I have lurked on reddit for 2 years now and have never created an account until now. This sub has inspired me to do so, as well as take on a a new journey to a healthier me.

About me:

Male 33, Canada. Married w/ 2 kids (girls, 2 and 4). SW 272 | CW 260 | GW 200.

I play Ice Hockey and I am an avid fisherman (fly/spin, lake, river, ocean) and I enjoy being active and outside.

My plan is to count calories w/ MFP and add workouts where time will allow (its tough with a small space, 2 small kids and 2 parents working opposite shifts).

My story:

I was a skinny kid growing up, scary skinny at times. I got sick when I was young 7 or 8. I had intestinal issues we never found out what they were, it caused me to drop weight rapidly. I outgrew it and put on weight again eventually, but was a skinny teen until about 16.

My mother would feed me whatever I wanted always because she was so worried about me and I was a picky eater. She was just happy I ate, so this developed some bad habits for me.

I was a skinny teen until about 17 when I started to fill out. The best shape of my life I was 18, 185lbs. I am a hockey player (still am even at my current weight).

My weight issues started shortly thereafter. I met my wife that year (1999). We ate out a lot, minor hockey finished when I was 21 (2002). By 2005 years I put on about 35lbs and I weighed 220lbs. I used to laugh about my belly, didn't think it was a big deal and did nothing to change my eating habits. I binged and fast food, drank beer a lot and did very little exercise (fishing in a boat was the most exercize I got, LOL).

I got a desk job in 2005 and continued my poor eating habits gaining weight very quickly. By 2010 I was 260lbs, It is now 2014 and I weighed in at 272lbs on January 3rd this year.

I tried losing weight last year, counted calories for 5wks, lost 15lbs or so but gave up. After the holidays ended, I wanted to start losing weight again. I want to be around for a long time, My wife and I have 2 beautiful girls (2 and 4) that are the center of our world.

As I said, I play hockey and its tough at my current weight, I think I do surprisingly well at it all things considered, but I could enjoy it more and be more successful at it if I was in better shape. I started playing again 2 years ago, it hasn't helped me lose any weight as I only play once per week (sometimes 2).

I wear most of my weight in my midsection, my legs are still fairly toned from the 16 years of hockey thus far. I find clothes tough to find, XXL everything makes it tough, All my nice office clothes no longer fit, I look forward to dressing in them again and no longer wearing loose XXL shirts un-tucked and 44 waist pants. My low-point was Taco Bell 3x in a week, and seeing myself over 270lbs (272-274ish).

I started counting calories on Jan 3rd, and I have lost around 12lbs (the first 5 or 6 was probably retained water from poor diet). It has been going OK so far. I am eating 1760 calories a day (or a little less some days) with only 2 days where I missed that mark, and I hope to add some workouts to it. I am trying to arrange the time and space to do Power 90, I have friends who had great results on it and I like its structure.

So that's it, thanks for the inspiration Fitit, I look forward to starting this journey with all of you lovely people.