Out of the shadows finally

Until now, I have never posted photos. Perhaps it was a reluctance to get in front of the camera with all that weight, and then later still a body image thing (or perhaps I was just afraid one of you guys would photoshop my head onto a nude porn star's body). But, it's time now to share (actually I guess I am now Ok with the photoshop thing, so here goes):

First is before surgery at my highest weight and a photo 5 months after surgery when I felt I had made some real changes:




July 2011 14 months post op



July 2011 14 months post op (taken behind the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland overlooking a much nicer looking Lake Erie than I remember it)




July 2011 14 months post op at the high school reunion I told you about




I still have a lot of work to do, but the differnece still amazes me.

Ken

Ken, those are great pictures and the change is amazing!!

Thanks for sharing the before and after results.

 Ken, was that really you in the first pic?  Wow, you've made tremendous progress.

World of difference!

Thanks guys. You know the funny thing (sad thing actually) is that I never saw myself as I was at my heaviest. I guess I need to keep these pics around as maintenance motivation.

Ken, you look like a million dollars.  Just think the world of difference in 14 litttle months.  It is inspiring to see such great progress.  Thanks for sharing!!

Ken - That is awesome!  Did you check out the "bend" on the sofa cushion in the first picture?  What a difference now!  I am sure the furniture in your house is breathing a sigh of relief (as it is in my house too)!

My moment came when I could finally sit in one of those camp chairs without killing it!

ROTL   Bring on those little white plastic lawn chairs...

I suppose that is another common fart for us ... Being able to safely sit on lawn furniture. I had broken enough plastic lawn chairs that I would not sit in another for fear of ending up on the floor in front of a group of people.

You said it...  Funny (well, funny now...) story...  My wife, kids and I were in a factory mill store when I was at my heaviest and saw what appeared to be a nice wide, deceivingly sturdy looking adirondack chair which I proceeded to give a whirl to see if it was something that I wanted to buy for the house.  Well wouldn't you know it that as soon as I sat down it literally crumbled to splinters...  And I'm not exaggerating.  I was so embarrassed that I got up pushed the toothpicks aside and told the person at the front desk on the way out that their chair was broken...   I didn't realize that the chair was held together by deck screws from the outside in and had no bolts so I learned to look for bolts on the sides of those chairs before attempting to sit.  Anyway, that is in the past now and I no longer fear (well, maybe just a little) sitting on foreign adirondack chairs.