My success so far.

NecessaryChange

Miz_Owl wrote: »

U a cutie pie

Ok, that made me smile pretty big.. Not gonna lie 🤣

NecessaryChange

Nvr2L82BGr8 wrote: »

Thank you. Thank you for sharing your story. Many parts of it resonate with many of us I am sure. You give us hope 🙂. Stand up tall and proud because you have done amazingly well, look terrific and I am guessing helped motivate many others. Keep up the journey-you have so many wonderful days and experiences ahead!

Thank you, I didn't exactly intend on inspiring people, nor did I even think I could be inspirational until I was typing out the closing sentences lol. I just kind of put it in because it seemed like it may actually help someone. But before then, It didn't really cross my mind.. but I hoped someone could learn from my mistakes, they could see that if they're similar or were in a similar situation, that it's not too late. I could have been years, months or even days away from losing everything at the size I was at. It's miserable, and I hate knowing I'm not the only one that experienced that struggle. I believed whole heartedly that I was just meant to be another one of the news articles on someone that just couldn't get their life together in time. I'm so glad I kept getting that little jump start every now and then to try again. It was rare.. but I had that hope somewhere deep down. So I know others do too. I finally understand why people say, "if I could do it you could too." Usually those people weren't quite as detached from the world as I was, and I didn't take it well.. But because I literally gave up on everything for over a decade.. I can say with certainty that anyone can change.. they just need that connection, that perfectly timed push or little glimpse of a better future.. and the rest comes easier than you'd think. It's still hard af.. plenty of challenges and little things that make you feel so silly for struggling with them.. but it IS possible. Trust the process.

bkaul2222

NecessaryChange wrote: »

daveredvette wrote: »

take another update photo with a smile, because you have done great

Thanks lol, I've never been much of a smiler.. I'm afraid this is about as smiley as I get 😂

That's a great smile! My mom will beg me to smile showing my teeth, but it always feels incredibly forced. 😆

jenna2cu

This is outstanding! Wow! How many calories did you start out with eating to lose?

NecessaryChange

jenna2cu wrote: »

This is outstanding! Wow! How many calories did you start out with eating to lose?

Well to be honest I just kind of jumped right in without much knowledge at the beginning.. so when I put all my info into the app it said my daily calories was.. a little over 3000 or so to lose 2 lbs a month. But I felt like that was too much because I didn't really understand gradual loss and not going too low, and got a little obsessed with just getting rid of it all quickly. So I believe I ate about 2000 to 2400 and kept chipping the number down.. unfortunately I went all the way down to 1200 to 1400 and sometimes even lower. When I saw those MFP warnings that lower than 1200 isn't good for you, I started to eat a bit more and built back up to around 1600 to 1800 and stayed there for a while because I felt ok, had energy to spare and I felt it was manageable. The past few months with my coach, that I have been working with since November, had me go up to 2000 to 2200 again to address my issue of never feeling full while trying several variations of food groups and macros, even at my biggest I would eat and eat and eat because I've always had this empty stomach, rumbling.. like the feeling you get when you haven't eaten for a full day. I never really binged per say, I just desperately was trying to feel satiated. Unfortunately that hasn't worked either so I'm back to around the 1600 to 2000 range to gradually lose the rest so I can hopefully have a successf consult with the Herwitz Center for Plastic Surgery in a few weeks about my loose skin. (It's causing lots of issues including some bad back issues). It was a bit of a rollercoaster and it could have been done a bit safer and healthier. But I think I'm making up for it now! ☺️ My current "stats" are:
6'3" or 6'4", roughly 285lbs, Dr and coach believe I could have anywhere from 30 to 60lbs of loose skin total atm and ~30 lbs to lose through diet and exercise, and not much fat in the body cavity itself, which is good news for my organs. Then it's all about maintenance and patience.. So while I'm almost there, it feels like I'm super far away because of how much loose skin there is 😅. Trying to get a better mindset about it though.

NecessaryChange

3000 calories to loose 2 lbs a week* didn't see that mistake.

chublet25

Wow, this is one of the most inspirational stories I've ever read. Kudos to you! Congratulations on so many levels of your achievements!

Olivia

Thank you for posting and sharing. I am really glad you are here. Both in these forums and on this planet fighting to live your life. Your story is inspirational and will help other people.

NC_Girl

Hi Rich! How are you doing? Hoping that it is going well for you. Keep up the great work. We are all cheering you on!

TanyaRussian

Very inspirational! Thank you for sharing

solieco1

Great story you are writing for this life! Well done!!!

I hope the endocrinologist has some ideas. A friend of mine had similar constant hunger and an endocrinologist was able to help with hers. Turned out to be caused by an easily removable cyst on her thyroid. She said they told her there were several things that could cause it. I don't know all the details but you might be on the right track!

Hope228

Wow, just amazing. You are an inspiration.

NecessaryChange

NC_Girl wrote: »

Hi Rich! How are you doing? Hoping that it is going well for you. Keep up the great work. We are all cheering you on!

Hello, thanks for asking. I hope you're doing well! I was actually on my way to post a little update ☺️ unfortunately I hit done on the top right instead dog post.. so time to retype it lol. I had my endocrinology appointment, her thought is that I may be pre diabetic. I was shocked to hear I had never been tested for anything past the standard blood tests over the years.. I was a 400+lb 14 year old afterall.. amazing nobody thought to test it directly and just said they doubt I'm diabetic. I always had high blood sugar. But oh well. I also had a nutrition appointment today where I received a new template to follow, and the assumption that I am insulin resistant. Which may make sense. My consult for my loose skin was today as well.. everything went so well, I got all the answers I was looking for.. I will be shooting for losing another 20 to 30 lbs while I figure out what time going to do.. the quote for the procedures was $51,000 for 2 procedures.. that is a massive sum for me, so I will be trying to figure out how I will go about this. Thanks again for asking! I hope you have a great night!

NC_Girl

Glad to hear that you had your tests done. Sorry about diabetics but with their guidance and your determination I bet you will get that under control. Yikes on the cost! Don't give up on it though..... Things have a way of working out. Keep up the great work!

cugogirl2017

Wow! Incredible story. Thank you for posting. My three words to describe you: Courageous, honest, persevering! Well done and you have helped so many by posting this is so inspirational!

NecessaryChange

If anyone is interested, I was fortunate enough to be a guest on The Fat Guy Forum podcast. It was posted earlier today, it touches a little on my life, my weightloss journey, and how it shaped me into who I am today... I was pretty nervous, so... Sorry if I sounded a bit out of it 😅
Just search "The Fat Guy Forum" on google or any podcast platform to find it. There are tons of other amazing stories to listen to as well, including the host @gormygoesketo himself

NC_Girl

Rich I'm listening! Great job and I'm so proud of you. You will help many people.

fitstrongfitlove

You deserve the life you want. One day at a time. You will get there

NC_Girl

Hi Rich, wondering how you are doing? Hoping that you are still making good progress. If it's not to personal I was just wondering how your relationship is with your adopted mom. I was wondering that after listening to your interview.

speyerj

Hi Rich,

Just came across this post and want to add how impressed I am with how you overcame such adversity to get to where you are today.

I also have a similar problem with feeling hungry even when I am obviously full. I've always felt like my appetite didn't have an off switch. As though my appetite only had two modes - starving or sick to my stomach from eating too much. I'm trying to listen better, but I still feel hunger when I'm not calorie deprived. I've wondered if I either don't produce enough leptin or have leptin resistance. Or maybe I've learned to ignore the messages that leptin was trying to send. Logging definitely helps. Knowing that I just consumed a 600 calorie dinner helps me ignore those "I'm still hungry" signals I get even after eating a full meal. I'm hoping I'll get better at internal regulation as time goes on, but until then, I have MFP.

At any rate, both you and I have proved that no matter what handicap we face in trying to lose weight, we can overcome them and be successful losers anyway. Thanks for sharing your story. I look forward to hearing more about your journey.

tdsimoes67

Wow is all I can say, even with the issue of never feeling full, look how far you have come. I hope you find the answers that you need to deal with the hunger, and I love hearing you say that you are living....it is small steps, one at a time that will get us to where we want to be and it looks like you have come a long way.....

dancewithemilia

Oh wow - this is so inspring!

Hotelsma

@NecessaryChange you my friend are an absolute legend mate. Amazing what you have achieved and true inspiration 👏🏽

Ironwoman1111

@NecessaryChange What a remarkable story!👏🏽😲🎉🎉🎉Outstanding! MyFitnessPal should do a blog about you.✨🏆🥇🌟
Don’t ever stop smiling!🤙🏽🤩👌🏽

NecessaryChange

@Ironwoman1111 Wow thanks so much, that's so kind of you to say.. I'm certainly trying to learn to smile more. 😝 I hope you have a great day!

NecessaryChange

NC_Girl wrote: »

Hi Rich, wondering how you are doing? Hoping that you are still making good progress. If it's not to personal I was just wondering how your relationship is with your adopted mom. I was wondering that after listening to your interview.

Hi thank you so much for asking! I've been doing well I had my appointment with the nutritionist. Unfortunately, he put my calories very low and wasn't willing to adjust them or listen to my concerns. So I won't be going back to him. Our relationship is a bit awkward, my mom is very strong-willed but she's also very anxious and prideful which makes her worry a bit too much about what others think. I, on the other hand, and very honest and straightforward about whatever comes to mind and I'm not afraid of conflicting opinions. So we tend to argue a lot though it's always out of concern for one another. Even though we live in the same house we don't speak very often, it's unfortunate, but hopefully once I get on my feet and move out, our relationship can become a little better over time.

NecessaryChange

@speyerj wow I've never met somebody else who has the same issue as me. That's exactly how The hunger feels, I haven't found anyone else that understands or has felt anything similar. It's actually really nice to find somebody that has the same issue, but also very sad. I hope you've been able to deal with yours better than I have. Even when I used to eat until I was violently ill, I was still so hungry that it made me cry a few times at the frustration and confusion as to how I could be so hungry and feel my stomach telling me that it's empty when it was so clearly full and in massive pain from being way too full.

Nightfly01

NecessaryChange wrote: »

It took me a year and a half just to do the introduce yourself post, which I did this morning. I thought maybe I should put this here as it fits a bit better. My name is Rich, I'm 29. I spent probably close to 13 years hiding away in my house. Too ashamed to show my face. Scared whoever saw me would snap a pic.. make me a joke.. or worse.. embarass my family or blame them for how I turned out.. the truth is I had a tough childhood in the way that I had a few mentally taxing medical and learning/schooling issues bombard me at once. I didn't handle it well, mostly because I couldn't. But I have always been a fat kid, that wasn't the cause of my obesity. My problem was that I am NEVER full. Nothing is satiating no matter what restrictions I put in place what macros I tried to eat at, or how many small/frequent or larger/separated meals I had throughtout the day.. one thing never changed. My body feels like I'm starving. Not just hunger or craving.. but like I haven't had a piece of food in days. It's extremely odd. I had too many excuses and reasons to quit. I let fear and my quite crippling depression and negative thoughts rule me for over a decade.. but I wanted nothing more than to fit in.. be like everyone else. I want to work, drive, laugh.. I want to live, like everyone else. So one early *kitten* morning from binging youtube with pizza rolls to distract myself.. I made the decision that I was finally going to make that dream a reality.. that choice had come to me countless times.. they always ended in failure and even more weight gain. Maybe I didn't try hard enough or didn't really mean it, but this time was different. Since then (August 1st 2019), I have lost ~230 lbs. I'm very proud of what I have done so far. But it's so hard with this constant hunger looming over me. I hope this can inspire someone, or maybe you can relate to one part of the short story or another.. but I'm just getting started.. I have a lifetime to make up for and a lifetime of consistency and progress to strive towards. I can finally say that now I'm finally living.. and not just existing. Thank you for reading. And good luck on all of your goals and wellness journies.

Nightfly01

Thank you so much. I believe that I have an emptiness that manifests itself in food as well as drug use. Can’t ever get enough. I too want to live and enjoy life. Thanks so much

mmnv79

NecessaryChange wrote: »

Poobah1972 wrote: »

You are a champ brother! I hope to follow in your footsteps. So happy for you?

Have you had a seen a doctor at all and got some blood work done? I'm just curious, as it may shed some light on your hunger?

Regardless though, you are truly inspiring. Keep up the good fight!

I have, nothing seems to be off at all other than slightly elevated blood pressure, which right now has been recorded as normal for the past 3 months worth of Dr visits. I've learned that some of these tests can be hard though because a problem can only be caught during a flare up so it's very possible I'll need to do some sort of study or multiple tests in succession. I need to get my Dr to talk to me a bit more on what the problem could be. Luckily I have a follow up tomorrow lol. I also have an endocrinologist appointment in april. Some sort of hormone issue seems to be the favored guess as to what the hunger issue could be. Crossing my fingers. I just wanna know what the problem is so I can work with it lol.

Well done you

Btw, there's a documentary on Youtube called Battling Obesity at the Age of 5. It's about a wee little girl that seems to be constantly hungry. All the blood tests, etc. keep coming back normal, but one Doctor decided to do further tests with help of a specialist lab, and turns out that she has some genetic condition that affects her appetite and she constantly feels as if she hasn't eaten for days. The Dr. mentions that there are some medicines available, but unfortunately she was too young to take them. I though it was very interesting and it was fantastic to see a Dr. that listen to and believes the mother was trying her best, but nothing was working.

I hope you too get a good doctor that listens to you. Keep up posted!