Good luck brother. I am in a similar boat as you....I am 6'4" and at my peak weight I was 412 lbs. I've tried gimmick diets and even took the preliminary steps towards Lap-Band surgery, but didn't go through with it. I talked to my doctor and he recommended a diet called MediFast. It is a low carb, high protein diet where you eat 6 small meals per day. 5 of them are the "MediFast" food and 1 meal is a home-made "Lean & Green" meal....which consists of a portion of lean meat and low carb veggies. I am currently on my 5th day of the diet and I can honestly say that I have not felt overly hungry even though I have reduced my daily caloric intake from ~3500 calories to 800-1000 calories. Also...the food is actually good...I was pleasantly surprised by that.The plan recommends that you not exercise strenuously for the first two weeks to allow your body to acclimate to the reduction in calories, but light cardio or weights are ok. I am ECSTATIC to report that I have lost 14 lbs in 5 days with minimal exercise. I realize that my weight loss will slow down, but for the first time in my life I feel like I can accomplish my weight loss goals. My goal is to hit 275 lbs. That may still be overweight according to the BMI scale, but I feel like it is a healthy weight for me. Don't get me wrong...I'm not trying to push MediFast on you...just sharing my experience to help you along.

I am glad that you started this thread. If it is ok with you, I think I would like to check in periodically with my progress and I would love it if you would do the same. Peer support can go a long way...especially since we obviously share other common interests.

You can do it bro...stay strong.