What a long strange trip it's been - Part 1

I can hardly believe its been a year since I first logged onto MFP. My journey started on Memorial Day of 2012 which happened to be my birthday.

Call it a midlife crisis or something, but I spent some time reflecting on how I was living life on my last birthday decided there had to more to it than working at a computer all day, eating meals through the car window only to come home and sit on a computer until bedtime. To many years of that routine had left me unhappy, unhealthy, and feeling pretty alone. I needed a major change.

The first thing I attacked was my health. I've always been the fat guy. I avoided scales, mirrors and cameras like the plague. The times that I was forced to see the scales are permanently etched in my mind. 299 pounds at 13 years old leaving elementary school in 1989. 401 pounds at 16 years old at football camp after my sophomore year of high school in 1991. 468 on my 21st birthday and my all time high of 555 in 2008 shortly after buying my house. Last year on my 37th birthday I was 523 pounds.

I knew I had a large task in front of me. I was 37 and needed to lose 300 pounds. From the info I gathered at the time, two pounds per week was about the maximum rate of weight loss to strive for. With that in mind I set a goal to be 220 pounds on my 40th birthday.

I found MFP about a week later. It's been an extremely useful tool for me on my journey toward fitness. In the early days of my journey I would read the success stories every morning when I woke up and every evening before bed. I hadn't had my own success yet and relied on the success others had experienced to motivate me to stick with the workouts and healthy eating. I can only hope that someone will read this and be motivated to continue on one more day until they start getting their motivation from within.

I started with small steps. I made a salad for dinner instead of getting a combo meal at a fast food place. I took a short walk in the evenings. In a matter of a week or so I had the diet pretty well under control. Lots of lean proteins, veggies and fruits. I'm not a good cook. I eat boring meals but for the most part they are healthy.

The exercise was a different story. At 523 pounds, even short walks were difficult on me. Carrying around all that weigh my entire life has understandably taken a toll on my joints. Trying to be active carrying it around proved to be a painful endeavor. Not wanting to give up I decided to join the local YMCA to use the pool. I sat out in the parting lot for a half hour trying to get the nerve to walk in. Joining the gym was big step for me. While worrying about others opinions aren't what kept me from starting out earlier, they did play a factor. I'm so not a morning person but I made myself get there at 5 AM every morning. Wanting as few people as possible to see me in a swimsuit proved to be a pretty good motivator to get my butt out of bed early.

Who knew it? All those people that say eating right and exercising were right all along. As I continued to eat right and exercise I started seeing positive results. By mid September I had managed to lose 50 pounds.

When I started out I set intermediate goals with some rewards. At every 50 pound lost I reward myself by changing things up and doing something new. Reaching my first 50 pound lost goal I rewarded myself with another gym membership and started lifting weights. I'm a large man and weak for my size. Being nearly six and a half feet tall I want to be as strong as I am big. Since September I've been lifting lifting weights 5-6 times a week. The weigh loss slowed but I have managed to build up a little muscle while getting a bit stronger. I'm actually enjoying the work and like seeing and feeling some muscle under the flab. I ended up dropping the Y over the winter. Who wants to get out of a warm bed and go jump in a cold pool. Not me. Besides, I was enjoying the lifting and getting the results I wanted.

Back in February I hit another goal/reward. My 100 pound lost goal/reward was to get a bicycle and start riding. Relearning to ride a bike has been interesting. Having not ridden in 25 years, there is a bit of rust in my pedaling but I'm having fun. I enjoy the lifting enough that I'm not giving it up. The biking is just an extra thing to do. I normally do a three mile loop once or twice in the evenings as a warm up before lifting. As I've gotten a bit more comfortable on the bike I've starting increasing the length of my ride. Last Sunday I did my first 10 mile ride. Saturday I met up with my brother and did 12 miles. The following Sunday my pre-lifting warmup ride ended up being 16 miles. I'm not sure where I'll go with the bike riding thing. Right now it's just a fun way to get in a little exercise.

Things on the "getting healthy" front are going better than I could have ever ask for. As of Monday morning I'm down 133 pounds since 2012/05/28. Not to bad if I say so myself. I've still got a long way to go to reach my goal but the success I've had so far keeps me motivated and I'm confident I'll get there.

Even more important for me than the weight loss loss is the change in attitude that has happened over the past year. At 500 pounds gloom and doom are the norm and its a difficult cycle to break out of. Making strides in my health has went a long way toward getting happy as well. I've also changed my approach to having fun. In past it was something I left it to chance. I've changed that. Instead of waiting for something fun to happen I now actively seek it out. Before beginning this journey I rarely left the house for anything but work and shopping that couldn't be done online. I broke the ice on a social life by attending my first concert and stand up comedy shows. It's mighty difficult to feel alone when you're in a crowd of hundreds or thousands jumping, yelling, dancing and singing along. I've been to so many shows now that I'm losing count and making new friends among the regulars at the local punk shows.

I've still got a long way to go on my journey but getting/being healthy is now a matter of when instead of if. I'm happier and having more fun than I could have ever imagined. I want to thank all my MFP Pals. I really couldn't ask for a better support group. Wether it's battling an eating disorder, being Crazy busy with work or school, that "Damn" hill, 30k steps a day, early morning workouts, even working to become a certified fitness instructor, each of my pals has motivated me to keep going an I'm eternally thankful for their support.

A couple pics. I realize my dog is included in most of the photos. Having her around was the only time I allowed my photo to be taken.

From a cancer fundraiser 2009 - 510 pounds


That same summer.


2011 - 530-540


Headshot starting out - 520


Progress:
February - 420 - backstage at Flogging Molly


Headshot - 390


With Gertrude - 390


Just for fun. It's hard to feel alone here (shaved head, front row center).