43-year-old David Lineberry was on a weight-loss journey for almost 20 years. At the starting of the first year of his college, he weighed almost 330 pounds. Then in a few years, he succeeded in losing 100 pounds of his weight, but after he was graduated, he regained his weight back. He used to lose and gain weight alternatively. He tried different strategies all over again.
Not only Lineberry, but his parents were also overweight. He said, “They didn’t pass on the best nutrition advice or the most cooperative genes.”
Lineberry used SlimFast at the time of entering college, skipped all unhealthy foods, and became successful to drop more than 100 pounds. But he could not sustain the changes in the diet and finally regained weight. He was on the roller-coaster of weight loss and gain.
Last year, he started to lose weight again. His father was a diabetic patient and had to visit the hospital regularly for seven years. Lineberry said while remembering his father, “He ended up dying on the operating table.”
Now, he used a different strategy to make his own food. Lineberry started keeping a food journal along with him to count the calories.
He added, “I’ve found that when you do something positive like cut out drinking, it gives you more energy to keep going with the diet.”
He stopped having processed food and started focusing on grilled shrimp, vegetables, and grilled chicken. He said, “Diet’ has become synonymous with a temporary thing we do. But we’re in this for the long haul, and we need to accept that mentality.”
Adapting to the changed mentality has been a big discovery for him. He stated, “You probably didn’t gain all your extra weight in a week’s time, so don’t expect it to come off in a week.”
I tried different methods now when he used to get a craving for pizza, he made it himself and rather healthy. He used occasional cheat meal as a celebration, but he stayed persistent. Knowing that it would take many years to drop the weight he continues all that for longer.
For exercise, Lineberry chose five days a week workout plan, and he went for 30 minutes strength and another 30 minutes cardio daily. He also shifted from arms to chest and chest to legs during the week.
Lineberry said, “Once you get into a habit, it feels weird to skip. I feel guilty now when I skip a workout day. The trick has always been just getting into the habit in the first place.”
The idea of trying different exercises helped him from not getting bored with regular exercises. He would use free weights, machines, and even aerobic exercise videos.
In October, he dropped below 190 pounds, which were his target weight. And since then, he has followed his routine – eating veggies and chicken and workout five days a week. He said, “Losing weight really affects every aspect of your life. Your love life gets better because you’re in a better mood and you find each other more attractive. You’re better to be around because you’re not moody or grumpy but positive. You work harder because you have more energy. Every day is a better day.”
