I was in denial, I enjoyed the food, the bourbon, the beer. I still do, and now I just need to balance my love for those things with my love for being able to walk up stairs without getting winded, or slipping on my shoes because it is too difficult to tie them.

Quite honestly, I would like to reach and maintain a weight of 200 lbs. This is a very difficult weight for me to reach, but it is possible. I will be satisfied if I can get below 225, but I will try to maintain my lifestyle to a point that I continue to work towards that ultimate goal of 200.

If anyone out there would like to join me on this journey, let me know. It is always easier to get in shape with the help and support of friends. I use some apps to help me track my weight, exercise and calorie intake, like MyFitnessPal and FitBit. I have found that I don’t really need the support to lose the weight, but I bet it would do better keeping it off with a little help from my limited number of friends!