The story of my life.

dj_stevie_c
dj_stevie_c Posts: 270
edited September 21 in Motivation and Support
I'm not really sure where to put this :) I'm hoping to add to this as we go along and remind myself why I'm doing this, so Motivation seemed like the right place.

I reckon we've probably got some good stories out there since there are some great people on this site.

Excuse me if I waffle a bit, there is a lot to get off my chest :)

So, I arrived on this planet, March 9th 1974 at 2am after giving my mom a very hard time, I was a twin and sadly my twin was lost before we were born. I left hospital about a month after being born, this was because I had pretty much died 3 times and I was very ill with Jaundice and a few other problems, the doctors didn't think I would survive, but I am a fighter.

earliestpicofme.jpg
Here's the earliest picture of me.

I lived, I grew, at age 8 I was a normal kid, normal size and fairly happy.

stevie8yearsold.jpg
here I am...

From that age though I just seemed to balloon, there are reasons for this that I don't really want to get into here but at age 10 I was 10 stone, 11, 11 stone, 15 15 stone and this continued on until I was around 18stone. That said I was actually pretty fit, I played american football and kept myself in shape going to the gym playing football etc.

Then I left home.

The ballooning continued and I seemed to bounce up and down like crazy, one year I might be 16 stone, next year I'd be around 20. And then one year things just snowballed and I ended up in 2001 at my biggest. ever size.

steviebiggest.jpg
Me at 25 stone (about 340lbs)

After seeing this picture something inside me snapped. And I went on a six month crash diet. I've gone over this before but I pretty much almost gave myself loads of problems doing this, I was close to diabetes, kidney problems, liver problems.

On the plus side, I lost 10 stone...

mesmallest.jpg
That's me on the right hand side, recently when I found this picture I had to stare at it for about 20 minutes before I realised it was me, just looking at my arms and fists, well it was a pretty incredible image.

Just remember at this time I had a lot of problems, I was shaking all the time, my back was in real agony, I basically was working out 2 or 3 hours a day at high intensity and not giving myself time to rest, eating about 600 calories a day, if that.

Here's another angle, this one includes the girl in 'my biggest' photo which gives it even more of a comparison.

stevieverythin.jpg

Sadly this didn't last. Eventually my flatmate saw me trying to spread marmite on some crispbreads, realised I couldn't hold the knife and force fed me.

By 2006 I was back up to over 20 stone and I've been slowly going up since then.

steveasnow.jpg

This is me as I was 3 weeks ago. The hair has gone now :) but I'm pretty much close to where I was at my biggest. This time though, no crazy crash diet, I'm following a plan of having my calories, working out 3 times a week and being sensible. The alcohol is gone, the chocolate and bad crisps are gone and I plan on keeping track of exactly what I am doing to myself as I try to get fit again. I'm hoping I can get back to my smallest but this time doing it healthily.

Oh and just for a bit of light relief after that.

monkeyhead.jpg
There is a picture of a monkey on my head. There's nothing more to add really.

I hope in a few months time I'll be able to post something a bit more 'now' and inspirational :)

I'm interested in other stories like mine. Obviously if they end in happyness all the better!

Replies

  • slimkitty
    slimkitty Posts: 418
    Thank you for sharing you story with us. I wish you all the best. I suppose you can write this as part of your blog and keep adding any new events.
  • cobygrey
    cobygrey Posts: 270 Member
    Cool story and super cool pics! Good Luck Sir! Good Luck!
  • Paul76
    Paul76 Posts: 158
    You can do this, one choice at a time!
  • hamiltonba
    hamiltonba Posts: 474 Member
    I give you a lot of credit for sharing your story. I believe many people have gone thru the same type of struggles that you have regarding weight. I am sorry that you had to go thru so much pain in order to figure it out. Congratulations on working on being healthy! I hope your journey is a happy one.
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
    I will definitely post my up & down story tonight when I get home & have access to all my pictures. :bigsmile:
  • CasperO
    CasperO Posts: 2,913 Member
    If you had the ganas to nearly kill yourself before, then you should do very well now. The tools here will help you have a safe and successful return to a healthy weight. Good health to you, and let's do it. :smile:
  • thisemmabites
    thisemmabites Posts: 117
    Thanks for sharing! Good luck on this journey!!! :smile:
  • kkvz79
    kkvz79 Posts: 11 Member
    Keep up the positive attitude - you can do it!! MFP is a great place to document and log all your calories and exercise. There are a lot of great people here for support and you can make some great friends (and followers!). Best of luck to you!
  • Mamakatspokane
    Mamakatspokane Posts: 3,098 Member
    Thank you for reminding me this morning of the yo yo effect and how much I don't want to do that again. I've been steadily gaining for about a month now so your story came at a great tiem for me:wink:
    As for you, I'm SO PROUD that your doing this the healthy way! Best of luck to you on your journey!:drinker: Don't give up too much just give up the big portions of everything:wink:
  • selbyhutch
    selbyhutch Posts: 531 Member
    Thank you for sharing... and don't ever forget your story... use it for inspiration & to remind you of your journey.
  • dj_stevie_c
    dj_stevie_c Posts: 270
    Thanks all of you for taking this the right way.

    I will not be forgetting where I've come from and I hope in a years time I can honestly say I'm never going back again.
    Everything feels good and positive at the moment. I even signed up to become a student again, feels like I'm changing everything in a positive way.
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