I've lost 85 pounds and quit smoking a little over a year ago

I quit smoking in April of '08. At the time I weighed 240 pounds. By the time Christmas rolled around I had put on 50 pounds, but I was still a non-smoker.

Shortly after the new year I decided to get my weight under control. I had let myself go until that point, eating a sugar and fat rich diet in the name of quitting smoking. But I felt more confident in my ability to control my eating at the start of this year and I signed up at a weight loss clinic.

I'd post the link to the place here, but I think it would be in violation of the rules. So, basically, I cut out all of the sugar and a lot of the fat. I started eating whole grain bread, pasta, cereal, lean meat, and lots of veggies. And, of course, I cut calories. It's proven to be a very good combo for me.

My cholesterol and triglycerides were a bit high before I started my new way of eating. I was tested again after 4 months on the program and they had both dropped back down into healthy range. My cholesterol dropped by 50 points and the triglycerides by 72.

I'm at 205 now and my goal is 185. I continue to eat right and I take lots of vitamins. One thing that has helped me a great deal through all of this is that I'm now a local driver and I have to get in the trailer and chuck freight every night as well. It was still hard enough doing what I've done. If I were an OTR driver I don't know if I would have done as well. It's harder to eat right out on the road and long haul trucking just seems conducive to using tobacco for some reason. Maybe it's the boredom or the need for a stimulant.

Anyway, I just needed to brag on myself a little. Thanks for reading.

 

I appreciate everyone's kind words. Somebody mentioned me taking control of my health while I'm still young. I've lost a couple of relatives due to obesity at an age when they were too young to be dying. Also, a man that I really looked up to passed away too young due to a smoking related illness. It's given me a lot of incentive and has propelled my will power.

I wish you all success and good health.