3 year update with Photo

Hey everybody!

This wee****lebrate 3 years since I had VSG surgery.  I can't think of a single negative thing to say about my journey. 

Since I haven't been super active on here for a while, I'll summarize my story...

Started at 300 lbs - heaviest ever was 313.

Dropped 40 pre-surgery, 80 post.  I dipped as low as 170, but have spent most of the three years closer to 185 after a lot of working out added some muscle back.  I get body fat tested regularly and that has remained in the 10% region.  

My weight loss was very linear - I didn't suffer from any long stalls, or any issues along the way.  I had surgery on June 24, and hit my goal by November 24 (Thanksgiving!).  

I followed the basic "plan" rigorously - water, protein, exercise and logging.  I now log mainly exercise, as it is the big driver of what I do.  My diet doesn't change much from day to day -  so I'm less rigorous about logging that right now since I have a pretty good routine. When I notice a gain, I go right back to logging food as well, and that seems to help knock things back into line quickly. 

I felt that a key ingredient for my long-term success in maintenance was finding physical activities that I could do (and enjoy) long-term.  I thought a lot about it and realized that when I was a kid I'd spend all summer on my bike - so I took up cycling again.  Turns out I have a "knack," and at age 57 I'm riding in long-distance endurance competitions.  This year I've finished first in two 12-hour time trials, logging 221 miles and 233 miles.  Good enough to lead the country in my age group after 2 races.  I'll do two more this season and they take your best 3 for your total score, so I have a good shot at a great overall finish - rather a difference from pre-VSG days! I never would have guessed I'd be good at anything athletic... maybe all those years of carrying an extra 120lbs made my legs super-strong!

While losing weight and during my first year in maintenance I relied on this forum heavily.  After that I spent more of my time on the maintenance forum. For the past 6 months or so my life has been so busy that I just haven't been able to dedicate as much time here, but I'm hoping this will settle down a bit. I think it's important to stay connected to this community for long term success, and I check in here and read a few things every few days just to stay connected.

Here's a picture of me just prior to VSG:

And from last weekend:

That's not a smile. It's the grim rictus of death as I climb the final Horribly Hilly Hill into Blue Mound Park after 98 miles and 9,000 feet of climbing.

All I can say is that my life changed for the better in every way 3 years ago and it keeps getting better!

Good health to everyone here!

Tom

(edit to update picture link)

Wow, look at you go! (and go and go and go...)   Thanks so much for the inspiration!!!  So glad you found your passion. 

~Shel

Tom - you are one of the biggest success stories on here and I've followed you since I started over two years ago.  You are the amazing example that proves that exercise is SUPER important for maintaining weight once someone has lost all the excess.  Thank you for coming back on here to update us and for all the great encouragement you've given others over the years.  

And WOW - leading your age group in the entire country?!?  That's fantastic - love how you're living your life now.  

Thanks Tracy!  I hope I can get real life to settle a bit by the end of the year so I can spend more time reading and posting here.  Hanging with people like you helped a lot in my success.

No words!

You know exactly how I feel about your success and your inspirational qualities!

Rock on, my friend!

Thanks man!  You were a big part of why I kept reading here :) thanks for all the wisdom along the way.

Congrats on 3 Tom !!!

You set the mark in every area !!!

Please post your WL graph so people can see what consistency can look like !!!

frisco

Thanks! Here's the graph:

Damn!, you got a graph?, and here I am trying to post a halfway decent picture! LOL Great going!