This man's lost more than 100 lbs by sharing everything he eats on Instagram

When you weigh more than 400 lbs and have tried to shed pounds for years, it can be hard to stay motivated. Paul McIntyre Royston has taken to social media to keep him committed, and has dropped over 100 lbs in the past 19 months.

"I tried to do it for myself; I tried to do it for my mom before she died; I tried to do it for my wife, for our wedding; I tried to do it for my first daughter, for my second daughter, for my third daughter," he says.

Now, the father of five girls under age seven has found a way to stick to his plan, which he has entitled 'Food Addict to Triathlete', or the F.A.T. Project.

Paul posts everything that he eats — yes, literally everything containing calories that enters his mouth — on Instagram. He's done so for over a year and a half and guesses that he's missed perhaps 20 days since starting the project. 

Some people call what he does the 'public shame diet', expecting criticism to flow in when he missteps. But Paul says the trolls haven't reached him yet.

"I've never thought of it in that way, and it's interesting... these privilege boxes that we talk about… I'm a Caucasian male, I'm straight, I live in Canada, I'm extroverted, I'm tall, so I've got a lot going for me, and fascinatingly, online, I've never had any negative commentary," Paul says.

"The most negative thing was a guy in California, who's apparently obsessed with In-N-Out Burger when you look at his feed, said 'You gotta stop eating carbs — they're terrible.'"

Paul says his female friends haven't had it so easy when they've put themselves out there online in pursuit of weight loss, but admits he hasn't been immune to his share of shaming.

"For me, public shame started when I was fat as a child. I was teased all the time for all sorts of various things, and that gets you down. It's a really tough experience — and I worry about my own children, for that same experience," he says.

This story originally aired on May 28, 2017