ObesityHelp UK and Ireland
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on 6/22/09 2:25 am - UK
on 6/19/09 6:26 am - UK
http://www.justgiving.com/gb155
With a little over 3 weeks until I ride for The Christy Cancer Hospital I wanted to bring together details of what has been the single most amazing week of my journey.
When I started my Cycling / Weight Blog I had no idea that it would ever lead to what happened to me this week,
In the space of 5 days I have done the following media commitments:
BBC Radio Manchester Live On Air – Unable To Find Podcast
Channel M – Link To Come
Shooting A Video Promoting Cycling – Link To Come
Arranging A Video Interview With ITV Local News – Link To Come
All this was in ADDIDTION to my normal working week and cycling commuting of 70 miles. As you can guess its been a pretty hectic and even at times punishing week for someone who a little over 12 months ago would have been out of breath and sweating just stood up talking to camera.
Wednesday was Manchester City Councils Bring Your Bike To Work Day, Below are a few pictures of me at the event, I joined up after leaving BBC Manchester at around 9.30am, I was there until around 11.30, The pictures were taken when I got there, Good job in the end as the rain was really bad, Channel M had to film me under a tree for one shot it was that bad.
The Amazing Shrinking Gaz With His Trek 6300 During Bike Week 2009
The Amazing Shrinking Gaz With Councillor Richard Cowell,
Manchester City Council's Executive Member for the Environment
The Amazing Shrinking Gaz With Councillor Richard Cowell,
Manchester City Council's Executive Member for the Environment
One of the reasons I agreed to take my story into the public domain with such fierce marketing is because I REALLY want to help others out there, “Pay it forward" if you like, I was of the impression (not too long ago) that someone of my size could not loose the weight I had never mind exercise or cycle 14 miles every day but it was when I was watching NBC’s Biggest Loser that I was shown that there is no excuse, Ali Vincent & Mark Kruger stood up in that show and proved to me that I could do it, if I wanted to. I had to feel the fear and do it anyway.
It was going to hurt but what I was about to do would save my life.
(As a quick point before I carry on I would love to give a talk to people are are morbidly obese on what I have achieved, I believe the NHS run weight management clinics where they have guest speakers etc, Would anyone like my services at one of these ? )
When you start to loose weight, especially when its as much as I have, its like someone is taking away all the protective layers you have built up over the years that are stopping you getting to the core of the problem, I have lost weight in the past but its only been a few stone and put it right back on again. One thing I have learnt this time is that you have to deal with the mental side of things.
You have to find out what the reason was for you giving up on yourself. It hurts so much when each layer of fat you loose exposes more and more of that fragile mindset . Each pound I lost I had to find more and more mental strength to rebuild not only my body but also my mind, I'm SO glad I stuck at it though because now I’m a WHOLE NEW PERSON, Both mentally and physically, My attitude to life (I have one now) has changed now I am defining who I am, not my weight.
Fundraising has been AMAZING this week and I want to thank you ALL from the bottom of my heart, It means SO MUCH to me it really does, If I could shake you all by the hand I would, We are now at a total of
£391.01 in Donations
£170 In Pledges
With a Target of £500 if means that if all the people who have made a pledge pay up then we will have have surpassed out target so again THANK YOU !!!!!!
I will try and make the last bit short and sweet, Myself and Joby both agreed that Wednesday evenings commute home was hell and would not be passed by anything, This morning we both agreed that we were talking rubbish about Wednesday and that this morning was HELL, I knew within half a mile I was in for some SERIOUS pain, I made it to work in 29 mins, So not bad, I remember the first time I attempted it at around 37 stone, it took me 2 HOURS !!!!!
I have setup a petition on the Government website for a cycle lane on Hyde Road. If you could take the time to sign it, then that would be great. I know people who would cycle to work if it were not for the total lack of cycle lane along 80% of this road
Total distance this week reads 73.57 Miles and weight lost is 2 Pounds (From Sunday to Friday) So as you can see from those numbers and everything else above its been a GREAT WEEK for me.
Thank you for reading, I know this has been mammoth.
Gaz, Still big but getting smaller every week.
I DO have saggy skin. See those little tights I am wearing? They are called "Assets"-which are shapewear tights with no feet (I prefer those because they wear longer-can be worn under pants and with boots and skirts).
I have batwings, very crepy thighs (with the knee flab thing) and pretty much anything below the waist is flabby and shot. I LOVE my shapewear tights and they help lots.
Some day-IF I can affored it and IF I cannot come to terms with the skin, I will get some "work" done.
I would SO love to wear those cute little summer dresses I saw on the girls in Manchester a couple of weeks ago. They were so darling. One day..maybe??
Peace,
T
Therese, thanks for sharing your story. What a wonderful achievement. I just have one question for you - how on earth have you kept such a wonderful shape after losing so much? You don't look saggy or flappy!!
I feel proud of my new size (UK 10/12) but my knees, thighs, stomach and arms are all so covered by folds of wrinkly skin that i still don't get all those wonderful dresses I see. But there you are in a mini skirt!!
Congrats about the job!
Kate
Highest 290, Banded - 248 Lowest 139 (too thin!). Comfort zone 155-165.
Happily banded since May 2006. Regain of 28lbs 2013-14. ALL GONE!
But some has returned! Up to 175, argh! Off we go again,
Hello my UK friends!
I decided to finally introduce myself in earnest. I had weight loss surgery (RNY) November 26, 2006. I have lost over 230 lbs since then and have been maintaining. My highest weight was 383 lbs. It took me over two years to be approved for the surgery. The first time I was denied via insurance because they wanted a “Full year proof of diet failure" from me. Yes-they really wrote the phrase “diet failure". Scary isn’t it?
After going through one more year of dieting and having my doctor track me, all nutrition and mental health classes (these are mandatory if you are using certain insurances)-all medical testing, I was approved.
For many years-doctors had suggested I consider weight loss surgery-but I was hesitant. I knew I was a compulsive overeater and that eating disorders ran in my family. I lost an aunt to anorexia/bulimia. She was as large as my start weight and had starved herself through her 30’s and early 40’s. She finally got medical help for it-but it was too late. She died in her sleep at age 45 because her heart was tired and it just stopped beating.
Given all that I knew about myself and my family-I wanted to be sure I was mentally prepared to really comprehend the seriousness of this surgery. I spent many years in therapy working to get to the bottom of the eating and the pain. I finally arrived at the point where I knew I would follow the plan and always use my tools and supports when needed.
I spent so many years in terrible physical and emotional pain. I became incredibly isolated-as I was deathly afraid of the verbal mocking I had received. I lived in California for a good number of years and I must say there is a HUGE issue with “looks". Maybe you already are aware of that mentality in the US and especially California. It was very painful for me and I was scared and ashamed of myself.
I raised my son-who will be 25 in July (WOW!) on my own. I was sad because I had missed so much due to my physical limitations. I made a decision that I would be there for him for the long haul and never have to say I cannot attend something because of my size.
You would probably agree to some degree-that we suffer deep emotional pain from our years as morbidly obese, or super morbidly obese in my case.
I took my surgery to heart and have made sure to follow the steps and plan the best I can. I am not perfect at all-but that is OK. If I fall, I get back up and keep moving forward. No longer is life an all or nothing affair. Nothing is truly black or white. There is room in the middle. There is room for my humanity.
I married my husband in November 3rd (last year!) and moved to the UK to be with him in January. Talk about a HUGE change! I was ready to go and make a new start. I have found someone kind and gentle who I can love and who loves me in a way I didn’t know I was worthy of in the past. It has been a huge gift for me. Furthermore-I find Britain to be a very beautiful and positive place to live. The people in the town I live-and many other towns nearby-are authentic, hardworking and a real joy to talk to. There is a feeling that the folks here really appreciate what they have and value family as well. I think after living in California for so long-I saw too much “surface only" type people. I feel it is an honor to be here and work towards becoming a citizen as well.
I have absolutely suffered some tough days. I must admit. There is a conflict that came for me after getting to a smaller size. I felt confused about my new body and could NOT comprehend the bodily changes I experienced. I stared at my before pictures with those around me saying “That does NOT look like you at all"! I was shocked. I felt I still much looked like that before girl. I also suffered a depression during my move from the US to the UK. I believe it was not only the move, but the changes in my entire life due to weight loss surgery. This is a POWERFUL process and one can’t help but be impacted in amazing ways.
I was disappointed in myself that I wasn’t excited and joyful about my weight loss. I didn’t understand how I could feel depressed and anxious. I felt guilty for feeling that way! I finally decided to go back to a therapist and talk it through. Just another tool-isn’t it? I am finally starting to come out of that dark fog and start to laugh again and really look forward to things. It’s a slow process-but I am indeed moving along.
I also was informed recently the company I worked for in the US wanted me to work for them again. They emailed me quite out of the blue! I told them I could work for them if they would agree to allow me to work from home. They said YES! So-I will be starting to work this week again. When I was first contacted and asked about working I could NOT believe it. My self esteem was so shaken and low-I was baffled as to WHY they would go so out of their way to have me come back-since they had to really go through paperwork and process- to have me be directed by a UK contracting agency. I think it may have been the look on my husband’s face when I told him I wasn’t sure why they contacted me-that I knew I had a problem-a real problem of self acceptance and worth. He had tears in his eyes when he told me “How can you not see yourself and your value"? I sat and looked blankly at him and told him I just didn’t FEEL it deep inside. Thus began my true starting over process of therapy and getting out of isolation. Thank GOODNESS there are wonderful souls in this world!! My husband is truly one of them.
I think we all know to some degree that just because we are smaller-our troubles will not be solved. However-I think there is a deeper experience we go through that needs to be looked at. I believe the extreme changes in our lives and bodies need attention an d that perhaps we should not always go it alone. At least for me this is true.
So-this is me. I will be 44 years old in August. I have gone to a nearly 400 lb woman who could not walk without crutches to a woman who runs up and down the stairs and looks around and thinks to herself “Did you just SEE that? I ran up the stairs"!! LOL! I am learning all about me-from scratch. I didn’t get that chance before-I just tried to be everything everyone else needed me to be-so that I could be loved. I found this to have left me very empty. I am so very glad I have the chance to really start over. And starting over I am. I do it-because I can and because there is always hope!
I would love to get to know more about all of you and would like to support you in writing your own sort of bio on the board-if you feel comfortable doing so. You never know who you might help-simply by your own story being told.
Thanks for joining us here on this board and I will be making sure to contribute more often-now that I am getting my head above water again.
Peace,
Therese
on 6/6/09 7:23 am, edited 6/6/09 9:21 pm - UK
Taken from my blog, The videos dont work here, To view please visit:gazzasblogs.blogspot.com/
http://www.justgiving.com/gb155
Welcome to my bumper update, This week we have 2 videos, 8 pictures and lots of info for you all, So get yourself a drink, Sit down and enjoy:
Weight:
Disappointed to loose just ONE pound this week but hey a loss is a loss, I will keep fighting and hope next week is better.
Monday:
The week didn't start off great, The GT was in for a new Bottom Bracket and I commuted on the Townsend. We Actually set a nice pace, Its always an adventure riding the old supertanker of a bike.
Tuesday:
I was back on the GT, For the first time since I started commuting to work on the bike I stood up and sprinted up “Devils Hill" See the video below for the reason its named as it is, The video is of the direction that's actually a little bit easier then when coming home, That said either way isn't much fun.
I Rode home with a fellow commuter, It’s a guy who I have passed the time with a few times over the last few months, Got into a decent rhythm and managed to keep up with him (for the first time) all the way till we went separate ways (approx a mile from home) , Got home and noticed that it had actually been a great pace and I had set a new PB time of 27 Mins (Going home is more up hill).Thanks for pushing me like that Joby, I look forward to the next time, The commuter in question has his own blog, Read it here.
One bad point about the day is that the GT started making that weird noise again when it was being pushed hard, The Bottom Bracket did need replacing (Ask the pedal lol) but it seems (after much investigation and head scratching) that the noise is coming from the rear QR skewer.
Wednesday:
Wednesday came and it all seemed pretty quiet, The GT had settled down (after some fettling) and I had started to stand up a LOT more now I had my confidence in doing so.
Then came a text with 5 words that would change my whole mood/day/ etc etc
The Text (SMS) Read “Your Cycle2work voucher has arrived"
After much (Frantic) negations to get my car to work, I left work at 4.30pm with the GT in the boot, By 6pm I was driving home with a brand new TAX FREE Trek on top of the GT :D
Here is it, My new commuter, Trek 6300
(Something I aim to make up for today).
Thursday and Friday:
Thursday was pretty uneventful to be fair, I was getting into my rhythm on the new bike and adjusting here there and everywhere. Friday however I seemed to have dialed into the Trek pretty well, As I left home I was EXHAUSTED from the week (will be all that sprinting that I’m not used to) I arrived into Denton and was passed like I was stood still by a fellow commuter, This will never do, I looked down and noticed I was at 16MPH, I knew I could do better but didn't feel like I had anything left in my leg.
Then I remembered I'm a player of THE SCR GAME, You can find me here a lot of the time too. I had a scalp to take back and protect (and as the great Lance Armstrong would say “pain is only temporary but losing is forever"), I dropped into a higher gear and started spinning like crazy, I was cruising along at 25mph trying to catch up to what was by now a spec in the distance, around a mile and a half later I was sat on his rear wheel and we were flying though traffic at a constant 22 MPH , The problem with trying to get my scalp back was that we were on a very busy 2 lane road and it just wasn't safe to pass (see the rules of SCR) so I had to take the moral victory of sticking with someone like glue at 22 MPH for around 4.5 miles ish, As someone who is on a MTB and over 22 stone I will take that :D.
Clothes:
On Tuesday Night I decided to try on some shirts, Including my old NFL ones, I was shocked to see the changes in my body, See below: BEFORE:
NOW: 
BEFORE: 
NOW: 
I also purchased a £5 Polo Shirt from Asda (Wall Mart to my American friends) not expecting it to fit it, Deciding to try it on I was a little shocked when it looked like this: 
Bike Week:
Bike week is June 13th – 21st, I have decided in the run up to bike week to release this video, As I am descending “Devils Hill" On the way home one afternoon around 2-3 weeks ago I had an incident, I was traveling at over 22mph when a lady driver decided to cut in front of me, She had a young child in the front seat who was holding on to the seat as she almost clipped me(looked like the G-Forces to me)
I am showing this video as a plea to drivers to consider cyclists as normal human people, Let’s raise awareness in the run up to Bike Week that this kind of action can causes serious injury (or worse)
Sorry for the TYPO on the video. I have an interview with the press office on Monday, My involvement is wanted to promote Bike week, Pretty exciting but at this stage I have no idea what is required of me, So keep tuned. Speaking of the press here are a couple more pictures from my Photo shoot from a couple of weeks ago.
OK OK I will stop with the pictures and videos for now (They forced me to smile anyway). It has been a bumper update this week but things are moving pretty fast with just 35 days to do until Blackpool I intend to do another 1 or 2 warm up events so hopefully there will be more location picture updates for you to enjoy. I am also (still) updating my goal list, It’s been a while and I have some much bigger goals on there right now, I hope to publish this week sometime. Thanks for reading everyone, See you all next week. Gaz (The Amazing Shrinking One)
on 6/6/09 7:21 am - UK
Yes-there is that moment when we step out into that darkness..somewhere between all the fear and defeat and the hope that MAYBE we have a chance!! It is at that moment where we need to give ourselves the most respect and kindness. Stepping out in faith is not an easy task. It is the most wonderful thing we will do as a human on this earth.
As always-you ROCK!
Peace
T
Thanks Miss Red, You too.
Yes-there is that moment when we step out into that darkness..somewhere between all the fear and defeat and the hope that MAYBE we have a chance!! It is at that moment where we need to give ourselves the most respect and kindness. Stepping out in faith is not an easy task. It is the most wonderful thing we will do as a human on this earth.
As always-you ROCK!
Peace
T
Sorry you are going through a struggle at the moment. I think it is very common for us WLS folks to still have the tendency to turn to food during hard times. After all-it was our comfort in the past. Please don't be too hard on yourself. Today can be a new day. There are no easy answers for finding comfort during these times. But-the truth is that food ultimately never really is a comfort. In the end to turns out to be our enemy as you know.
I think coming to the board to share your frustration and worry is a good start. Are there any other actions you can take when you are feeling this stress? Even something small will ultimately be a help. Maybe that might be getting up and heading in the opposite direction of the kitchen and saying to yourself "No-I do not deserve to overeat, I have worked too hard". Try and be kind to yourself. Get a new book, go for a walk..talk to others.
I know these are not fabulous suggestions-but it's just life and sometimes just doing the next right thing will get us through.
Take good care
Therese
on 6/1/09 9:59 pm - France
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Miss Redd
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Kate -True
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