SuperMorbidlyObese to Triathlete (pic heavy)

Allow me to preface this with "and I'm not done yet," however, I felt that the 1 year anniversary of solid logging was the appropriate time to give an updated success story.
This is one of the few very flattering full body pictures I have of myself as a before. Like many people in the boat I was in, all other full-body pics have been carefully untagged and destroyed:


Back in 2012, I hurt all the time. I was super morbidly obese. As I've said before, it didn't come with a cape and suit, it just came with pain. I had (and still have) severe osteoarthritis. I moved at a snail's pace, when I moved at all. Some days just getting out of bed was a victory. That year I lost 15 friends and colleagues. Some passed in accidents, some after long, drawn-out battles with cancer, and one suddenly while on his treadmill. In the past he and his wife were in a magazine for being among the fittest couples in this large town. Losing that colleague hit me like a ton of bricks. The entire year provided me a much-needed wake up call. I felt like the concerned tones that friends took when asking about my health were their way of saying "you're next." I would get winded during the one block walk from my office to the courthouse and would take a break in the shade to get away from the heat but any movement was tough at over 350 lbs.


I slowly started making changes, choosing healthier options and eating smaller portions and then I joined MFP in March of 2013. Today is a year of logging for me. I became an ovo-pescatarian (which is a pretentious way of saying that I don't eat meat other than eggs and fish) and began exercising more. In the beginning I swam, which is the one activity it didn't hurt to do. Eventually I got stronger, hired a trainer, and started walking as well. I was hardly FAST at swimming but I sure did love the water. I mentioned to my trainer that I wished there was more of an endurance event for swimming and he suggested I look into sprint triathlons.

After I lost 100 lbs I bought my bike as a reward and began training.

I signed up for the Spa Girl Tri with a 400 meter swim, 10 mile bike ride and 2 mile Run. On May 10, I completed it.

My ortho doc would not give me permission to run, and to be honest that would have been a fool's errand. We work with our limitations to the best of our abilities right? I do walk a decent clip. My goals going in to the tri were:
1. Finish/survive. (check)
2. Not finish last overall (check! I think around 200 came in after me. I wasn't last anyway).
3. Not finish last in my age group (check! There were 11) and
4. Under 2 hours (check. It was 1:45. I'll take it).



I had the best cheering squad ever, including some local MFPeeps (hi slerich, stxfuneral, and mmparke!), my folks who flew in from out of state, a colleague, a law school classmate, a co-worker who is also on MFP but whose screen name I don't know, and my trainer. I wasn't the fastest by a long shot, but that didn't matter. I challenged my body in yet another new way, and I came out with a huge grin. I'm actually surprised that the bike was my best event, but I swam, biked, and walked my way to triathlete status. My next tri is July 13.

Hanging with my MFPeeps after!

Oh Did I mention it was for my 40th birthday?

That's my folks, my trainer, stxfuneral, and a coworker.

The following week I celebrated with another huge win. I got to go skydiving, which is something I'd wanted to do for a good 20 years but I was always over the weight limit. Not anymore.


Edit: I almost forgot to give a shoutout to my teammates! I just joined Team RWB to keep pursuing those goals. I proudly sported the Eagle on my jump and look forward to doing more with these incredible athletes.


The point of this brag is for that person out there who just joined MFP who is thinking they have so much to lose that they'll never get there. You WILL get there, if you don't give up. If you surround yourself with wonderful people like the friends I've made here at MFP, if you make the necessary changes, you WILL get the results. If you set small, achievable goals and find something to focus on other than JUST the scale, you will get the results. Don't get me wrong, I care about the scale too, but sometimes those imporatant milestones come from something other than the scale.

I'm including this last pic because (A) GUNSHOW, and (B)- Yes. I have loose skin. I've been told it's not the first thing you see, but hey, even if it is, I'll wear my loose skin with pride rather than the fat suit that kept me prisoner for all those years. Onward and downward.

Awesome sign made by my old friend and MFPeep, mmparke. Thanks guys!