Sharing my story

ClaytonRosa

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr311/claytonrosa/Weight Loss/ScreenShot2012-02-12at25006PM.png
Far left picture (April 2009), Middle picture (September 2009), Far right picture (November 2011)


Throughout my adolescence I struggled with obesity. At my heaviest I weighed 305 lbs in the fall of 2008. I began with the elliptical, about 45 minutes every day, and also included resistance training 4-5 days a week by alternating different muscle groups. I was dedicated, and began to lose a few lbs. On January 30, 2009, I weighed 293 lbs. I continued with the training and on March 2, 2009 I weighed 280 lbs. I began varying the cardio that I was doing, switching between the elliptical and the stationery bike - 45 minutes on the former, 25 minutes on the latter. I consciously shied away from the treadmill because I thought I'd look "funny" running and that people at the gym would stare. In April of 2009 I was weighed underwater for the first time to measure my body fat percentage. At 270 lbs I clocked in at a body fat percentage of 28%, well above the average. In late April I conquered my fear of the treadmill and began running. At first, I could barely hold myself together for two minutes. After a while, I could run straight with no stops for about five minutes then towards the end of May, I could hold a 10 minute run with no heavy breathing. I was very proud of myself.

I graduated college in late May and weighed around 255 lbs - losing over 40 lbs between January and May. While my exercising was a key element of my weight loss, it would not have been possible without the right nutrition. Since I didn't have a school meal plan, I had to cook everything that I ate. I was on a diet high in fruits, vegetables, and lean meats. My weight loss did not stop here. After graduating college in Maryland I accepted an internship in New York City and was working full-time Monday through Friday, in addition to evening leadership seminars. I asked myself: will my training be derailed because of the intensity of my schedule? Instead I was forced to make time for myself, for my training. I began waking up at 5 AM to be at the gym by 5:30 AM, worked out from 6 AM to 7:30 AM, showered at the gym, got dressed and left by 8 AM to make it to my internship by 9:30 AM (I lived in Upper Manhattan and my internship was deep in Queens - long commute!)

This is when the weight began dropping dramatically. I began running more - for 25-30 minutes with no problem and continued heavy resistance training as well. In the months that I was living in New York City, between late May and late August I lost 60 lbs. I moved to Los Angeles, accepting a fellowship and attending graduate school at the University of Southern California (USC). Again, I underwent hydrostatic weighing to measure my body fat percentage at USC and on September 9, 2009, I weighed 192 lbs and my body fat percentage was - shockingly - 10.5%.

Within 8 months I lost roughly 105 lbs and increased my muscle mass by 18%. But unfortunately this wasn't the end - as is nothing when it comes to health and fitness. Since I was heavier for all of my adult life and since my weight loss was very dramatic (a lot in little time) I had (and still do) empty pockets of skin around my abdomen and parts of my chest. I developed a new goal that conflicted with everything I ever knew up to this point. For the most part, I wanted to lose as much weight as possible to achieve my goal of 180 lbs. But things changed. I consulted with doctors, surgeons, athletic trainers, and other medical professionals to ask them what I could do about the empty pockets of skin. Their response: You can fill in the skin around your chest, arms, and legs with muscle but the skin around your abdomen can only be taken care of surgically. No amount of crunches, sit-ups, etc. will ever be enough to fill in the skin around my abs with muscle. My new goal was to pack on as much muscle as possible to fill in the loose skin. Mentally, it was difficult for me. The only metric that ever mattered for most of my life was the scale, and now I had to start gaining weight. In order for me to achieve my goal I had to unlearn things that fueled my weight loss.

Between January and June of 2011, I changed my nutrition, fitness regiment, and gained roughly 25 lbs. I went from 190 to 215 lbs. I had to limit my cardio and dramatically increase my resistance training, in addition to how much I was eating. In June I stopped. I reintroduced cardio to my regiment at higher increments to begin to cut the muscle I packed on. Now I weigh a happy 200 lbs.

This is where I am today - trying to achieve of balance of resistance training while strengthening my heart and pushing myself cardio-wise. I am still saving up for the surgery. I found a cosmetic surgeon who specializes with patients who underwent dramatic weight loss and hopefully (fingers crossed) I'll have enough money saved up by the end of next year. Part of me feels like I will not arrive at the new me until I have the surgery. The other part of me is beginning to learn how to cope with this new me. I no longer use my weight loss story as a defining moment of who I am. It used to be something I openly shared because my identity was intimately attached to being "big". I had to stop and I realized that even after I lost the weight I have to maintain control and see this weight loss as one victory down a long line of battles I'll continue to face throughout my life. A life that, at 25, I extended by however many years and that I am better equipped today to combat the diseases and illnesses that may ail me years down the line. I used to tell people that losing the weight was the easy part and that now I have to begin to deconstruct the mental image I always had of myself. This will take longer than a couple years but I feel like I'm on the right track.

I hope to continue to inspire others who struggle with their own weight as well, as I did.

SeanPulitzer

Yo congrats man! I'll never forget when I stumbled on your FB page and saw how much weight you lost. I remember asking myself "who's Clayton again?!" cause I didn't recognize you! Lol. Keep up the good work, my brother!

bellavie23

good job!