I weighed 325 pounds at my heaviest. I lost almost half my weight by cutting down portions and moving more.

• Stephen McKenna's weight has fluctuated complete nan years. He was 325 pounds astatine his heaviest successful 2019.
• He mislaid 145 pounds — and had kept it disconnected — by eating "whatever I wanted," but successful smaller portions.
• The erstwhile schoolhouse main recovered that counting calories and regular workout was nan reply for him.

This as-told-to effort is based connected a speech pinch Stephen McKenna, 66, of Boston. It has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

In 2019, astatine 5ft 8in gangly and 325 pounds, I was diagnosed pinch pre-diabetes and fatty liver, and my blood unit was retired of control.

My doctor, who had advised maine to suffer weight for years, said I had reached nan constituent erstwhile I mightiness see lap set surgery.

"Wait a minute," I thought. It was a lightning bolt moment. I didn't want to person specified a superior surgery, but if I didn't move things around, they wouldn't extremity well.

I knew what I had to do — simply eat little and workout more. I'd been trying and failing to instrumentality to a regimen since nan 1990s, but this time, I had to succeed.

I'd ever loved food. Sports weren't my point arsenic a kid. And, arsenic I sewage older, I sewage bigger. I couldn't locomotion down nan thoroughfare connected a acold time without sweating.

These uncomfortable feelings motivated maine to suffer weight. I monitored calories nether nan supervision of a weight guidance center. They taught maine astir nan kinds of patient foods I should see successful my diet, and I paid attraction to them, but I didn't exercise.

I ate what I liked — but successful moderation

Nevertheless, I mislaid weight and felt successful amended shape. People started to compliment me. Instead of spurring maine on, nan compliments gave maine support to hide what I was doing and spell backmost to my aged ways. "Oh, I look really good," I'd opportunity to myself, "I tin do immoderate I want again."

I'd commencement ballooning backmost up. I'd regularly spell to an Italian edifice doubly a week and person my favourite dish, lasagna. It was ample capable to disagreement into 3 different servings, but I'd eat nan full point positive nan breadstuff that came pinch it.

My different passion was desserts. A adjacent bakery sold beautiful cannolis, eclairs, and Italian cookies. I'd eat thing pinch a bully custard filling.

My weight yo-yoed — until that scary wake-up telephone 5 years ago. I knew I still needed to beryllium capable to eat what I liked but successful moderation. So I drastically trim portions — eating one-and-a-half ounces of pasta astatine a time, not nan accustomed 8 ounces, for illustration — and ate plentifulness of absorbing salads and vegetables, often pickled aliases roasted pinch oliva oil. I reduced my sodium intake to debar h2o retention.

I return astatine slightest 7,000 steps each day

Meanwhile, I logged my calorie intake connected nan MyFitnessPal app, which besides tracked exercise. My son, besides called Stephen, encouraged maine to spell extracurricular and walk. He kept it realistic for a feline who was very overweight and didn't for illustration aliases want to exercise.

I started pinch 10 minutes a time and added an other 5 minutes each week. The summation was incremental. I now do a minimum of 7,000 steps daily.

It really made a difference. I dropped 30 pounds, past 50 pounds, past 100 pounds. The ups and downs were a point of nan past. Blood tests showed I'd reversed my pre-diabetes, and my humor unit was good. I americium nary longer being monitored for fatty liver.

I reached my extremity weight of 185 pounds past year. I yet stuck to my guns and felt for illustration an wholly different person.

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