53 weeks - 216 lbs lost 2 weeks from 1st surgery of 3

ilovrpony

Hi there, my name is James, I'm 24 years old and over the past 53 weeks I've lost 216 lbs.

I achieved this through an extreme low carb diet for 8 months - where I lost 196 lbs (And a lot of muscle).
Followed by a 6 week spell of eating a healthy balanced diet, with the majority of the remaining time spent on a diet geared to rebuilding all the lost muscle.

Though I didn't slip or cheat once during the low carb diet, I found it more difficult "behaving" with carbohydrates back in my diet and as I've been waiting for surgery since about august, I've found myself highly unmotivated to maintain a healthy diet on a permanent basis (I might have a couple of days every few weeks having a take out for dinner etc).

Regardless of these slip ups, I've still managed to regain that muscle and lose more fat, which is great and I definitely feel a lot better eating a clean diet (Whole wheat pasta, cooked chicken, whey protein with milk etc)

So here's the stat's

Height - 6 foot (184cm)
Weight -
Nov 4th 2012: 31 st 8, (442 lbs, around 200.4kg)
Nov 13th 2013: 16 st 2 (226lbs, around 102kg)

10 months between photo


50 weeks from the start of my diet


That's my past now.
Right now, I'm less than 2 weeks out from my first surgery, which is an Arm and Breast Lift.
After several consultations, I've been told I have between 40-50 lbs of excess skin which would mean I weigh about 180-185 lbs... which is ideal for someone my build.

I'm having the surgery done abroad in Brno, Czech Republic and I chose there mainly for the cost, though the surgeon and medical facilities come highly recommended.
Over here, in the UK, all 3 surgeries (1st - Arm and chest lift, 2nd - Extended tummy tuck, 3rd - Back and leg lift) would have cost me £22,500+
Over in Brno, including flights, it's costing around £10500.

To give you an idea of the skin on my arms


I'm posting here because I know a lot of people who were severely over weight, like I was, will have a lot of questions about surgery and so whilst I'm over there, I will post regularly about How it's going, answer any questions people have and post before and after pictures of the area's that are being operated on.

And if you're reading this for motivation about trying to lose weight and wonder what kept me going over the past year or so?
it's easy - I stopped making excuses up for what I was eating / drinking.
Every single person has a reason not to succeed at anything, but no one can make a legitimate excuse.
No one has any excuses not to be awesome, so I stopped making them.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer them =]

Best of luck everyone =D

sasouna

You've done a marvelous job!
Congratulations.. I hope I stay determined to shed those 50 kg off.. You're definitely an inspiration. :flowerforyou:

Good luck with your surgeries.

kdsp2911

Awesome work! I can't wait to see how your surgery goes!

judoknowme

Great job!! You look amazing!

BorntoROAR

Good luck with your surgeries. I would love to continue to follow you and see how you do with that. Can I add you as a friend. You have done amazingly well, and your dedication and discipline to your program is absolutely amazing.

Thank you for sharing!!!

Wendy

mbcaldwell123

You have done a remarkable thing in losing all that weight. Great job. I am extremely proud for you. I am also very grateful to you for posting about your surgeries. I too have lost an extreme amount of weight. I still have a bit to go though. It is so difficult to find answers to my questions about excess skin removal. Thank you soooo much for speaking honestly about it.

gabbygirl78

You look amazing :flowerforyou:

punkinkat

Awww, you're so cute!!! Great post, excellent results, and I wish you all the best as you endeavour to finally rid yourself of a lifestyle that's now gone forever

petrocoetsee

Great!

staceyw37

congratulations on all your achievements! great attitude! and good luck with all the surgeries!

cuinboston2014

Congratulations!

JoelleAnn78

Thanks for posting -- I have lost 216 pounds and have a lot of excess skin as well. Arms, belly and thighs mostly. I am at my goal weight, but potentially looking to have a second child, so I am not doing much looking into the surgeries until after I make a decision. No point doing the surgery if I am planning to get pregnant again!

Awesome job -- amazing progress -- fantastic attitude!

sevsmom

Wow! Good luck with the surgeries! Hope everything goes as smoothly as possible.

thickerella

I actually DO have a question.

So..I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but you're, like, totally hot now. Like, I would check you out on the street hot.

Of course, I would assume that you'd never look at me twice because I'm fat.

(don't worry, I'm in an LTR, I'm not hitting on you)

How has your weight loss changed your interactions with people? Do you find that strangers are nicer to you? Do women respond to you differently? Do you feel more confident?

Has your perceptions of OTHER PEOPLE changed? Do you find your feelings to other people who are over-weight have changed? Would you date someone who was over-weight but trying to change their life?

ilovrpony

I actually DO have a question.

So..I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but you're, like, totally hot now. Like, I would check you out on the street hot.

Haha... This isn't exactly how I perceive myself at all! I'm actually more concious I'm overweight now, albeit from excess skin, than when I was at my heaviest.
But thanks for the compliment all the same =D

How has your weight loss changed your interactions with people? Do you find that strangers are nicer to you? Do women respond to you differently? Do you feel more confident?

I would say Everyone is different towards me now... including my friends. It's like a veil has been lifted on almost every relationship I have - because being massively overweight is like a sort of ironic elephant in the room... It's not talked about and usually unchallenged.
Women do respond differently, admittedly, though I never had any confident issues, but do feel more accepting of my own skin these days.

Has your perceptions of OTHER PEOPLE changed? Do you find your feelings to other people who are over-weight have changed? Would you date someone who was over-weight but trying to change their life?

I don't think my perception of other people has changed much.
My attitude towards people who are over weight has definitely changed though. I feel I understand them more, as I now understand myself a whole lot better.
As for dating someone over-weight but was trying to change their life I think I can answer with my general rule for dating someone else.
I'd not be with someone who hadn't worked themselves out already. People who are significantly over-weight, are so for a reason. It's not a physical thing, but I wouldn't have dated me from over a year ago if I was a girl.
If they were trying to change their life and I genuinely felt they were making an effort and would succeed, then yes, I would date them if was attracted to them on all the usual levels.

NinjaJinja

****, I'll hit on you, lol!

Great job and good luck with the surgeries!

josavage

You look amazing! Good luck with your surgeries. I'd love to see your updates.

meg_bal

I actually DO have a question.

So..I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but you're, like, totally hot now. Like, I would check you out on the street hot.

Of course, I would assume that you'd never look at me twice because I'm fat.

^ lol this

OW OW!

good luck on your surgery though and amazing job on the weight loss!

smacmillan86

This is awesome! I have about the same amount to lose and have been wondering about the cosmetic side of the end results. Would love to see the before and afters and how it goes. :-) Awesome work on the weight loss!

bellaamor30

Congrats! And for the record I agree with the others you look hot! Would love to follow your journey, after two kids and a lifetime of gains and dieting loose skin is a big concern for me.

SheridanLT

Congratulations! You look amazing! Thanks in advance for your willingness to keep us posted. Loose skin is a concern of mine as well so I will be looking for your posts.

Good luck!!!

ilovrpony

I decided I would write a blog about how I did what I did and keep it updated as I go along through the surgery process so here is the link with the first section

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ilovrpony

I'll keep it updated with before and after photo's of the surgeries I'm having done =]

Afaida

Thank you so much for posting. I am definitely interested in following your post surgery blog. Congratulations on deciding you are worth a healthy life, Congratulations!

smallbutcurvy

very well done and good luck with the surgeries!

Loser_Girly

Woah! Well done on your weight loss. You've done so well. And you look GREAT!
Good luck with the surgeries. Very inspirational story!

janatarnhem

Brilliant post! You truly do look amazing! All the best for the operations! :drinker:

missashleigh92

excellent job! very inspiring to see others hard work pay off.

lhgalant

WTG! You've done so well!!! best of luck to you on your surgeries!

RachelRuns9

WOW. congratulations - you look so good and you must feel amazing. AWESOME! Good luck with the surgeries.

ctalimenti

Wow! You have done a marvelous job!

I agree about the carbs (breads, pasta, sweets, etc). I have to really limit them because they are addictive. I keep them out of the house.

Good luck on the surgery!

You look great!

hinzee4

You are incredible and look awesome!! Congrats!! And your story is great!! Thanks for sharing!