[fmxda]

Now that you've reached your goal of XL and a weight of mid-to-low 200's, which is a great achievement considering what you've been through ... why not set the bar even higher?

You say that you have a big build--which I don't doubt, considering your weight growing up--but depending on your height, it is a widely accepted medical fact that your ideal weight is a probably good 30-40 pounds lower, and losing that extra weight will be definitively beneficial.

Even pro football players that are jacked, in the best shape man can be--with massive muscular builds and extremely low body fat percentages--still top out at around 210-230 lbs for a 6 foot person. In my opinion, it is virtually impossible to weigh more at that particular height and be of a healthy weight.

One may enjoy reasonably good fitness and have little to worry about on the yearly blood test at the age of 30, but about 1/3 of all Americans (I assume you are American) die from heart disease, stroke, diabetes... diseases correlated very strongly with being overweight/obese. Many more than 33% suffer from these largely avoidable diseases.

I don't think you'll find a lot of 30 year olds with early stages of diabetes, hypertension, or dangerously high serum levels of cholesterol. Not a lot of 30 year olds ever expect they are already headed down that path.

But it's a fact that one of the strongest correlates of who will be that 33%+ to develop heart disease are those who are in the top third of weight. Even in fat America, the top tertile of weight at age 30 would be surprising low imo.

I'm not trying to diminish your accomplishments: they are quite impressive and inspirational. But it kinda seems from your comments in this thread that you feel satisfied with your weight and health and don't have much motivation to slim down further.