Upward Trajectory
My weight gain started the way it happens with many people. I found an unhealthy diet that I enjoyed at the same time I ceased a lot of my physical activity.
My parents often cooked nutritious meals with meat and vegetables as well as bread and starches, but it was balanced. Then I came to the age where I could make my own food. Every afternoon I would make a breaded chicken patty sandwich on a hamburger bun with cheese and mayonnaise. I washed it down with chocolate milk of course.
At the age of 9 I had corrective surgery to fix a congenital defect in my legs. I spent most of a year in a wheelchair and in casts. I couldn't get out of bed for 6 months and I wasn't able to run or even walk quickly for another 6 months. At the same time, my best friend moved out of state, and I had trouble making new friends. I found video games and TV to fill the void. Most of my physical activity ceased. I might have just ended up a bit chubby if I had maintained my hours of running around each day, but I stopped most of that all together.
The weight piled on through my teens. Luckily I grew tall as well so the weight didn't look too horrible on me. By the time I was 16 I was 6'3" and 250 pounds, what I would call my normal weight for most of my adulthood. I might have made a good football player, if I had been interested in sports at all. I picked up smoking as well, which could only help...
My parents often cooked nutritious meals with meat and vegetables as well as bread and starches, but it was balanced. Then I came to the age where I could make my own food. Every afternoon I would make a breaded chicken patty sandwich on a hamburger bun with cheese and mayonnaise. I washed it down with chocolate milk of course.
At the age of 9 I had corrective surgery to fix a congenital defect in my legs. I spent most of a year in a wheelchair and in casts. I couldn't get out of bed for 6 months and I wasn't able to run or even walk quickly for another 6 months. At the same time, my best friend moved out of state, and I had trouble making new friends. I found video games and TV to fill the void. Most of my physical activity ceased. I might have just ended up a bit chubby if I had maintained my hours of running around each day, but I stopped most of that all together.
The weight piled on through my teens. Luckily I grew tall as well so the weight didn't look too horrible on me. By the time I was 16 I was 6'3" and 250 pounds, what I would call my normal weight for most of my adulthood. I might have made a good football player, if I had been interested in sports at all. I picked up smoking as well, which could only help...
Grave Condition
Through college and my 20's I went up and down. I once tried a meat only diet, like Atkins, but more serious. I dropped down to 200 pounds briefly, but like many fad diets, it was unsustainable. I moved to college away from home and didn't have access to the right kinds of foods in the right quantities, so I watched my weight shoot up and up. For a decade I went to bed every night saying to myself how tomorrow I would start a healthy life, quit smoking, start exercising, eat right. Tomorrow never came.
At 30 I found myself at 325 pounds, I couldn't run a city block, my chest hurt, I coughed all the time, heartburn was a daily occurrence, my joints ached, I had digestive problems galore, and I looked like I was 50. My lifestyle had caught up with me, taken me out back and had its way with me.
Around this time my mother had moved out to California for a job. She had been very overweight for many years as well. She had found a program that helped her drop from 250 pounds to 118 in a fairly short amount of time. She loved it, but it wasn't something I was interested in.
Then someone at worked died. A heart attack. This happened occasionally. I work at an office with 1,000 people, many older. This guy was 35. He was overweight and smoked, sounded familiar. My sister was studying to become a nurse at the time. She took my blood pressure for practice. She said that in class they told her anyone with a blood pressure that high should probably be hospitalized. My mother, a nurse of 30 years confirmed that she was correct. The next week I was teaching my daughter to ride a bike. I would run with her while holding her bike. After a 100 feet I started feeling a pain in my chest and I couldn't catch my breath.
I was going to kill myself. Maybe not today, but maybe in 5 years. I had a lovely daughter who I wanted to see grow up. I wanted to walk her down the aisle. I wanted to play with my grandkids. I had plans dammit!
At 30 I found myself at 325 pounds, I couldn't run a city block, my chest hurt, I coughed all the time, heartburn was a daily occurrence, my joints ached, I had digestive problems galore, and I looked like I was 50. My lifestyle had caught up with me, taken me out back and had its way with me.
Around this time my mother had moved out to California for a job. She had been very overweight for many years as well. She had found a program that helped her drop from 250 pounds to 118 in a fairly short amount of time. She loved it, but it wasn't something I was interested in.
Then someone at worked died. A heart attack. This happened occasionally. I work at an office with 1,000 people, many older. This guy was 35. He was overweight and smoked, sounded familiar. My sister was studying to become a nurse at the time. She took my blood pressure for practice. She said that in class they told her anyone with a blood pressure that high should probably be hospitalized. My mother, a nurse of 30 years confirmed that she was correct. The next week I was teaching my daughter to ride a bike. I would run with her while holding her bike. After a 100 feet I started feeling a pain in my chest and I couldn't catch my breath.
I was going to kill myself. Maybe not today, but maybe in 5 years. I had a lovely daughter who I wanted to see grow up. I wanted to walk her down the aisle. I wanted to play with my grandkids. I had plans dammit!
Recovery
I went to bed that night, like most nights for a long time, and I vowed that I would start living a healthy life tomorrow. Tomorrow came. I went to see my mother and discussed her program with her. I went through all of my food and got rid of all of the junk. A friend gave me a cheap creaky bike. Everything I needed for recovery had been right in front of me all along, I just had to decide to accept it.
On February 12th 2011, I started eating only meat, fruit and vegetables. For a few days I was hungry. By day 3 I had grown accustomed to the new rhythm of the day. I would wake up, cook breakfast and eat. I would pack a lunch and head to work. I would eat at 12:30. I would come home and have lunch late, so that I could go to bed not so hungry. Every night I would call my sponsor (the program is like AA, you get a sponsor and report to them, for accountability) and report what food I would be eating the next day.
By the end of the week I started feeling energetic. I wanted to go out and do something. I woke up in the middle of the night with a burning desire to do something. At 2 AM on a Saturday I decided to see if I could ride to work. It took me 30 minutes. At the same time I decided to start putting on some muscle. I started a weightlifting program with a good friend. Turns out he was trying to quit smoking and he turned me on to Nicorette Lozenges. I started using those and quit smoking. By two months I had weened myself off of the lozenges and was home free.
I started riding my bike to work and around town as well. That old creaky bike got stolen, so I bought a nice cruiser and started riding that. After a few months I decided to buy a fast road bike as well. I rode for about 100 miles a week. The last time I checked I had 5,000 miles on that bike. It had become a part of my life and I was feeling better and better. I started to feel like my body was put together right for the first time in my life. I felt like I could use my body to do what I wanted.
At two weeks into dieting, lifting and biking I decided to weigh myself. I weighed 297 pounds. In 14 days I had lost 28 pounds. Over the next 6 months I would continue to drop at almost a pound a day. It was a miraculous transformation. My friends and family were so supportive. Folks at work were convinced I had some sort of surgery. Life was good.
On February 12th 2011, I started eating only meat, fruit and vegetables. For a few days I was hungry. By day 3 I had grown accustomed to the new rhythm of the day. I would wake up, cook breakfast and eat. I would pack a lunch and head to work. I would eat at 12:30. I would come home and have lunch late, so that I could go to bed not so hungry. Every night I would call my sponsor (the program is like AA, you get a sponsor and report to them, for accountability) and report what food I would be eating the next day.
By the end of the week I started feeling energetic. I wanted to go out and do something. I woke up in the middle of the night with a burning desire to do something. At 2 AM on a Saturday I decided to see if I could ride to work. It took me 30 minutes. At the same time I decided to start putting on some muscle. I started a weightlifting program with a good friend. Turns out he was trying to quit smoking and he turned me on to Nicorette Lozenges. I started using those and quit smoking. By two months I had weened myself off of the lozenges and was home free.
I started riding my bike to work and around town as well. That old creaky bike got stolen, so I bought a nice cruiser and started riding that. After a few months I decided to buy a fast road bike as well. I rode for about 100 miles a week. The last time I checked I had 5,000 miles on that bike. It had become a part of my life and I was feeling better and better. I started to feel like my body was put together right for the first time in my life. I felt like I could use my body to do what I wanted.
At two weeks into dieting, lifting and biking I decided to weigh myself. I weighed 297 pounds. In 14 days I had lost 28 pounds. Over the next 6 months I would continue to drop at almost a pound a day. It was a miraculous transformation. My friends and family were so supportive. Folks at work were convinced I had some sort of surgery. Life was good.
Maintaining and Improving
Over the next two years I have had the time of my life. I am now able to play sports. I also got a job that is more physically demanding, so I get to work throughout the day. I lift weights, walk, run, and play with my kids. Best of all, thanks to my healthy lifestyle I looked so much better that someone decided to date and marry me :).
I still stick to my diet. I just eat so much more of it now. Some folks wonder if I just have inhuman willpower. The thing is I don't. I'm just so afraid to go back to where I was, that changing the way I am is inconceivable. I also see a lot of people who need help. Some folks ask for my help and I try where I can. Some folks don't ask for my help and I still try (sorry!). All I can say is that when you are ready I will be here to help.
I still stick to my diet. I just eat so much more of it now. Some folks wonder if I just have inhuman willpower. The thing is I don't. I'm just so afraid to go back to where I was, that changing the way I am is inconceivable. I also see a lot of people who need help. Some folks ask for my help and I try where I can. Some folks don't ask for my help and I still try (sorry!). All I can say is that when you are ready I will be here to help.