Heavy Weight

Hey Guys, This is a message from a heavy weight….I’m now 47 yo, 5’6” I started at 365#, now I’m at 165#, I had surgery in April of 2005… I wanted to give some perspective from a big guy, who was always big…NotDave, and CB, have given me great advice in the past, but their history is different, they have had periods in their life that they were fit. I was never fit, so the history plays a part here. Jim, Joe and Doug, had an earlier post about weight lifting, but some bigger issues came out….that of hunger, calorie control, and plateaus..And they sounded like they were doubting the sanity of they doctors… So let me ramble here for a second and see if I can share some of my experiences…. On the subject of appetite out of control….One lady came into our support group and said, “My doctor told me I would never be hungry again!!!”, well I guess we all know by now that is horse ****….there is a difference between feeling full and being hungry,,,,I feel full pretty fast…but I am always hungry….So I stuff myself….I eat all I possibility can …of the good stuff….beef, chicken, soy nuts…I do not try to fight that hunger….it will beat me….so I feed it with something that has nutrition…. This is a great tool, but it is like joining a religious order…you have to be dedicated every day…like osme guy wrote…”Life is Difficult, once you accept the fact that life is difficult, you get through it easier” Dieting, are we allowed to us that word???, starts at the grocery store, If I’m not supposed to have it, I don’t buy it….I will eat it…I promise you, I will eat it…even if it makes me dump…I will eat it… I’m very fortunate, that I dump so severely…on the sugar  cravings…it seems like it’s time to do some personal work and find out why they are there….that can be nasty work at first….but liberating in the end….it is never this simple, but…I want a snickers bar, why do I want a snickers bar….my boss just said something to me, and it sounded just like a teacher that made fun of me in the 1st grade…and I’m embarrasses, ashamed, angry,,,,nasty work at first…then you won’t surrender your power to the jerk teacher from the past… I lost 100# in 100 days….then it took another year to lose the second hundred…. At the beginning, I would walk….anywhere but the kitchen….I would just take of walking….then I learned…do not walk with my wallet….because I would walk to the Wendy’s….so I would walk without my wallet….(sounds so strange to put it out there like that) Walking was the only exercise I did for about the first 9 months….I found that some things matter in exercise….having good shoes….my fat azz had ruined my shoes from before…but I never noticed…it my legs ached…and the type of pants I wore made a difference….with my fat thighs….the inseam, tore my inner thighs up…. This is really unpleasant….I had to go all gonzo, to loose my weight…800 calories a day, and 700 calories on the elliptical….and just really kick it…I know that was not good for my body, but that is what it took for me….all protein, nothing else, and be a fanatic…For me it paid off…I talk to people all the time about the plateaus, and there are reasons upon reasons why they happen….you have to find some comfort in where you have come from….and have some realistic expectations…. Realistic Expectations….dang they work both ways…..I can not expect to lose 4 pounds a week at a year out….But if I’m not losing anything for several months I have to look at what I’m putting in my mouth….If I’m walking an hour a day…..and I change up my routine, and I still don’t loose….lets do an inventory of what is going in my mouth…there may be “Unscheduled Nutrition”…as Dxe calls it….You have to be honest with yourself…and here hard on yourself…Like the old preacher would call them…”back pew back sliders” Weight lifting is great, I love the change in how my body looks, but for me I could not have done it before I lost the majority of my weight….the I don’t want to loose muscle mass…but I want to lose fat…was too complicated for me….my brain will only hold so much…so I lost the weight, and then started to sculpt the body…I had to keep the variables to a minimum… but that is me…but in theory…muscle burn more calories…but it was too complicated for me then,,,, I hope maybe this helped from a heavy weight perspective….your mileage may vary,,,,,and you may just think I’m full of it…

You are full of it but it is good stuff and cuts right to the chase. You are absolutely correct.  After an honest evelaution and a couple of days to ponder it, I am taking in 1800-2000 calories a day and it is too much to expect to contue to lose weight at a rate I desire as acceptable during my window of opportunity.  I am the only one that can alter that.  Its all correct stuff but too much.  The buying the right stuff and avoidng the wrong stuff at the store is excellent advice too and a chocie I have had to consciously make; i.e. I went through a spell of baked tostios and salsa.  Not bad but not good menu choices to loss weight. Hunger and eating something rather than craving food you think you want but after a taste or two you really don't want or need.  Excellent advice.  I really enjoyed your post, even though it was more serious than I am used to from you.  Glad you put it out here.  And really put if out here, straight and no tap dancing.  Thanks

I too enjoyed your post Russ!  I'm getting as much information as I can and will continue to hit the boards after my surgery, but believe me I am kicking it in gear even now, 1.5 weeks before my surgery. I had an opportunity to purchase large bales of hay or small bales, I chose the small bales and unloaded 25 bales in 100 degree temp just for exercise.  Fortunately they weighed only about 45 pounds a piece. Thanks for you wonderful post. BobM.

Way to go BOB!! I got my momentum started pre-surgery, and I think it really helped me post surgery get the weight off quicker.  Your day is rapidly approaching!

--Dave from AZ

Great post Gotoman!  I appreciate that you mixed in your shortcomings (Wendy's) as well as your victories. Too many times when I'm reading posts I get the notion that some guys are doing everything right and just breezing through this whole new life like it's nothing. Kinda makes you feel even worse when you fall short.

great post goto,

a story from the trenches as it were. i forgot what an incredible loss you had to endure. that's a lot on that size frame. you made and excellent point, some of us had an athletic background and some not. reading your post made me realize how difficult it must really be for someone to learn how to exercise or even find a sport they like enough to dedicate themselves too.

i take it for granted i can just go back to what i used to do like lift, swim and even job. you made me realize it's a huge step for some of the guys to educate themselves about exercise and then take the even bigger step of going out there and actually doing something they have never done before. you know, i have a new appreciation for those of you who took up weight lifting. as i look back, i can see a gym full of macho hulks could be a very intimidating place. heap on the fact that you have no prior experience and can't lift very much. my hat's off to you guys with the balls to plow through those feelings and go for it.

i'm sure it's just a scary to get on a bike or look at a 5k in the face. in the end, i think we all have to realize that yes, we have to watch our diet, fight head hunger, exercise, drink water, take vitamins etc. and blah blah if we want to win the battle of the bulge. i think what really brought all this home to me was a poster a day or so ago who had the surgery and then had a revision. that just tells me we really have to watch it. most guys on here are a couple years out or less. there's some longer and they are still going strong. you notice they work the program. something we all have to do from here on out. great post, keep up the good work......carbonblob

Great post...

I have always despised any kind of exercise. “475lb proves it”

 

 Never did sports, so my biggest fear is that after the surgery I will not get active despite that I’m feeling 100% better.    

 

Thanks for sharing this information. I appreciate the insight. Scott

Hi Russ,

In terms of the battle with weight, sounds like my life until I was 12 years old. I can distantly remember going through a lot of that until I dieted and lifted.

(9 years old) 

It's still hard for me to control my eating, but I know it must be a lot harder losing and exercising for the first time much later in life.

I'm such a wussy, if I had had a high BMI, I'd probably be on appetite drugs by now. Hats off to you for fighting the good fight with diet and exercise and without drugs!

Dave

Hi Dave, Cute pic--reminds me of some of my own "chubby" grade school pics. Ah, the days of buying "husky" clothes and being the fat kid! I used to tell people I was fat because my giant brain required extra mass and calories. Not sure I convinced many--but that's probably because they were too skinny to follow my big ideas. Of course my old theory has a downside: Now that I am losing weight, am I losing IQ? D'oh.