re: Any baw took drastic measures to lose that gut

130 lbs in around 9 months through diet change, eliminating soda and booze, and walking, which gradually developed into ruck marching. Eventually I was doing over 100 miles a week, with pack, in hilly terrain and resistance training 5 days a week. But it all started with making myself get up and walk around my block for the first time.

That was over six years ago and I'm not active at that level anymore, but I still take the dog for a five mile walk every day, eat purposefully, and hit the gym a few times a week. And have kept the weight off, without paying any attention to carbs, calories, or portion size, by sticking to real, unprocessed food 95ish% of the time.

And just being honest here, I went back to drinking beer after the first year, and 5 years later, it hasn't had any impact on my waistline. But that's with a "clean" diet, and moderate to higher than average activity level. I would absolutely recommend cutting out alcohol while initially losing weight, or forever if you can manage it. I just wasn't able to maintain total sobriety long term, although that is a goal for me.