Catfish: Weight Loss Lowe Down

The purpose of this post isn't to boast so much about myself as it is to clear up yet again another confusion amongst the masses. I constantly am asked how I could have lost 200 pounds since my episode and the simple answer to that is that I didn't.

Oh snap! Before you freak out what I mean to say is that it's a common misconception that I lost over 270 pounds since April 2012. Wheewww.. Now I did lose over 270 pounds but it's been in the works for over 3 years. Even before my episode I had started my weight loss journey from 619 pounds and was steadily changing my life style each and every day.

Before I began working out physically I talked with a health coach and began the mental preparation that I believe is necessary to changing your life style and eating habits for the better.

After months of deep emotional thought and getting much needed support from loved ones and family, I slowly started taking even more steps to changing my life.

1st Step: VITAMINS!!! I am a big fan of taking vitamins. Don't just stop at the one a day pills that are sold at stores.. there are lots of vitamins that are very significant to the human body. One of the vitamins that I had a huge deficiency in was Vitamin D. Lacking this can cause you to become depressed and on top of the fast food, obesity, living in Washington State where the sun never shines, life in general and now a vitamin deficiency I can see why my head was unclear and full of suicidal thoughts. I started taking vitamins and noticed a change in my mood right away! Definitely highly recommended!

 2nd Step: I cut out fast food from my diet. I didn't limit myself on what or how much I ate at home but I made sure to not eat fast food anymore. I didn't expect to see drastic results from this crazy tactic but it helped me get out of the habit of depending on fast food restaurants to cook my every meal.

3rd Step: I cut out soda from my diet. Now to others who don't like soda or drink very little... you won't understand but for anyone who was like me... My name is Matt Lowe and I'm a recovering Sodaholic. I drank way too much of it and couldn't ever moderate it. The sugar intake alone should have gave me a diabetic overdose but once I cut soda out I actually started seeing a significant change in my life.

4th Step: I started walking. Keep in mind that I weighed over 600 pounds so as you can see from my episode, even just walking down the stairs was a bit troublesome for me. I started each day with a goal of going just a little further than the last. My first day I walked my dog to go poop right at the bottom of the stairs. I was sweating and exhausted but I went back up the stairs with the goal of going a little further the next day. I continued doing this until I was in mid summer walking over 2 miles a day.

5th Step: Once I felt I was in shape enough, I started doing toning exercises with small weights. Making sure not to push myself too much I did small amounts and worked up to higher weights along the way.

6th Step: With all the other steps in place I finally started counting calories. This is one of the toughest things I've ever done in my life considering I've never really committed to it before. I split my meals up into 6 meals a day but made sure to keep a smaller calorie intake. Obviously I broke myself into the habit by keeping a realistic calorie count for a man of my size but slowly started bringing the daily total of calories down every week.


Things to Remember:

I don't believe there really is a big secret pill or solution to weight loss besides this simple fact: If you burn more calories than you're taking in it only makes sense that you're going to lose weight. It's a lot harder to accomplish that than it sounds but that's the simple fact. Everyone's bodies are different. Some have problems that cause them to gain weight like having a slow metabolism. Certain things must be checked out by a doctor.

Once you go to the doctor and find out that you don't have anything holding you back then it all just depends on your support system and your motivation to change your life. Because ultimately you are the only one who can finally say to yourself, "you know what? I'm tired of living this life, I don't want to die this way and I want to be happier!". So what are you waiting for? Go change yourself for the better right now whether it's weight you're struggling with or anything else... the choice is yours!

Another thing I'd like people to keep in mind is that I was 619 pounds. What it takes to be over 600 pounds is simple... no physical activity, plenty of Xbox hours, lots of unneeded fast food and no will or motivation to live.

Now take a guy like myself who lived that pattern for over his entire life basically and you get a 600 pound man. Now imagine that person is taking steps to change his life and starts working out. You'll see some significant results pretty quickly. There are people who only have around 20 to 50 pounds to lose and want to know an easy way to do it. At that point I would say to stay motivated and continue with those steps. Because I'm just now getting to the point where it's going to be harder to lose weight and it's going to be more about getting into even better shape. Although I lost 270 pounds I was 619 so even after those 270 pounds I'm still considered obese.

Lastly, I think the definite number #1 thing to keep in mind is that I feel is right up there with staying motivated.... please, please, please start thinking more POSITIVELY and less NEGATIVELY! I know how hard it is to not be negative believe me! I was so negative for most of my life which brought me to my predicament. But when I started my weight loss journey I was tired of being depressed, I was tired of being suicidal and I was tired of swimming in thoughts that were so unhealthy, so negatively pointless. 

Once you start working on being more positive and trying to look at the brighter side of things... you'll notice that things you want to happen start falling into place. Working on your weight loss and staying positive come hand in hand. You start thinking more positively and continuing to work out you'll see results that keep you positive as well.

We're always going to have major issues and road blocks but that's what other human beings are for. Your friends, family and even someone like me online can support you and lend an ear to your problems. Getting your problems off your chest and assessing your situation so you can positively change it... that's the way to go my friend!

I started a support page on Facebook that I'm trying to get off the ground. I'm only one person and I try my best to support as much people personally as I can but I literally get thousands of messages from across the globe. I wanted to make a support page that would connect others going through any kind of problems. If you'd like to like the support page please do. You can even post on it and introduce yourself or just talk to anyone else about what you have going on!

SUPPORT PAGE: www.facebook.com/FattUnit

So with that, I hope that someone read this entire post and got something out of it! I will leave you with something to brighten up anyone's day!