Big thanks to /u/eh85, too, who posted just over two weeks ago regarding his own steps to becoming healthier. It really gave me a kick in the butt after having a really hard time after my first week.
So: I'm a 6'3", 44 year old male, and yes, morbidly obese (that did read extremely overweight at first, but hell if 450lbs isn't morbidly obese I don't know what is), and essentially I've gotten to the point where I realize I'm going to keel over and die if I don't do something about my unhealthy living habits. My exercise level was practically non-existent, and as I work a sedentary desk job (Go, IT jerbs!) I had happily avoided exercise saying "I didn't have time". It has slowly (but surely) taken it's toll on my physical body. My hips and knees usually are always emitting a dull ache, and I couldn't even walk several blocks without getting winded. At that point, I thought "The hell, I'm basically killing myself, how is this different from me jumping off the 30th floor at work? I'll still be dead - I'll just be able to have an open coffin at the funeral".
No time like the present to fix things.
After reading various topics from /r/fitness and /r/loseit, and consulting with my doctor, it's probably best that I concentrate on changing my eating habits before I start hammering out a lot of exercise (I'm still going to exercise, but it's not going to be the primary focus for me in the next few months). Fixing my horrible eating habits first should allow me get a better headstart towards focusing on exercise (after eating the right foods, and the right quantity, becomes second nature).
The first big thing for me was eating - or at least, RECORDING what I ate so I had something to compare against. I had a habit of skipping breakfast in the mornings, only to eat a late breakfast (which was way to big as I was starving) at work, followed by a carb-laden lunch (pizza, donair, burger, etc.) which was generally extremely high calorie. Portion sizes were also, for lack of a better term, on the "North Amercian Yuge" side. Although I would often make dinner myself for my family, it wasn't always the healthiest - in comparison to the rest of my meals, though, it was often the healthiest meal of the day. MyFitnessPal certainly helped as it's come to reside on all my electronic devices. I never really considering how much I was eating until I actually wrote it down. Holy crap.
I've since done the following:
Breakfast: Slice of toast and boiled egg, or steel-cut oats with some brown sugar. I usually don't like 'instant' oatmeal, thus the steel-cut oats (just takes a little longer to make).
Lunches: A simple whole wheat wrap (ham or turkey, romaine lettuce, mustard, bean sprouts) or a single portion of leftovers from dinner the night before. If I think I'll feel very hungry I'll make a large salad with cut up eggs/broccoli/corn kernels/peppers with a vinagrette and put in some sliced up chicken breast.
Dinner: For our family, this is usually a varied meat/potato/vegetable selection. Pork roasts and chicken breasts are usually on the menu, with roasted baby potatoes (minimal oil used, since I pull out an Actifry) and asparagus/corn/peas/etc. A side salad usually makes an appearance. Generally I try to keep half of my plate vegetables, with a much smaller helping of meat/potatoes (or other starch, if I make brown rice) - although I'll probably move into spaghetti squash come spring/summer.
I'm trying to just drink water - I have a real hard time with this, since I love Diet Pepsi - but I try to drink 4 cups now (with Mio in it) before I think about having a soda. Dropped Energy Drinks completely. Will occasionally have coffee instead if I really need a pick-me-up.
Snacks (not sweets) have always been my nemesis. Mostly chips and candy (not chocolate) - so I keep them out of the house. If I do have any chiplike substances, it's a single serving of Cheechas (puffed something-or-other). Otherwise, it's baby carrots or celery sticks.
For exercise? It's mostly walking around the block/neighborhood with my neurotic dog, going on a recumbent bike (I prefer a normal bike, but there's still snow on the ground here) for 30 minutes 3-4 times a week, or lane swimming (I'm still horrible at it).
I've been doing this for almost a month - and I feel much better - as for weight, well, I have to go to my doctor's office to use their scale, because for lack of a better word I'm a fatass.
Not going to quit, though. Sometimes the best choice you have is also the only one you can make.
Thanks to so many of you for being an inspiration, and for being willing to put your stories out there for other people to see. It means a lot.
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