Texas Guy - my intro and story

IronSheff

Hello everyone, 33 year old from Texas here. I'm 6'4" and, as of last Friday, weighed 314 lbs. Looking to get back in shape and drop down to the 210-220 lb range. I was a former all-state basketball player and went on to play a year of college ball before reconstructive ankle surgery ended that. Up until a few years ago, I had maintained a healthy lifestyle by eating right and working out and stayed around 200-230 lbs depending on how much muscle mass I had due to lifting weights or if I was training for 5K's. I took a job on graveyard several years ago and that's when the lifestyle changes happened. My schedule was thrown off and eating habits suffered and workouts stopped. I eventually grew depressed from lack of sleep and the fact that I was so tired all the time that I basically had no social life. The weight went from a lean 230 up to 265 over the course of a few years. Due to the depression, I started taking medication. I decided graveyard was too much on me stress wise, so I took a different job on days, but the weight continued to add up. I went from 265 to 300 in a period of a year and half. I had grown accustomed to not caring about what I ate or working out because "I'm tall and hide my weight well." Well, it reached it's peaking point in Nov. 2009 when I had shoulder surgery and was even more sedentary for a little while. I went to an all-time high of 330 lbs! In January of 2010, I remember going to the doctor for a sinus infection and that was the first time someone had said, you might want to think of losing a little weight.

At that point, you have to understand the mind games I was going through, here I was a former competitive athlete who was religious about health and fitness and now I'm a 330 lb lazy and depressed couch potato! So as soon as I left the doctor that day, I decided to make small changes. I didn't suddenly start eating right or working out, but I quickly got off the depression/anxiety medicine that I had wondered for the past 2 years if was really even for me. I dropped 35 lbs over the course 10 months by literally not doing anything differently other than working a couple of extra days at work. Then overtime slacked off this past November and the holiday eating came around so I went back up to around 314 (or where I started at last week). I've not necessarily ever been a yo-yo dieter or anything, I just never really made an effort to get back in shape or eat right.

So, my New Year's goal (don't like resolution) was to finally get back to the healthy eating and exercising habits I was accustomed to before I went off the deep end about 6 years ago. When I set my mind to something, I always see it through, so failing is not an option. I want to drop down to 215 because that's where I feel most comfortable at.

My food intake will be by the book and even though my daily caloric intake is set to around 2350 calories, I will try to reach 1900 per day. I find that it's not hard to blow past that if you're not watching what you eat, but when you are, it's sometimes hard to meet it because you're more cautious about what you're eating. I've noticed since I really started the nutrition aspect this past Monday that I'm not eating enough because of the headaches. So, I've been tweaking my meals all week to see what I like best and trying to get to 1,900 calories. I'm also taking a few vitamin supplements (1000 mgCalcium/Magnesium, One a Day multi-vitamin, 1000 IU D-3, and 1200 mg Fish Oil with Omega 3). Water is huge for me because I can drink like a fish. I'm used to drinking 2-4 cokes a day, so giving that up hasn't been easy, but luckily I have no problem downing around a gallon of water a day. My "treat" meals will come at specific weight goal increments (probably a steak dinner and slice of cheesecake every 15 or 20lbs lost.)

For the first month, I will begin by walking at least 4-6 times a week at a 4.0 mph pace for a total of 50 minutes each workout. I will start mixing in weights in the second month and continue with the cardio. In month 3, I will begin running 2 miles, 5x a week, but will make sure each cardio session lasts 40 minutes by walking the remaining minutes. Weight workouts will continued to be mixed in but I will be very cautious as to not lift exclusively heavy. By the start of May, I will have a solid base down, so I will refocus my excercise routine and see what I want to train for. Ideally, I want to get back into running 5 and 10K's, but I would also love to try my hand at triathalons. By September or October, I should be near my goal weight of 215 lbs so I will shift away from focusing on weight loss and continue with maintaining and training for specific events.

I have a 5 year old daughter and she was born at the start of my weight gain. I want her to see how I was before that and be a good example to her as to how living active and healthy should be maintained. She's going to be tall like me, so I will soon be back on the basketball court working with her. I'm anxious to see what I look like by this time next year and as competitive as I am, I know I'll push myself to reach my goals. I'm looking forward to being a part of this community and looking for inspiration and motivation from others.

cbonuz

Great story! You can do this and your fitness pals will be with you all the way! This is a great program and you will meet your fitness goals. Good luck from a fellow Texan!

melissa1977

Hello, fellow Texan! Sounds like you have a great plan mapped out for yourself. Good luck on your journey!

kendradl

I LOVE your story, I can tell you have your mind set and that your stubborn and I can see you easily meeting and exceeding all of the goals you have set for yourself. Welcome to MFP, enjoy the site and the community of people here that will help, motivate, offer advice or provide you with anything that you really have a question about. If you are looking for a support group feel free to add me, I think your encouragement and stubborness would do us both good as I can see that I am probably as stubborn as you are. Good Luck on your journey!!

loreew32

What a great story. It sounds like you have really thought about getting on track and have set very specific goals for yourself. I look forward to following you on your journey. Good Luck!

WeightLossTrek

Sounds like you have a solid plan in place. Good luck on your journey!

IronSheff

Thanks everyone. A ton of useful information and motivational stories to read through here. Looking forward to interacting with all of you.

kintegra

Wow - great story and you truly sound like you have a great mindset already! Love that you have your goals set out each month already as well! Its funny how the mind works...once its set it keeps you going! So good luck to you! :drinker:

Feel free to add me as a friend if you choose. I'm still working to lose at least another 40 lbs by October if not before. I've lost 50 lbs since May 2010. I completed the C25K program and am hoping to do the 10k program soon! I have a 7 mile race to run in July! :bigsmile:

Welcome to MFP! :flowerforyou:

ladiluvbug83

Welcome to MFP!! Good luck on your journey. You may add me if you need a motivator and friend.

Sarah :flowerforyou: