In 2010, Darren Moore weighed 375 pounds. He was depressed, had low self-esteem and even at 6′ 2″, Darren knew he had to make a change in order to save his life, but where would he start? In this heartfelt story to Yahoo, Darren shares how he lost over 180lbs:
How He Did It
As I reflect back on my childhood, I acknowledge that I never had a healthy relationship with food. This is a result of a lack of focus on healthy eating and exercise in my family and environment. My weight started to become a huge issue when I was a freshman in college. During the end of that year, I gained upward of 100 pounds. I was also suffering from depression because of a number of things that were going on in my personal life. I wanted to lose weight, but could never seem to find a program that worked for me. My turning point was realizing that no one was going to help me but me. At some point, you have to pick yourself up by your bootstraps and figure out a way to make things happen.
SEE FOR YOURSELF: How She Lost Over 200-Pounds And Was Able To Keep It Off
In order to lose weight, I first had to make the decision to change my life. Making that decision seems like it would be the easiest thing to do, but it in fact was the most difficult thing to do. I worked with a medical professional to develop a diet program that would work for me — one that focused on changing the types of foods that I ate and reducing calories, along with taking some nutritional supplements.
One Step At A Time
In changing how many calories I ate, I went from consuming high-fat, high-sugar, and high-carbohydrate foods to a diet high in protein and low in carbohydrates. I used what many call a low-calorie diet or very low calorie diet, which is not for the faint of heart and must be done in conjunction with a medical professional. I also incorporated some exercise, but most of my increase in exercise came a bit later — once I started to lose weight and could actually engage in physical activity. As an obese individual, it was difficult for me to walk, let alone run, so I was not able to start running a marathon like some individuals are able to do. One thing I had to learn was…