Confessing my story - at 87 pounds lost
JimBarnhartMN
Posts: 35 Member
Hello, I've never posted before, so bear with me. 
I decided to publish my results since I'm starting to get quite a few friends who are interested in my progress and thought perhaps someone here might benefit by finding some tips. I'll warn you it's a loooonnngggg story.
I'm at 87 pounds lost on my journey that started on February 19 of this year. I could still afford to lose another 40-50 pounds, but I now know that I'm on the right path and will succeed.
I started my journey really sort of by accident. I didn't have any lofty goals to lose 100 pounds or be skinny, or get forced into it because of bad health - but my health wasn't great, I was on high blood pressure medicine, taking cholesterol medication and I had joint pain quite a bit. But it wasn't debilitating, since I live on a rural property, have horses, do chores and was getting along. I was having some symptoms of gout, which is painful, and turned out to be a side effect of my blood pressure medication. After switching medications and feeling better, I thought it's a good opportunity to get some exercise. My father and grandfather had lost weight later in life, so I had some idea that it was possible to get healthier even though I'm older. My final motivating factor was my wife and I went on a cruise, and many things I wanted to do had weight restrictions, so even though I knew I could do them physically I was forbidden.
I got on the treadmill, one that had been collecting dust in the basement for years. I had heard from a friend that I should try to do it 6 days per week, since the typical notion of 3-4 days doesn't get habit forming. This was a key discovery for me. In the past I would say 'tomorrow' way too often and still attempt to get 3 workouts in. I always failed. Targetting 6 workouts found me thinking "do I want to skip my workout on Saturday or Sunday?" It started with walking 20 minutes, and growing my time to be able to walk 30 minutes. Once I got to 30 minutes, it would be an increase of slope or speed to burn more calories in the same amount of time. I just kept slowing increasing my workout intensity.
As I started to workout, I found myself thinking it doesn't make sense to sweat that much and blow it by eating half of a pizza, so I started thinking about my diet. I had tried point counting on weight watchers before, and done a fat free diet so had some idea of what I should and shouldn't eat. I started loosely counting WW points, letting myself eat as many fruits and vegetables as I wanted. I found my breakfast turning to fruits, my lunches being last night's leftovers plus fresh raw vegetables and fruit. I wasn't starving myself at all, just eating better. I did force myself to bring A LOT of fruit/vegetables to work, so I would have something to eat instead of running to the vending machines when I was hungry.
After about a month, I was feeling a little less stress on the button of my blue jeans, and I decided to myself I must be losing some weight in my efforts to get more fit. It caused me to wonder how much I had lost. We didn't have a functioning scale in the house, so off to Wal-mart to buy a scale. I measured my weight, only to realize that I didn't know how much I was when I started this journey. So I looked up my medical records from a doctor's visit in August of 2012 and used that as my starting weight. I think I probably weighed more than that in February since I tended to be at my thinnest in the heat of the summer. I turned out I had lost about 20 pounds!!
At this point, I came to the realization that it wasn't that difficult to lose 20 pounds, and I should get more 'structured' in measuring progress. I searched the app store and found myfitnesspal. I liked that I could track exercise and food. I set a target to lose 3 lbs per week. I liked at the end of the day that it would tell me if everyday was like today how I'd do in the coming weeks.
I also found that the app asked me to set an 'objective', and it got me to thinking. If I lost 100 pounds I'd be at my weight when I graduated from college. If I lost 125 pounds I would be at the weight I was in high school when I wasn't in the best of shape, and if I lost 140 pounds I would be at the weight my senior year of high school when I was captain of the football team and as buff as I have ever been. But I didn't and haven't set a goal for myself. A goal sounds to me like an end of this routine, and frankly I need to keep this routine up forever. So I don't know where I will bottom out on weight, I simply know that I need to keep this habit/routine forever.
I weigh myself every Friday. I am lying, I weigh myself all the time, but only count it on Friday. At my birthday in April I was down 30 pounds, and proclaimed my losses to my facebook friends and then every Friday I'd give them an update. I found that to be motivational, but when I started getting into the 50-60 pound range I found I was motivating my friends. There are several who are dieting and losing weight themselves. People ask me if I forget or am away and don't post results.
So, here I am at minus 87 pounds. I transitioned from my original wardrobe to my 'this is a little bit tight on me' wardrobe. I then transitioned from 'this is a little tight on me' wardrobe to a closet full of old clothes that were "too nice to give away". I hadn't fit into them since the 90's. I even found a pair of seafoam green parachute pant like shorts I wore on my honeymoon in 1991. THEY FIT! My wife enlisted the fashion police and told me those shorts were hazardous to my health if she ever saw me wear those again. Now the "too nice to give away" wardrobe is too loose, and it's time to start buying a few things. I'm thinking I might buy them as 'this is a little tight on me' clothes to keep me motivated to lose a little more. I also am starting to think of what I can do to treat myself when I get to the century mark - 100 pounds lost. I should be there in a little over a month.
I have to say while I do feel great, I am somewhat befuddled to think I've lost 87 pounds. If I carry 2 bags of 40 lb dog food or grain for our horses, I can't imagine carrying that around all the time - but I was! I no longer take high blood pressure medication, and go to the doctor on Monday where I hope she'll take me off of my cholesterol medication.
If you got here, you must like to read, since it was long. Hopefully you gained something in reading it. I know I gained in sharing it. It's been a great journey so far; I have a journey still ahead.
I decided to publish my results since I'm starting to get quite a few friends who are interested in my progress and thought perhaps someone here might benefit by finding some tips. I'll warn you it's a loooonnngggg story.
I'm at 87 pounds lost on my journey that started on February 19 of this year. I could still afford to lose another 40-50 pounds, but I now know that I'm on the right path and will succeed.
I started my journey really sort of by accident. I didn't have any lofty goals to lose 100 pounds or be skinny, or get forced into it because of bad health - but my health wasn't great, I was on high blood pressure medicine, taking cholesterol medication and I had joint pain quite a bit. But it wasn't debilitating, since I live on a rural property, have horses, do chores and was getting along. I was having some symptoms of gout, which is painful, and turned out to be a side effect of my blood pressure medication. After switching medications and feeling better, I thought it's a good opportunity to get some exercise. My father and grandfather had lost weight later in life, so I had some idea that it was possible to get healthier even though I'm older. My final motivating factor was my wife and I went on a cruise, and many things I wanted to do had weight restrictions, so even though I knew I could do them physically I was forbidden.
I got on the treadmill, one that had been collecting dust in the basement for years. I had heard from a friend that I should try to do it 6 days per week, since the typical notion of 3-4 days doesn't get habit forming. This was a key discovery for me. In the past I would say 'tomorrow' way too often and still attempt to get 3 workouts in. I always failed. Targetting 6 workouts found me thinking "do I want to skip my workout on Saturday or Sunday?" It started with walking 20 minutes, and growing my time to be able to walk 30 minutes. Once I got to 30 minutes, it would be an increase of slope or speed to burn more calories in the same amount of time. I just kept slowing increasing my workout intensity.
As I started to workout, I found myself thinking it doesn't make sense to sweat that much and blow it by eating half of a pizza, so I started thinking about my diet. I had tried point counting on weight watchers before, and done a fat free diet so had some idea of what I should and shouldn't eat. I started loosely counting WW points, letting myself eat as many fruits and vegetables as I wanted. I found my breakfast turning to fruits, my lunches being last night's leftovers plus fresh raw vegetables and fruit. I wasn't starving myself at all, just eating better. I did force myself to bring A LOT of fruit/vegetables to work, so I would have something to eat instead of running to the vending machines when I was hungry.
After about a month, I was feeling a little less stress on the button of my blue jeans, and I decided to myself I must be losing some weight in my efforts to get more fit. It caused me to wonder how much I had lost. We didn't have a functioning scale in the house, so off to Wal-mart to buy a scale. I measured my weight, only to realize that I didn't know how much I was when I started this journey. So I looked up my medical records from a doctor's visit in August of 2012 and used that as my starting weight. I think I probably weighed more than that in February since I tended to be at my thinnest in the heat of the summer. I turned out I had lost about 20 pounds!!
At this point, I came to the realization that it wasn't that difficult to lose 20 pounds, and I should get more 'structured' in measuring progress. I searched the app store and found myfitnesspal. I liked that I could track exercise and food. I set a target to lose 3 lbs per week. I liked at the end of the day that it would tell me if everyday was like today how I'd do in the coming weeks.
I also found that the app asked me to set an 'objective', and it got me to thinking. If I lost 100 pounds I'd be at my weight when I graduated from college. If I lost 125 pounds I would be at the weight I was in high school when I wasn't in the best of shape, and if I lost 140 pounds I would be at the weight my senior year of high school when I was captain of the football team and as buff as I have ever been. But I didn't and haven't set a goal for myself. A goal sounds to me like an end of this routine, and frankly I need to keep this routine up forever. So I don't know where I will bottom out on weight, I simply know that I need to keep this habit/routine forever.
I weigh myself every Friday. I am lying, I weigh myself all the time, but only count it on Friday. At my birthday in April I was down 30 pounds, and proclaimed my losses to my facebook friends and then every Friday I'd give them an update. I found that to be motivational, but when I started getting into the 50-60 pound range I found I was motivating my friends. There are several who are dieting and losing weight themselves. People ask me if I forget or am away and don't post results.
So, here I am at minus 87 pounds. I transitioned from my original wardrobe to my 'this is a little bit tight on me' wardrobe. I then transitioned from 'this is a little tight on me' wardrobe to a closet full of old clothes that were "too nice to give away". I hadn't fit into them since the 90's. I even found a pair of seafoam green parachute pant like shorts I wore on my honeymoon in 1991. THEY FIT! My wife enlisted the fashion police and told me those shorts were hazardous to my health if she ever saw me wear those again. Now the "too nice to give away" wardrobe is too loose, and it's time to start buying a few things. I'm thinking I might buy them as 'this is a little tight on me' clothes to keep me motivated to lose a little more. I also am starting to think of what I can do to treat myself when I get to the century mark - 100 pounds lost. I should be there in a little over a month.
I have to say while I do feel great, I am somewhat befuddled to think I've lost 87 pounds. If I carry 2 bags of 40 lb dog food or grain for our horses, I can't imagine carrying that around all the time - but I was! I no longer take high blood pressure medication, and go to the doctor on Monday where I hope she'll take me off of my cholesterol medication.
If you got here, you must like to read, since it was long. Hopefully you gained something in reading it. I know I gained in sharing it. It's been a great journey so far; I have a journey still ahead.
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Replies
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great story, and very inspiring! Congratulations! on your weight loss and your improved health.
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Awe.some!!!!!!0
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Lovely read - good for you! xx0
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Thank you so much for sharing your story...this is wonderful.0
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I think the part about treadmill every day versus 3 days a week was interesting---if plan is everyday then you can't put it off!! Cool. I once heard that if you want to CHANGE----then change immediately and all at once. You can't go slowly or incrementally into change (ie; that is not change!) Thanks for the tips.0
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Great Job, I find myself using old clothes and have gone from 40 to 34 jeans, I understand exactly what you are going thru it is cool! good job and best of health to you!0
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Great post. Interesting and inspiring. Good on you for implementing these healthy routines into your day. I also like the part about doing exercise EVERY day to make it a habit. Last November I got myself a Fitbit One, which has been very helpful in getting me to focus on moving my body. It allows you to set goals for steps, floors, and miles, plus shows you calories burned at any given point in your day. Anyway, I applaud your progress!0
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Way to go! Thanks for sharing your story.0
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Wonderful loss and you sound like you are doing all the right things to keep this up forever! Congrats on your life changes so far :-)0
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Congrats!!! What a great story, and keep up the good work!0
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Congratulations! Your story is very inspiring!
BTW we are kind of neighbors. I live about 10 miles south of Cannon Falls.0 -
Thanks everyone for the comments and encouragement!0
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ktsmom, Cool that we're practically neighbors!0
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Very impressive~thank your for sharing your story!0
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Really awesome story!
I love the part where you are lugging the dog food and realize that that many pounds were on you. Although my weight loss wasn't as much as yours, mine was equal to one 40 pound bag of dog food.
I know that you will succeed also. Great attitude!0 -
I read every word and enjoyed the whole story. Great job and I'm looking forward to hearing about your 100 lb. landmark!0
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What an inspirational journey! Congratulations, keep it up, and I can't wait to see your 100lbs loss entry
oh, and I love the shorts story! lol0 -
Wonderful story, thanks for sharing!0
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Thanks everyone - this means a lot to me. I go to my doctor on Monday for my annual checkup, but the blood tests were today, and I can read them on-line.
1 year ago my fasting blood sugar was 106 (I was starting to hear the words prediabetic), now I'm at 86. My cholesterol was 181 with my medication, now it's 126. I'm pretty confident they'll let me stop taking them. I stopped taking my blood pressure medication a couple months ago because I was getting cold at night. My blood pressure now runs about 130/71 without medication. I'm expecting my doctor to be very happy with me.
I learned the term NSV (non-scale victories) today while reading others' journey. My medical numbers appear to be an NSV of the most important type, I'm no longer a walking heart attack!0 -
I ♥♥♥♥ your story! I have lost 2 sisters to weight related diseases. Wtg!0
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Awesome story Jim! Keep up the great work!0
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That was a very good read. Thank you for sharing your story, it was inspiring. Here's to your losing a century very soon and fitting into your soon to be too tight clothes.0
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I'm posting today just so I can see my tracker at 100 pounds lost!!0
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Congratulations!!! Your story was awesome, thanks for sharing!0
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Completely wonderful!!! Thank you for taking the time to share...I read all the way to the end! I am befuddled, as well, about carrying the extra weight. I can barely lug a 40 lb bag of dog food from my car to my front door...how do I carry that and more with me everywhere I go? Congrats on your success!!!0
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I read your story and I found it to be very inspirational...congrats you are doing an awesome job:drinker: Thanks for sharing this it really helps all of us to try to do better cause we can all do it if we set our minds to it :flowerforyou:0
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Great Story! I loved reading about your "Aha" moments and thought progression as you put together the baby steps that are leading to your success! Congratulations!0
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Excellent story! Appreciate how you made simple changes that are sustainable for your life!0
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Congratulations on your continued success. Thanks for sharing your approach. BTW, Love the part about the 90s parachute pant/shorts! Keep up your healthy lifestyle.0
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Thank you for sharing--I related to so many parts of your post. I too am avoiding a set goal, and the part about exercising 6 days a week is so true. I just realized this week that I need to make exercise every day a habit, even if it is only a little walk.0
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