240 Pounds: Then and Now

 This morning I stepped on the scale and it said I weighed 240 pounds!   The 240 threshold is one of several milestones I'm coming up on real quick.    Others include 243 pounds, which marks the half way point from where I started at 486 pounds, and 236 pounds which will mark 250 pounds lost.   None of these are "official" yet because I don't count one day's weight as my official weight, I count my ten-day-average, which as of today is 244.55 pounds.  I'm creeping up on officially being Half The Man I Used To Be, which will merit it's own blog post.  Look for it soon!

 What is significant about 240 pounds?   It is the lightest I've ever weighed as an adult.   I graduated high school weighing 260 pounds.  I've been on diets before then and after then and the most "successfull" of them, when I was around 20, got me down to 240 pounds.  This is a great opportunity to talk about life then versus life now.  Weight loss then and weight loss now.   Why could I not get under 240 all those years ago?   Why am I confident now that I'll not only get under 240, but eventually under 200?  Good questions!  I'm glad you asked.  :)
 When I was 20 I used everything I knew about weight loss to try to lose weight.  I exercised more and I ate less food and I ate as healthy as I knew how.  Unfortunately, for all my efforts, what I knew about diet and weight loss then is comparable to what most people ever know.  I was trapped in the "Exercise More, Eat Less" mentality.   Sure, I lost weight, but it got harder as time went on and eventually I stalled at 240 pounds.   At that point no amount of exercise would budge the scale and I was already denying myself food at a level I couldn't maintain and eventually...   we all know what happened next...   I gave up.   I saw the utter futility of what I was doing.   Not knowing there was a better way I resigned myself to the fact that I'd always be fat and from then on set out to just try not to be TOO fat.
 What's different this time?  The biggest difference is the food I eat.  I've learned to satisfy my appetite on foods that will fill me up, offer long-term satiety, proper nutrition, and do all that while keeping the calorie levels at a point I can lose weight WITHOUT denying my hunger.   It is no longer a matter of willpower and resolve.  It is no longer a matter of torture and unsustainable deprivation.  It is a matter of simple choices and long-term satisfaction that results in the weight loss I've sought after my entire life.
  If you aren't familiar with this way of eating and wish to learn more about how I've lost over 240 pounds then read through my blog and learn!

 Happy Eating

-Norm   aka John Smith