8 months of hard work.. Class 2 obese -> Healthy!

wooseyuk

Hey Guys,

I know i haven't reached my goal on MFP, however i feel that was an unrealistic goal, set at a time when i wasn't really sure what my body would be like as i lost the weight, so here is my success thread.

I started in Janurary of 2013 (along with how many other people i wonder!) I was going to turn 29 in 2013 and having always been 'big' i felt that if i didn't go something before i'm 30 i was always going to stay like that.

Here is a picture of me trying on suits for my wedding -



To be honest i couldn't tell you my starting weight, it was that bad! My weightloss started by my wife sigining up to do the moonwalk walking marathon, she needed a training buddy and i thought that it would be motivating for both of us to have a common training goal. My wife also bought me a polar FT7 for christmas which i wanted. Add to that my mum winning a decent Reebok exercise bike (and donating it!) i felt that perhaps this year was the year...

When i started i was a comfortable 40 inch waist and an XL or 2XL t-shirt, here is my 'starting' pics from February the 1st (when i started taking it seriously -

I weighed in at 116.6KG (over 18 stone) with a body fat of 44% on that morning -







I didn't feel i could run, lots of excuses about knee pain later in life/impact issues, didn't want to cycle as i live in london and there are plenty of horror stories about accidents on londons roads with cyclists, walking seemed to be the only sensible exercise, along with the exercise bike.

I didn't really have much direction with how to lose the weight at this point, a friend showed my myfitnesspal and it seemed a good way to add a little direction and tracking to my weight loss. I set my goal to 100KG, between this and the HRM things started to happen!

I decided to try running, so many people say it's the way to loose weight, and how bad can it be? Well as with many people i went out the front door and sprinted for as long as i could, which it turns out was around 100 meters, at which point i needed to stop and have a rest, i was hyper ventilating and it really didn't feel good - how could people enjoy this i thought?! I ran 2.73KM in 21 minutes that day.

Two days later i ran again, 4.33KM in 34.32, two days later again, 4.34KM in 37.19

At this point i started to realise running can be fun, you just need to pace yourself I paid for a years membership of endomondo to try to give me the motivation to carry on..

I completed my first 5k on the 25th Feb, 5.62KM in 42.47 i was over the moon to run 5k (although i did need to walk a few times) and using the peer benchmark i could see i was in the bottom 20% for my age group - this gave me the motivation to improve...

This is the progress by late February -





At this point the weight was starting to come off, i started running and walking at least every other day, with my wifes training ramping up on distance & time it started to give me the endurance to run further...

Arrive at may when i decided that whilst running was great, i needed an exercise i could do daily which would get my heart rate up without the impact of running (i was starting to get knee issues if i ran every day) so i decided to give cycling to work (14KM each way) a go, i borrowed an old bike and off i went. Whilst i will say it has it's moments cycling on the road in london is ok - as long as you pick your route! I changed my goal weight to 75KG as i had got down to 100KG

So skip forward a few months of hard work and eating a lot cleaner, here is me in June -





by july my running shoes had racked up 1000KMs on them -


so i got some new ones

By the end of july i started to visit the gym with a good friend of mine to try to tone up a little (as i've been left with a lot of excess skin!)

Here is my now (78.6kg - 17% body fat) -





and with some clothes on



Here is my weight graph -



I'm now a 30" waist and a small t-shirt size, i've got rid of all my old clothes and it feels great! My running times have improved to -

5k - 23.18 (really want to get sub 22!)
10k - 47.58

So to those who think 'i can't do this' trust me you can....

I'm currently starting training to compete in tri-athlons as i'm a cardio nut now!

My final aim is to get my bodyfat down to 15% and hope i lose my excess skin (using a lot of cocca butter!)

maryjaquiss

You look great! And also I had to reply because my husband has that shirt :laugh:

Andirae48

Amazing hard work and dedication!!! Kudos to you my friend!! How is the wife doing on her journey?

wooseyuk

You look great! And also I had to reply because my husband has that shirt :laugh:

he has good taste

Amazing hard work and dedication!!! Kudos to you my friend!! How is the wife doing on her journey?

Yeh good thanks, she only has 5kg left to lose (11kg down!) i think having both of us trying to eat clean/exercise makes life a lot easier!

samgolod

That's amazing - you look great & a lot younger & I'm well impressed by your running times!

in_therain

Congratulations! What a brilliant success!

polluxy

Congrats!! That's a really awesome transformation in just 8 months, be proud of all the work you've done!

FrauHaas2013

Wow, that's FANTASTIC!!! You look great, and I love how you shared so much. Thank you for that. I am definitely NOT a fan of running, but I do enjoy walking and doing the elliptical.

Are you finding that going to the gym and incorporating the weight/resistance training is helping you tighten up your loose skin? I have heard this is the way to go.

Thanks, again, for sharing your story!

brown46545

Wow! Impressive.

wooseyuk

Wow, that's FANTASTIC!!! You look great, and I love how you shared so much. Thank you for that. I am definitely NOT a fan of running, but I do enjoy walking and doing the elliptical.

Are you finding that going to the gym and incorporating the weight/resistance training is helping you tighten up your loose skin? I have heard this is the way to go.

Thanks, again, for sharing your story!

It's helping with it on my arms for sure, my stomach still has a fair amount which i think will take a year or two to go away (i can feel my abs underneath at least now!)

thistimewillbedifferent

I started in January 2013, too! You have done AMAZING work and look fantastic! Bravo to you for deciding to nip things in the bud before you turn 30. Wishing you many wonderful opportunities ahead as a result of your new and improved health!

Rastamann

Well, thanks for the motivation this morning. I'm strapping my sneakers on and going out to get what you got. Keep up the great work!

heniko

Amazing inspiring transformation!

ashandstuff

Wonderful job! Really inspiring stuff right here.

Congratulations!

MermaidTX

Super job, OP! Congrats!

Fitfully_me

Congratulations on your success! You look great!

cindyj7

You have made an amazing transformation! Thank you so much for sharing your story. You're quite the handsome lad.

ItsJenney

Great story, great job. I am sitting here reading the boards drinking my coffee and I was just thinking maybe I will skip my treadmill workout this morning, and now I am ready to put on my shoes and give it a go. Thanks for the motivation this morning, I really needed it!

SexyLovinmeCook

Now this is what I am talking about...Outstanding results....Keep up the good job..

daybehavior

Incredible :O