How I Lost 131 Pounds. Short answer: I lost 131 pounds, from a peak of 356 down to 225, by eating low-carb (about 20 to 40g a day), losing the weight as a side effect of fixing my blood sugar, and walking, starting from just a block at a time. No surgery, no Ozempic, no shortcuts. It took years, and I hit plateaus, but the approach never changed: real food, consistently, and movement I built up slowly.
My weight numbers
- 356 lbs, my true peak
- 327.6 lbs at my diabetes diagnosis (Feb 2023, documented)
- 225 lbs now
- Down 131 lbs total
I’d spent years losing and regaining weight before this. The classic yo-yo. What changed wasn’t a new burst of willpower; it was finally fixing the underlying problem. → How I got my A1C from 12.5 to 5.8
Weight loss was a side effect, not the goal
After my diagnosis, I wasn’t chasing weight loss. I was lowering my blood sugar by cutting carbohydrates. The 131 pounds came off as a side effect of fixing my metabolism. That reframe mattered, because it took the pressure off the scale and put it on the thing that actually drives health. → [link: Why weight loss isn’t the same as health]
The movement: I started with a single block
At diagnosis I had so much joint pain I could only walk a block or two before it hurt. So that’s where I started. A block. I built up slowly over time, and today I walk 5 to 8 miles a day with zero joint pain. I didn’t do strength training; it was walking, plus the occasional bike ride once I was able. → [link: Daily walking for blood sugar]
How I Lost 131 Pounds, the plateaus (and what I did)
I hit stalls. The scale just stops for a while. I didn’t reach for hacks or panic. I stayed the course because I knew I was doing the right thing, and the numbers backing me up (my glucose and my A1C) told me to trust it. The plateaus broke when I kept going. → [link: Weight-loss stalls: what I actually do]
The aftermath: loose skin
Losing 131 pounds left me with a lot of loose skin. It’s not attractive, and I had to buy all new clothes, and I laugh about that part. But I’ll take loose skin and a new wardrobe over being obese and diabetic any day.
FAQ
How did you lose 131 pounds? Low-carb eating (~20 to 40 g/day) fixed my blood sugar, with the weight coming off as a side effect, plus walking I built up from a single block.
Did you have surgery or take Ozempic? No. No weight-loss surgery and no Ozempic. Just diet and movement, plus metformin for my diabetes.
How long did it take? Years, with plateaus. The documented anchor is 327.6 lbs at diagnosis in Feb. 2023, down to 225 now.