My Weight Loss journey has been long thus far, and will continue until I'm the hottest guy at the beach.No really.
I'm already in uncharted waters, weighing less than I have my entire adult life, so I think hottest guy is totally attainable.
Here's a brief synopsis of what we have. Click here for a weekly progress chart.
| Milestone | Date | Weight | WW Lost | Total Lost | BMI |
| Heaviest | 25 Dec 2002 | 467 | 0 | 58.4 | |
| WW Start | 15 Nov 2005 | 441.4 | 0 | 25.6 | 55.1 |
| 25 lbs | 19 Dec 2005 | 414 | 27.4 | 53 | 51.7 |
| 10% | 7 Mar 2006 | 394.8 | 46.6 | 72.2 | 49.4 |
| 50 lbs | 27 Mar 2006 | 389.2 | 52.2 | 77.8 | 48.6 |
| 75 lbs | 5 Sep 2006 | 365.4 | 76 | 101.6 | 45.6 |
| 20% | 24 Oct 2006 | 353 | 88.4 | 114 | 44.1 |
| 100 lbs | 27 Mar 2007 | 336.8 | 104.6 | 130.2 | 42.1 |
| 30% | 28 Aug 2007 | 306.4 | 135 | 160.6 | 38.2 |
| 150 lbs | 6 Nov 2007 | 291 | 150.4 | 176 | 36.4 |
| 175 lbs | 18 Mar 2008 | 266.2 | 175.2 | 200.8 | 33.2 |
467 lbs
306 Pounds
286 lbs
And how have I done it? With Weight Watchers, of course. Check out my favorite motivational spot, GOAD.
You can find my weight loss related posts here.
Iâve been heavy most of my life, and definitely all of my adult life.
I remember a moment in eighth grade when I realized I weighed nearly
200 pounds. I cried. Although I grew almost a foot more, I also
continued to grow outwards, and I don't think I weighed myself again
for almost six years. When I did I had reached 6 foot 4 and tipped in
at exactly 350 pounds—right at the limit of the doctor's scale. That
was 1998. I continued to ignore the scale, and in December 2002 I
weighed in at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago at an
exhibit about health. These are the moments that define our lives, and
I will never forget the scale's ominous readout: 467. I was scared for
myself, my family, my new son; it was bad. So I lost about 50 pounds
on my own, fit back into most of my clothes, and went on my way. Then
I slowly started creeping back up, and in November 2005 I decided I had
taken enough, and that it was time to do something drastic and
permanent. So, I went to my first WW meeting on 15 November and logged
my starting weight: 441.4 pounds. I loved it—a structured program,
normal food, and amazing results! My first loss, 11.8 pounds revealed
to me the possibilities, and kept it up, losing my first 25 pounds in
only a month.
During this time I had one major enemy: DW's pregnancy with our third
child. Through a few long chats, and some really sneaky effort on her
part, she was able to satisfy her cravings while eating healthy meals
with me and supporting my endeavor. She netted a 20 pound loss with
that pregnancy, and the week after DS was born, she started WW with
me. She has lost 75 pounds and is now closing in on her goal. Yippee
for her!
After DS's birth, we moved, and the summer was up and down for me. We
traveled, spent a great deal of time with family, and generally stalled
our weight loss. In frustration I greeted Autumn with new
determination, and rekindled the weight loss fire.
Then it happened. I like to refer to it as the Dark Ages, but it was
just a plateau. My body hit that 350 pound point to which it had
become accustomed so many years before. I grew frustrated and began to
wander form the program. Never did I go far, but a bad week here and a
bad week there confused my body about what it was supposed to be doing.
Then the new points system (don't get me started, I go could go for
DAYS!) Then the real plateau set in, and I couldn't break the same
five-pound range for almost six months. I'm not advocating it for all,
but for me, I had to go back to the old points in order to jump-start
the weight loss again. Somehow it just clicked with my body, and off I
went! In new news I just hit my 200 pounds total lost!
Some milestones:
- Total pounds lost: 200.8, 175.2 on WW
- Pant Size: 56, now 38/40
- Shirts: 5XLT, now XL
- Activity: once sedentary, I'm now meeting twice weekly with a personal trainer and have started biking and running regularly
- Blood pressure: while never bad or medicated, my last check was 121/70!
Some reflections:
Losing weight is hard. It took me two decades to put it on, and I'm determined to get it off in only 20% of that time.
Setting small behavior goals and meeting them is not hard. I don't set weight/date goals (except for the challenges!) but I do set goals about staying on program and exercising. I can control those things, and I know that if I do them, then I'll reap the benefits they promise. It's easy to take it one day at a time.
Screwing up is part of the program. Quitting is not. Even when things are crazy, and there's a week of eating out and you don't have time to shop or exercise, you can get back on and do things right next week. Failing just isn't an option, even when life is inevitable.
I can't rely on others to remind me of my progress. They don't always notice a change in clothes size or significant weight loss. BUT I DO, and the personal rewards are fantastic. I can see a new me (and my new strong chin!) and that makes me happy.
I've lost 175 pounds with Weight Watchers, and I have about 40 or 50 to go. It looks good from here, and I'm excited for it to look better!
