What am I doing wrong?

[BooBears]

Hello all. I am new to this forum and weight loss in general. I am hoping some of you will have comments for me.

I am a 6'2" 305 LB male. I recently turned 24 and became disgusted with my present situation in life. For the past few years I've been dining on fast food and quick meals due to my work schedule. When my 24th Birthday came, I looked into the mirror and decided that I'm finished with being fat. My body and mind cannot handle it any longer.

A few months ago I started eating healthier foods and cutting out snacks/soda altogether. I tore through my apartment and dumped all fatty foods out of my fridge and cabinets. I drank more water and bought a treadmill. I walked on the treadmill every night. At first, I was serious about losing weight, but I was also worried that I would lose interest after a couple months because of the stories that I read on the internet. I've never taken any serious approach to weight loss and figured I would give up on this routine fast if it was as hard as everyone made it out to be.

The first couple of weeks were sometimes challenging. I had many urges to eat fast/fatty foods, but it could not break my will to lose weight. I kept telling myself that it was just my mind adjusting to my new routine. I kept at it, walking and jogging every night for 1.5 hours non-stop. I ate no fast food or anything high in fat/caloric content. I found the joy of cooking for myself. Sometimes I would have salmon or chicken breast (no fat marinade). I would also eat healthy choice/lean cuisine meals. I was surprised at how tasty these meals can actually be. I counted calories and finally made salad a dear friend of mine (no fat dressing/croutons/cheese etc).

So here I am, three months later. I jogged/walked for over an hour every night, ate healthy, drank lots of water and avoided all of my past urges (which was not easy). It was time to hop on the scale and reap my reward. I was so proud of myself. Did I lose 5, 10, 20 pounds???

I stepped on the scale, the dials starts to turn "260...275...290...what...this can't be...305??? I lost NOTHING?? The scale must be wrong! It has to be wrong! Heck, I even look and feel thinner." Well, the scale wasn't wrong, 305 it was. I was crushed. There was a moment when I thought "all of that work for nothing". I went through my fridge looking for the culprits. I read the backs of every label so many times that I had them memorized. After searching for some time, I finally found the culprit. It was...me.

I thought to myself, "Well, it was a nice try, but why keep going if I can't rid myself of this weight. Maybe I should just *gasp* give up". But, why should I give up? I feel GREAT. My energy level has picked up so much and despite having no results, I feel much better about myself. The food I have been preparing for myself has been superb. After three months without fast food, the thought of eating a Big Mac makes me want to gag. I cannot picture going back, since the food I'm eating tastes so much better. The treadmill has been incredibly fun and gives me time to listen to my music. Three months may be a little early to say it, but none of this has been as hard as many people made it out to be. I'm actually enjoying it more and more. My objective has changed from losing weight to making this a permanent change in my lifestyle. However, I still would like to drop the extra pounds if possible.

Now that we got the back story over with, this is what I hope you all would be kind enough to help me with. I think my metabolism needs a kick in the bottom. When I say I had no fast food, I had NONE. No fatty foods in the least. Yet, I lost no weight. Could this be because I'm not eating enough calories per day? I think one of my problems is that I often skip breakfast. I am not an early bird and I personally hate breakfast. 1.) I have no time for it and 2.) I'm not hungry in the morning, I always feel like I'm force feeding myself. How do you guys manage your mornings?

My other question is that there seems to be great confusion on the net about whether to eat before or after exercising. Everyone has a different answer. My doctor advised to eat after exercising, but many people on the net differ. Why is this?

Also, what kinds of foods do you eat? I would like to put a bigger variety in my meals, but don't want to add anything fat or high in calories. Please suggest healthy foods/drinks (other than water).

Any input on loose skin? Losing weight and having a bunch of loose skin scares me to death.

Please note that I am not interested in any supplements or drugs to deal with weight loss. Call me old fashioned, but I like to keep it natural.

Is there anything in my routine that I need to change? Critique me!!

Thanks all,

BooBears

[BluntStatic]

DONT EAT any diet food like lean quizeens i was basicly at the same sit as you and you only should do 30mins of cardio to prevent muscle loss and start lifting weights to increase muscle mass and metabolism eat anything off this list not to much of one thing there are healthy fats wich you need to lose fat and good luck heres the list http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpo...6&postcount=13

[wuddog]

Chin up dude. You probably gained muscle.
Don't focus on weight. Focus on fat.
Muscle weighs more than fat, therefore, the same amount or volume of muscle would actually weigh more than the same volume of fat. In otherwords, you can stay the same size, but actually gain weight because the you've gained muscle and lost fat. Similarly, you can actually get smaller in SIZE, but weigh the same because you gained muscle and lost fat.
Keep up the routine and use your mirror, not your scale.