I grew up fat.  My dad's side of the family (4 brothers) are all morbidly obese.

When I was 18, I dropped from 265 to 225ish (at 6'1") to join the Marine Corps right after the 9/11 attacks.  I struggled for 3 months at Parris Island but graduated with a very fucked up knee at 190lbs.  The knee never got better and I was discharged while at School of Infantry.  I was back up to 230lbs when I left the military.


Over the next year, I ballooned up to 295lbs.  Decided to do something about it and in one year of anorexia, dropped to 180lbs.  I was thin but unhealthy.


Within a couple years, I was back up to 280ish and hovered there for awhile until I decided to lift weights and eat right. I dropped to around 210 with 18-20% body fat in 6 months with weights only, no cardio.


I got lazy again and gained back to 275lbs.  Went full Paleo and dropped back to 215 within 5 months.  Stopped Paleo and since then I've reached my heaviest weight, 305lbs and I'd estimate 35-40% bodyfat.


I'm currently 33 and the yo-yo effect is going to kill me.  My dad has Type 2 Diabetes and other problems associated with his weight.  My blood pressure and blood sugar are currently in the perfectly healthy range but it's a matter of time before they get worse.  I don't have thyroid problems or any other physiological issue to blame.  My problem is purely psychological and stems from pretty much being addicted to sugar and overeating impulses.


The extra weight brings with it depression, sleep apnea, and reduced libido.  Being fat makes me lazy and being lazy makes me fat... it's a vicious cycle.



The silver lining is that I've done this so many times and researched so much that I know exactly how to eat, how to train, etc. in order to do it right.  I really enjoyed lifting weights and made gains quickly but I REALLY hate cardio so that's something I'm going to have to get over in order to reach my goal.  My plan is as follows:


-Eat clean.  Heavy on protein and healthy fats, moderate complex carbs.  No white flour or simple sugars.

-Drink a shit load of water.

-Lift heavy after a couple weeks of full-body circuits to get back in the swing.

-Steady-state cardio while in a fasted state.  Walking on an inclined treadmill a minimum of 45 minutes at least 5 days a week.  Increase speed as the workouts get easier.  Once my weight is down, I'll start incorporating more intense cardio.

-Supplements: no-carb protein shakes with BCAA's, multivitamins, and Glutamine.


Just wanted to share and if anyone's interested, I'll post progress updates.

Best of luck op.
Keep us updated on progress.

You've done a lot of research on how to lose weight, gain muscle, etc. but take a bit of time to identify the reasons why you keep losing the battle to stay fit.

That is the weak point in the chain for you.

 
It's psychological.  Stickwithitness has always been a problem for me.

Do it OP!  Keep the end goal in focus it will get here.

GET SOME!

What are you going to be doing for lifting?

Good for you for tackling this head on!

I highly recommend using MyFitnessPal.com to track your daily calories.  It keeps you from overeating, makes you more aware of what you are actually consuming and it encourages you to eat simpler foods because simpler foods are much easier to track in MyFitnessPal than complex recipes.  

This. When cutting I like to add all my food the night before. That way it's all mapped out and there is no guess work.  As you get more used to it you get better at planning and knowing your needs(how many times to eat, more frequent small meals or less frequent big meals, etc).

I'm down around 80lbs since January without starving myself or beating myself to death in a gym.

If my lazy ass can do it ANYONE can.

 
Squats, Deadlifts, Bench press, Shoulder press, Lat pulldowns, Rows, Lateral Raises, and whatever else I feel like doing to add some variety.




I want to experiment with Kettlebells a bit, too.


 

My main focus for now will be compound movements.

 
80 lbs in 6 months?  Impressive.


The weight always goes quick at first with a change in diet and moving around more.  It's the last 10% of bodyfat that's stubborn as hell.


My problem is, I start to look decent and bang top notch chicks and I lose my workout motivation.  Sticking with it until I reach my goal is tricky.

Damn man thats a lot of yoyo yoyoball.

Maybe start with making small positive sustainable changes. I don't want to take your thunder away as it seems you are more than capable of getting in shape but it seems like if you go full bore again youll bounce. 305 is up thwre but its not so big that you can't take a bit of time to slowly make changes that you will live with the rest of your life.

Good for you getting started. Keep us updated. Either here, or in the big 5/3/1 thread. It's seems to be the GD of SD&F.

Maybe look at following a program. Stronglifts 5x5 or Weindler 5/3/1. They focus on compound movements. Then throw in your accessory exercises after that. Finish the workout with a little light cardio.

Looks like you're on the right track, good luck man!

 
I've done slow and fast.  It doesn't make a difference which way I do it.


I just have to make the decision to stick with it and, this time, it's not dying early or living with diabetes that's the main motivation.

I'm a middle aged man. A little fat on me won't matter. Very, very few guys my age have bulky, well defined muscles.

Measure success with YOUR yardstick. Don't judge yourself by the standards of olympic athletes, genetic freaks, and steroid users. Be yourself, but better. If you have a little belly but feel great, so what? After being old AND spending the last 21 years over 300 pounds I'm well past being able to look like physical perfection.

I've been doing the Stronglifts 5x5 since November 2015 and I like it.  Unfortunately, I did have some setbacks that caused me to deload and build back up, but all in all, I like the program and the smartphone app.  Before that, I had no plan and feel as though I was just wasting time in the gym.  I will say this though, I finally realize how important the squat and dead-lift exercises are.  My lower back pain is pretty much nonexistent!  If you would have told me this when I was in my 20s, I would have laughed at you and said something mean, lol.


 

EDIT:  I want to wish you luck on your weight loss journey.  My motivation is keeping off of Statins due to the side effects touted by other family members who were put on them.  One of my uncles flat out told me that I am lucky I can control my cholesterol by diet and exercise alone because he could not.  This is probably the longest I stuck with a weight lifting program since college and July 04, 2016 will mark my 1 year anniversary of working out with 50 pounds lost.  I still need to lose another 20, but I have plenty of time.

Good luck OP. Remember, a permanent change is a lifestyle change.

Fixed.

Don't make the assumption that middle aged guys that are very fit fall into your categories.

 
I understand what you're saying.  It's not about setting a standard based on anyone else.  I know what I'm capable of and how I can look so that is my standard.


For once in my life, I'd like to hit the goal I initially set instead of slowly allowing myself to deviate from the plan.

Get her done!  Sounds like you know what to do.

We all do it to some degree.  Maybe you could set a weight goal, AND set your mind for a long term goal.  Getting the weight down is one thing, but maintaining has to be a long term goal.

I started at 245 a few years ago.  Got down to 175 in about 18 months, then the holidays hit and I've been in the low 180s since.  The point is that one of my goals was that I would at least maintain my eating habits (and weight) even if if I hit a plateau.  Clearly this is not a plateau, but I generally am still eating well enough, and exercising well enough to not backslide.  I just need to make a big push to get another 10 lbs off (or a few % body fat...either would be ok for now).

It's been a month, any progress?

About banging those top notch chics...

50% of diabetic men suffer from impotence/erectile dysfunction

How is that for motivation to shed the weight and keep it off?

The first couple weeks of light to moderate lifting got me back into the swing of it and now I'm lifting moderately heavy.  I've been walking on the treadmill only on off days.



I've avoided sugar of all sorts and I'm focusing on good fats, protein, and complex carbs for now.



I'm down 12 lbs so far, but I've been drinking a lot more water so I'm not sure exactly how it balances out.  The scale isn't very important to me because I'm working on building muscle first, which is what I really enjoy, before getting hardcore about dropping the bodyfat percentage.  I know from experience that I'll shed a lot of bodyfat by just eating right and lifting heavy.  When I feel like I'm ready, I'll start managing my nutrient intake religiously and focus on the right cardio to get me where I want to be.



 

I can tell you that impotence and ED aren't even a factor if you A) don't want anyone to see you without clothes and B) don't have the energy to go more than 10 seconds without being winded.



 

It is a type of neuropathy that as far as I know is not reversible whether you weigh 160, 260, or even 360.

Best of luck!!

 
That is true of impotence and ED, yes.