Would you believe I used to be 235 lbs? Me neither. Today is a special occasion for me because I have reached my goal of 160 lbs. I can now begin my next goal to 155 and then start building muscle. However, just because I was able to shed all that weight does not mean you can't do it too. Losing weight is difficult, but definitely not impossible and I dare anyone that is stuck in a rut in weight loss to go beyond their limits in exercising. So let's see my journey of how I got here and how anyone else can be this successful too.

Discipline and moderation is the main thing you need to practice. When I was 235 lbs, I was not eating the right foods. I found myself stuffing my face with junk food and high carb foods. When you don't use the short term energy, it gets stored as body fat. So I began to cut down on processed sugars and carbs and replaced it with vegetables. They are great craving killers and have helped eliminate the cravings for junk food.

It also doesn't help that I was also doing drugs. Being a former smoker and drinker, I can say that smoking cigarettes is the final nail in the coffin to bad health. You can be the most active person but alcohol and drugs will hold you back from losing weight. It gives you a ton of energy that is limited and will give you a crash when it's all used up. With therapeutic help for tobacco and alcohol and drug abuse, I will not even sniff a cigarette anymore.

Eating and drinking at night and quitting drugs is a great first start, but that's not the only way to shed fat.

Making a habit of working out and going to the gym on a consistent basis is the next most important thing you can do to lose weight. When I was dieting, I was strictly just dieting and not going to the gym. Then I started going to the gym. I started off just going twice a week and got stuck in a rut with weight loss. Then, two days became three, three became four, and now I go to the gym a bare minimum of five days a week. If I know I can't go to the gym one day, I double up the next day.

As far as the time at the gym goes, try to shoot for at least an hour. You can go to the gym for just a half hour and work your ass off and still get great results. More time in the gym does not equal better results.

But doing the same workout every day is the formula for a plateau. I alternate every day. One day, I lift weights and then the next day, I do cardio. When you do cardio the next day and your muscles are recovering from the previous day, they're burning fat and calories from your body. Doing cardio the next day burns off any extra fat on your body.

Working out makes or breaks your weight loss journey, but I saved the best for last when it comes to weight loss...liquid consumption.

Liquid consumption is last on here because honestly, there are not a lot of healthy drinks out there for you, but the ones that are healthy will skyrocket your results. The best thing you can drink is obviously water. Your body is 65, 70, don't know the exact number, sometimes pushing 80% water. Give your body what it needs and just abuse yourself with water daily.

If you have cravings, drinking a lot of water will get rid of those cravings because it fills your stomach up and flushes the unhealthy toxins out of your body. When I first started drinking a minimum of 10 cups of water a day, I lost 15 lbs because that's how much alcohol and pop I was drinking and all the water flushed it out. Some drinks you want to stay away from when trying to lose weight pop, alcohol, and fruit juices obviously but believe it or not, coffee is another one. The caffeine gives you limited energy and when it runs out, you have that crash where you are weak.

You can lose weight drinking black coffee, but I recommend staying away from it because you can still get caffeine cravings and what else has caffeine? Pop and alcohol. You will have a bunch more natural energy drinking water, eating the right foods, and getting the right amount of sleep. Give your body what it needs.

Weight loss is a time-consuming process that involves a hell of a lot of pain and anger and sweat and tears, but you will thank yourself later. People may call 5'7" 160 too skinny, but I say it's not enough. You know when I say it's enough? When I say it's enough.