My whole life has revolved around how fat or thin I've been.

When I was young I was thin but the allergies and asthma hit at age five. Running and being active caused asthma attacks so physical activity was discouraged. By age six I was the fat kid. I remember being 145 pounds in 4th Grade. I learned real fast what being an outcast was like. Growth spurt hit early and by junior high I was 5 9" 167 pounds. Life got better for a while but I was still painfully shy from being a fat kid. Weight wasn't an issue from ages 12 to 24 I saw what it was like to actually have a life. At my best high school weight 167 at 6' soon gave way and I started to gain again in college. I hit 243 and looked bad. My confidence always waned with weight gain. I got control of it and got back to 208 and 12% body fat by going to the gym. After I started teaching, I dropped going to the gym and cycled high and low with my weight. I got engaged and dropped to 192 pounds at 25. I also made a career change and moved to an optical media company.  

She also had a weight issue but didn't address it. Soon I wasn't addressing mine issue either and started to gain again.  My weight soared I was at 267 when we got married and kept gaining about a pound month for five years. Soon she was after me to lose weight while ignoring her weight issue. After trying several times and failing to get control of my weight I soared to a lofty 383 pounds. I could always count on her to help at first but she'd always help sabotage me with pizza and junk food if I lost around 30 pounds. After 15 years the marriage fell apart and we separated two years ago. My weight set a new personal record this year at 406. She delighted in asking exactly how much I'd gained since she left.

In late July I decided it was time to fix me as I finally realized I need to get on with my life. My goal is to go from 406 to 225 which is a weight I know I can maintain if I want to. If I'm able to get to 225, I might decide to work toward a more ideal weight like 185 or so. In a perfect world I'd strive for 167 again but I don't think I could maintain that weight if I reached it. I would like to get back to 12% or less body fat regardless of what weight I end up at.

Currently, I'm 304 for a total loss of 102 pounds since joining. I have 79 more to go to reach 225.