I certainly hope someone who's been through a similar situation will respond, but hopefully I can add some insight.
If you go by the current medical recommendations, I was 83 pounds overweight at my maximum. I've dropped about 23 so far. If you take my frame into account, it's more like 63 pounds at my max. Either way it's a lot, although you wouldn't know it by looking at me (I don't look as overweight as I am, which isn't necessarily a good thing). In my case, it's bad habits and learned behaviors from childhood that cause my weight issues. Things like "you can't leave until you've cleared your plate" and the ready availability of dessert every night and my mom letting us buy (and quickly consume) chocolate bars every time we went to the grocery store. I've recently made some permanent changes to help reverse those bad habits. I can't pretend to help you with the body issues other than to say that truly ceasing to care about society's expectations is very empowering (a lesson I've learned in other aspects of my life). Maybe some of these will help you, though:
- exercise every day (still something I struggle with)
- don't carry cash or anything that gives you easy access to it (that way I won't buy junk food) I still carry a credit card, but there's something about charging a candy bar where I just won't go there.
- Bring your own food to work (including snacks)
- Snack on crunchy vegetables, nuts, trail mixes, etc during the day to stave off hunger so you won't overeat later (this is a big one for me).
- Don't stay up late (another biggie).
My goal is to drop the 63 lbs and keep it off permanently. With the changes I've made and my wife's support I think it's possible (her eating habits are much better than mine). Best of luck to you!
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