Greetings. This is my second posting and to admit I am a little overwhelmed at times with my progress is a matter of consistency. My story is like this:

I am a pretty active person, I have always been physically fit, but a few years ago my wife and I were involved in a major car accident while I was still a Captain in the US Army. Leading soldiers you have to be able to do the things you ask them to do. Unfortunately, I found myself literally laid up for 6 months with a torn (ACL, MCL and PCL) ligament damage is nothing to joke about. I have seen the football players writhing in pain on the ground, I now know how they felt. Anyway, to know that I would not be back in the gym for a long, long, long time, I ate my depression away. I went from 215 pounds and 16 percent bodyfat to 268 pounds and a gross bodyfat percentage of 35%. I doubled my body fat in 6 months. After I began to work out. I immediately felt better, but could not lose the weight. Being too large to run the way I used to, I began cycling, but I could only get down to 255. My goal weight of 190 pounds seems so far away, at times I would just say _ _ _ _ it and binge out, I mean everything I could get my hands on and the 10 pounds I would lose would be balanced out by a 7 or 8 pound gain. In effect I was staying the same. I heard about the Atkins plan, so I thought why not, I tried others, but did not lose consistently. While doing induction I lost 37 pounds. I saw the light of success and I am working on achieving my weight goal by the end of Summer 2005. I don't like the sometimes slow progress that is being made, but it did not get here all at once, I am going to have to be patient enought to allow myself the time to get it back and then some. I am in the Gym 5-6 times per week, so I am putting the effort in that way. Many times I am working to remember that I should not be concerned with the weight I lose, I should be concerned about body-fat and inches. I really hope this forum has a few people who know what its like.

Sounds like you've got your head in the right place and you're on the way to meeting your goal.

Don't let the slow times get you off track. Make your necessary adjustments and keep pressing forward.

Hi there and welcome! I know all too well how hard it is to keep up the fire. I was never an active person like you were before the accident, but I'm trying to be now. I think the best thing to do when you're feeling like you're dragging or it's not going fast enough is to check in with the forum - they'll lift you up and remind you of how far you've already come. It really helps. All you have to do is keep on, keeping on!

Captain. What helped me lose some seriouis body fat when I was your size (and I learned this in basic training, Army NG) was to go to a track, sprint 100 meters, walk 100 meters, sprint 100 meters, walk 100....etc. for about 2 miles. I always started with a 400 meter walk and ended with a 400 meter walk. I did this every other day. I believe it was the intervals of high and low intensity that revved up the fat burning machine inside me. I was eating semi-low carb and went from 273 to 236 in about 2 1/2 months.

Now as a Lieutenant for a state police agency, I know EXACTLY what you are talking about. I write policies that say things such as "always be physically fit" and push for increased PT standards for new recruits. The whole time I sat in my office eating Burger King. Thank goodness I am on the right track now. I cannot wait until the day where I can go out and do the PT test with the squad I supervise.

Good luck!