Congrats OP and every one else. I am 6'3" and was 440 at my biggest and have been slowly working at it for years. I am currently at 250 with a goal of 200.

Great work guys.  Your hard work is admirable.  Wish I had your willpower.

Being the weak cheater that I am, I got tired of being hungry and started rx diet pills.  Diethylpropion 25mg 3x daily an hour before meals.  Really helps with hunger.  I went from 5'10" 199 pounds to 192 in a couple months before the pills.  Started the pills less than three weeks ago and I'm down to about 177.  Losing almost six pounds a week and I'm less hugry than ever!  

Not the best way but I 'm desperate.  My arthritic back has become so painful I often struggle just to stand.  Ironic thing is the more weight I lose the worse it's been hurting.  I suspect my electrolytes are out of balance and triggering spasms.  

If I avoid carbs I can be full for hours on just an egg or slice of cheese.   Sometimes I'll pig out with a 4oz sirloin.  A few times I forgot to take the last pill of the day because I just didn't need it.  Pretty sure I've been in ketosis for a few days here and there.  Down from 36" to 34" waist. Not excercising to lose weight either.  Just a little core strengthening with an ab roller for the most part.

I've tried to let my stomach shink.  It will be hard to give up the suppressant but I'm better prepared for it now.

HSimpson, I'm 5'7" and 1 year ago I was at 255 pounds dressed.  I started on the Ornish Heart Disease Reversal program September 20th, 2017, which is basically vegetarian diet, exercise, stress reduction, and support.  (I had had my 3rd heart attack in mid-August last year and when your cardiologist says the next one will likely kill you, it gives one just a wee bit of incentive.)
Anywho, by late spring this year I was down around 210 and started having back pain.  Note that I'm 64 the end of this month and had been very active up until 1999 with no back pain issues at all until this spring.  It wasn't horrible, but it was annoying.  A few times I popped a couple aspirin for relief but those were the exceptions.  Dropped another 10 pounds and I'm now virtually pain free with only an occasional flare up. 
I guess I'm saying, don't stop now... see if it gets better with some additional weight loss.  I'm convinced my back was "resetting" back to a more normal condition after getting used to carrying around this huge gut hanging off the front of me for almost 20 years.
  

I started the this new year at 310 pounds with my 6' 3" frame.  My wife and I decided to get serious and we did a low carb diet thats basically a modified Atkins with some Mediterranean and Paleo influences blended in. We mostly just got rid of the prepared foods and increased the preparation of your own meals more.  All the while being careful to forsake grains and sugars as much as possible while increasing the vegetables and proteins we eat.

We were looking for something that was more of a lifestyle change and not just a short term fad diet.  We really wanted a diet that we wouldn't have to starve ourselves on since those kind of diets rarely work.  Even if those type of diets work you usually will just re-gain the weight once you go off the diet.  Been there and done that---too many times

Since the first of the year we've had our ups and downs but my wife has lost close to 30 pounds and I've lost a bit over 40.   My personal goal is to lose another 30-35 pounds but I'm in no rush.  Slow and steady will get me there eventually.  The biggest challenge for me has been to get over the inevitable plateaus that always occur from time to time.  Finding the patience and perseverance to stay on track is the most difficult.  What helps is to have some splurge days on occasion to keep from going completely nuts.  Just as long as you have enough discipline to stay on course for the long haul you'll make it.  The big thing to remember is don't approach it as a diet but approach it as the long term lifestyle change that it is.

When you lose faster than her does your wife get jealous and roll her eyes like mine?

Preach it brother.  My dad and step mom did all the fad diets.  They usually lost weight then went back to their old ways and got fatter than they were in the first place.  Mom didn't do that and stayed consistently slender.  Chips and sodas are a thing of the past for me.

Still looking for a half decent low carb alternative to tortilla chips.  Just have to use cauliflower to dip queso for now.

Yeah, as a matter of fact that used to bother her at the beginning.  However, I think I finally drove home the point that I'm almost a foot taller in addition to being a large framed man so I think she's finally realized this weight loss thing is pretty individualistic.  

Its not a race because, like we've seen in the past and like you just mentioned, the fad diets are like a yo-yo.  And that up and down might even make things worse if you gain back more than you lost.

I’m so glad someone posted this. I need some pointers or advice from like minded folks. Use got a physical, numbers sucked, blood sugar so bad I could be snorting sugar off a strippers ass! So my question is what was the hardest thing to do or give up. I’m adiet Dr Pepper guy. Or lemonade. But I do drink a lot of water. Oh for reference I am 43 5’7 250. Yep fat body. Help me y’all , please!

As I've mentioned, I went essentially vegetarian after my 4th heart attack in 18 years.  It's the Ornish Heart Disease Reversal program.
Before the program I ate and drank whatever I wanted to.  Now, no meat, and only a small amount of skim milk / fat free milk products daily.  I was a huge cheese hound before (2 pound brick of Cabot's Extra Sharp Cheddar would last me a week if I was careful).
Cheese, for me, has been the hardest thing.  I thought it would be the meat, but surprisingly that went away relatively quickly.  Except for bratwurst.  I still dream about bratwurst with brown mustard, chopped onions, and sauerkraut. 

My general plan is less than 40 carbs and 2000 calories daily.  Healthy fats, mostly lean proteins.  Avacados, eggs, cauliflower, leafy vegetables, carb free cheeses, low carb protein bars.  daily multivitamins, calcium pyruvate, magnesium, potassium, AMPK activator, prescribed 3 weeks of appetite suppresant helped shrink stomach.

My first three days were carb free.  After that carb cravings went away and energy went up.  

I'm having a lot of back spasms so I cheat till they let up.  Diet and back pain may be unrelated but watch your electroytes.

I'm 47 and not quite 5'8".  Five years ago I was 226 and was having back problems and generally felt like crap.  I changed jobs and decided to lose weight.  All I did was get some generic slim fast (tried different brands until I found something I liked) and I'd have one in the morning and one at lunch.  I'd supplement with "healthy" snacks to keep from getting hungry; one snack between breakfast and lunch and one btwn lunch and dinner.  For dinner, I just ate whatever the wife made.  My new job had me standing all day, but I didn't do any cardio.  Took me about 7 months to drop down to 175 (loss of 51 lbs).  I went to 169, but I didn't look healthy, so I stopped drinking the shakes and went back up to 175.  I'm still at 175, but I do go up and down 5-8 lbs.  

Throughout the whole process, I never did give up my Mt. Dew habit.  I drink way too much soda - if I cut out all the soda calories I'd wither away to nothing.  

Losing weight, as others have mentioned, is all about limiting calories.  Cardio helps burn calories, but ultimately, you have to watch what you eat.

For those having joint pain as they attempt to lose weight, go take a water aerobics class.  You'll see cardio and muscular development, but without the joint issues.  My wife is a personal trainer and teaches water aerobics.  Water aerobics is what she does with all her clients who have any kind of joint pain.  For more resistance, add webbed gloves.

I am so glad you brought up the Mountain Dew thing, I personally have a diet Dr. Pepper addiction. Most foods I can take or leave, but drinking that devil juice is killing me! I’m thankful for all the info being passed around on this topic.

Not be a downer but this is very common with overweight people and bad backs.  Its also not diet related.

The only answer is training your core muscles hard to support your back, new weight and new activities.

Dace, I still have that M1a sold me in 07! Great gun!

LOL that was you?!  I still think about that gun, actually a lot.  If you ever want to sell it back I am open for it.

@elvis1974

Haha! No way it’s my baby! Besides I moved out of Arizona in 08. Small world

I hit a plateau in building muscle. When I say building muscle I mean it is pitiful.

I am 6’5 205 lbs. I’m building muscle and you can see my abs through crossfit.

The ladies at crossfit like watching me, I go to the 5am class so they are all almost twice my age (50-65) except for a 16yo. They’ve been doing it for years so they beat my ass every day.

Hard to watch a 60yo woman jump on a 3ft jump box 10 Times then run a mile and pass me on the way back.

No excuse.

Great stories...I know I need to lose weight as well.

What are these healthy snacks you speak of? I’m seriously interested,, I just feel like I’m never full!

Excercise used to help.  I could easily do 10 or more sets of 20 on an ab roller daily and lots of flutterkicks.  Trying to get back into it but it hurts considerably and doesn't give support like it used to.  Now walking is the only helpful excersise.  Pretty lame.  Just sitting for a couple minutes now is all I can stand.

Its not lame.  Back pain sucks.  Anyone who hasn't gone through it has no idea what it like.  Its not like a muscle strain or arm strain that you can kind of just work through it.  It affects your whole mobility and it sucks.

I'm 5' 11", weight was up to 389 with a 54" waist. Now I'm down to 255 and a 44" waist. Losing this weight very slowly and I believe it is the best way. Now to up my exercise significantly by walking longer distances and keep my carbs down. I'm going to check out the website others have mentioned to record meals/calories.

Great work all.

258.4 on 8-2-17, 221 on 9/31
8.8 A1c down to 7.1
up to 227 after a few days of Barley Pop

I walk 1 - 3 miles a day in the forest behind my home.
Usually with a gun or two and gear . It is hunting season now.

I'm happy to report that I have been losing weight as well, at least in small part due to this thread. Started around 300, down to 278 this morning. Partly by cutting down on snacks with sugar and fat, but mainly be cutting portion sizes. I need to work in exercise, but I was hoping to lose some weight first so I would have more energy.