I'm too late to become a participant but I figure I'll offer some motivation and share knowledge of any of you would like some.
A little background. I left the Marine Corps 13 years ago at 6'2" and 225 lbs.
Following two wrist surgeries and a back surgery I gained clear up to 352lbs less than 4 years later.
Since then I made regular efforts to lose my weight the only way I knew how, eating the way recommended by most nutritionists, cutting calories ie. virtual starvation and ultimately extreme workouts, 2 hours daily of high intensity martial arts and weight lifting.
The first time I did this I managed to get to 300lbs, but I ultimately stalled at 270 couldn't maintain the caloric deficit and the workout schedule.
I held 270-280 for a bit, but eventually gained back to 290-300. From there I tried a different approach. I hit the books. Taught myself nutrition, the different perspectives, methods and hypotheses. After a year of studying Gary Taubes, Prof. Noakes, Dr's. Stephen Phinney and Jeff Volek among many others, I first changed the way I ate.
I experimented throughout 2014 through their methods and lost 30lbs, eventually not sticking with it and going back to 300. Jan 1, 2015 I weighed 299.8lbs and decided I'd follow their advice again, but better because I'd learned what my pitfalls were. By July 1st, I was 245lbs.
Unfortunately I traveled the whole second half of the year, couldn't eat the way I wanted to living with different people and went back to to 280.
December 1st, 2015 I decided come hell or high water I was not going to deviate anymore.
As I stand today I'm 243lbs. 109lbs down from my heaviest weight and 23lbs from my initial goal weight.
I said all that to say this. Don't listen to common nutritional advice. It's shit. It's unproven theories steeped in arrogance.
I haven't been able to workout since 2014 following a wrist surgery. Other than some long distance walking and a handful of occasional runs I haven't been able to exercise much. Exercise has nothing to do with fat loss. If you want to lose weight, eat CORRECTLY. If you want to tone and build muscle, exercise.
I'm not going to explain how to eat here other than to tell you to lookup those names I mentioned earlier. That'll get you started. But I can tell you this, when you feed your body what it needs, it corrects itself. In the past 13.5 months not only have I amassed a total loss of 57lbs but I've added appx. 15lbs of muscle mass and have gone from "pre-diabetic" with a high resting heart rate and elevating blood pressure to having some of the best blood work and numbers I could have for being 36 and still 30-40lbs overweight.
Good luck, gents. I hope this is your year also.
BTW, had this conversation with a friend in 2014 when I first started learning. He went with it. This is his result in 10 months.
