I can never remember a time in my life where my weight wasnt an issue, says Dalton Blanchard, a 29-year-old IT manager from Houma, Louisiana. As a sedentary kid, he didnt try out for sports he feared he was too out of shape to play; growing up, diets made his weight yo-yo, but he never kept it off. Things got worse in college, as the stress of school led him to binge eat, sometimes hitting 6,000 calories a day. I didnt have exercise or other healthy outlets to relieve stress, so stress eating was a big part of my life and I oftentimes would eat just to feel okay, he says.
By his second year of grad school, he was 330 pounds. I felt like absolute garbage, he says. He dressed in baggy clothes to hide his body. I didnt look at mirrors, I didnt worry about clothes, and there was absolutely no respect for myself.
Online dating turned him aroundspecifically, his now-wife, Francesca. She brought out a lot of things inside of me that I didnt know were parts of my personality, he says, and I found out that I did like being social and that I did like meeting new people. Blanchard admits feeling ashamed as she introduced him to new people. I felt like she deserved more than who I was, he says, and thats really what sparked my change.
He started small. One day after a stressful day at work, he went to the gym and tried jogging. Hed tried for years to get into a workout routine, but it always felt like a chore. This time, though, he loved it. He soon developed a cardio routine, 45 minutes of jogging every weekday. I remember one gym session where I jogged three miles without stopping and I felt like I was on the top of the world, he says.
Cardio quickly helped him slim down, but he also worked to get his diet under control. He used the MyFitnessPal app to count his calories, eating no more than 1500 a day. Lean Cuisine prepackaged meals and salads helped him establish a routine. He aimed to burn 1000 active calories a day, while allowing himself the flexibility of weekend cheat meals to keep from going crazy.
With two years of primarily cardio work, Blanchard went from 330 pounds down to 168, hitting that mark on his wedding day. Since then hes worked to build muscle, and hes now at 180 pounds. Physically, I feel incredible, he says. I dont have as many back pains, leg pains, and moving around is just so much easier. Hes more confident and likes buying clothes again. Hes able to look in the mirror with pride.
Consistency, he says, was the key. He established his weekday routine and stuck to it, using weekends to blow off any stress he felt about it. MyFitnessPal and Apple Watch let him quantify his progress and focus on simply running a calorie deficitburning more than he took in. And he found he really loved running. Find an activity that drives you, he says, and then the rest will become easy.
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A Simple Cardio Routine Helped This Guy Drop 150 Pounds in 2 Years - menshealth.com
