Christen Lost 150 Pounds by Counting Calories

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The following post was sent to me by Christen, a long-time reader of the blog.

It’s kind of surreal, actually.

I did not realize how obese I had become. I made many excuses why I was a ‘big guy’: my family members were bigger people, or I was just… wait for it… big boned. I was taller than the average man; therefore, I wore the weight a little better than most. I was a popular guy. I didn’t need to change. People liked me for me. I even managed to charm a few of the opposite sex. All in all, I thought, “I’m big, but I’m not ‘that’ big.” I made many ridiculous excuses for my obesity.

Then, it happened. I reached my breaking point. The whole kit and caboodle finally hit me smack dab in the face. In one sitting, I consumed a “Gargantuan” (every meat they carry on one sandwich) Jimmy John’s sandwich, an oatmeal cookie, a bag of chips, and a large coke, refilled. Within an hour, I stopped at a Burger King and consumed a triple whopper with bacon, large onion rings, and a Hershey pie. I shamefully devoured the entire meal.

That was the most I have ever consumed within an hour.

While driving home, I thought to myself, “what the heck did I just do, and why did I do it?” I wasn’t depressed. I didn’t eat to fill a void or something. I simply thought I was hungry. I started to cry.  I called my best friend Steve and confessed my indulgence. After telling him every single thing I ate, he replied with, “Wow, bro! Really?!” I cried even harder as Steve listened.

I told Steve that meal was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I didn’t care what I had to do; I needed to make a change. I told him that I was sick of people telling me that I was breathing heavy while I was at the movie theater. I was tired of being denied access to a roller coaster. I was tired of being able to only shop at a big and tall. No longer was I going to accept the ladies telling me that I’m a nice guy but not their type. I hated it when I couldn’t buckle my seat belt on an airplane, so I had to ask for a seat belt extender. Lastly, I was completely sick of gasping for air while lying in my bed. I was not running around. I was lying there in bed.

I made a promise, on our friendship, that I would do everything in my power to eliminate all those negative things in my life. Steve reassured me that I could do it, and he would do whatever he could to help me. Steve’s support was crucial.

I wrote a long plea on my Facebook page about how morbidly obese I was, that I was going to make a change; NO MATTER WHAT. I attached to this plea a picture of myself with my shirt off. Quite possibly the hardest and scariest thing I have ever done. I was extremely terrified of anybody seeing me with my shirt off. As a matter of fact, I was so frightened, that for a half hour I contemplated whether or not I should press the send button and let all 900 of my Facebook friends see my story and the half-naked pictures. Then, I pressed it. I sent my plea.

It was the best thing I have ever done in my entire life.

Even after I mustered up the courage to press send and show the world my story, I was still terrified of the reaction I would receive. But wouldn’t you know it, the reaction was so intense and overwhelmingly positive, I felt as though I had a boulder lifted from my shoulder. People telling me how courageous I was, and what I was saying was extremely inspirational. People looked up to the fact that I did it. I thought to myself, “I can’t let all these people down.” I got to work.

I wanted to get some positive images in my mind about losing weight, so I googled ‘weight loss success stories’. I saw a few that were inspiring but seemed too far-fetched for me. Then I came across (what I consider) the best website for losing weight. 344pounds.com was this very site.

A few things stood out about this website. For starters, I loved how the main page was Shawn’s (Tyler’s) story about why he had to make a change. I felt like I was reading my Facebook plea. I felt a connection to Shawn. His headline announced he lost 100+ pounds in a year. That was a real attention-grabber. His before-and-after pictures were outrageously different. He looked like a completely different person. He preached how he had tried every diet under the sun and none of them worked. He then introduced the idea of calorie counting. He proclaimed that calorie counting is the only true way to lose weight and KEEP IT OFF.

Who was I to tell him he was wrong? He had lost 100+ pounds.  As far as I was concerned, he was an expert. I loved that he said we could eat whatever we wanted, as long as we stayed within our calorie limit, which was figured out by a BMR calculator. He concluded with a week-by-week summary of how many pounds he lost, and had the pictures of him shrinking as proof. Needless to say, I was sold. I followed everything he said in the website, and a year and a half later, I am 150 pounds down and counting. I feel better. I look better. I am better, and I owe it all to Shawn and his website.

I am forever indebted to him. Thanks a lot Shawn!