Holy Cow! 200.5 pounds lost! 189 of that THIS YEAR! AND even more unreal to me, last Christmas I was looking at trying to lose 243 pounds and I am now only looking at losing another 39 pounds! My group threw me a surprise party last night after this weeks weigh-in put me over 200 pounds lost. They are a wonderful bunch of folks! They got me a shirt that has BIG LOSER on the front and on the back it has The only person who can stop me is me, and I can take him! 200 pounds lost! I was asked to put together a formal success story so thought I would post it here (Most of it can be found in my note introducing myself earlier in this post)
Watch Me Lose 300 Pounds
In 1987 I was a fit 220 pound single guy that ran 6 miles a day, weight lifted and taught aerobics 3 times a week. I met and fell in love with my wife who wasn’t a fitness fanatic like me, and I started to decrease my activities and eat unhealthy foods. By the time we got married (7/2/1988) I had started to gain and was at 275 pounds. When our first son was born (9/19/1989) the scale was reading 350 pounds. 20 years later at Christmas 2008 I weighed 493 pounds at the doctor’s office, while my high TOPS weight was 489 pounds. I was worn out all the time! When I went to Wal-Mart to do the shopping, I needed to lean on the cart as soon as I got one and had to lean on it the entire trip. By the time I made it to the check-out counter, I was dripping in sweat! I was tired of being pointed at by little kids who said "Look mommy, there's a really fat man!" At least some kids didn’t know how rude they were…..adults did. I was at a company golf tournament once when a bike rider rode by and yelled "Oh my god! Get out of that cart and walk!" There is no describing how humiliating that was. While it would be easy to blame this on my wife, it wasn’t her fault. I had fought this battle before and knew I was the one responsible and as I edged closer to 500 pounds the time had come to do something! I had witnessed a friend of mine, Bonnie Voegeli lose 65 pounds in 3 months on the Medi-Weightloss program. She is also the leader of our TOPS chapter in Valley Center, KS #414. I followed up with her to learn about the diet she was following and began the marathon on December 23rd, 2008. That is how I view this journey, a long slow marathon! In just two short weeks at our January 6th, 2009 meeting, I was already down to 478. I then called Medi-Weightloss and set up my first appointment with Dr. Jeannine Cobb for January 23rd, 2009. I was eating 1000 calories and keeping my carb count under 25g a day. Medi-Weightloss is a doctor supervised low carb diet. I initially went in weekly, but now go in monthly to have vitals checked and also have blood work done every 3 months. As a part of this diet, I fill out a food journal and drink at least 120 ounces of water daily.
I knew I couldn’t keep making excuses for my weight, so at that first meeting of the year on January 6th, I presented an idea of including NMX on the front of our TOPS shirts. This stands for NO MORE EXCUSES! Shortly thereafter Bonnie and Vicki (our co-leader) came up with a cheer that we say every time someone has a gain. Instead of saying "See you lighter next week" this is what we do:
While still sitting down we say "No More Excuses"
We stand up and say "Let's get off our tushes"
We twist our upper body to the left and say "Lose Weight"
We twist our upper body to the right and say "Feel great"
We bend down and touch the floor and say "A better life"
We stand back up and reach our hands over our head and say "We will create"
The next week, I started to exercise. It wasn’t much, just 15 minutes 3 times a week on an exercise bike. Fast forward to the present and I take 3 spin classes a week, lift weights 3 times a week (Genesis Health Club), and walk 3 miles in 45 minutes 4-5 times a week. The trainers and staff of Genesis have been another wonderful resource for support during this weight loss marathon! I have gone from size 66 pants to a 46, but know once all the excess skin is removed I’ll be back to a size 38. This journey has had lots of milestones, but one of my favorites occurred in early August when I took 4 large trash bags of all my 3x and larger clothes to the DAV because I am never going to need them again! My last TOPS weigh was 289 pounds which equates to a loss of 204 pounds according to the doctor’s scales and 200 pounds per TOPS. That’s 189 pounds lost this year! I hope to be a KOPS by the end of the year! My goal weight is 250 pounds, which is the weight my doctor specified as a goal for my tummy tuck. She thinks the surgery will take another 20-25 lbs off! I am proud to say I have not had a gain week or even stayed the same all year! That’s right, I’ve had a loss every single week and needless to say, the Wal-Mart trips are a breeze now and yes, my wife is even exercising and eating healthy with me!
I have come to believe there are four very important parts of a successful weight loss program. In order of importance they are:
1) Determination: You have to decide you are important enough to change your way of life to a healthy one. NO MORE EXCUSES!
2) Support: For me it is family, friends, and of course TOPS! What can I say? It is the best support anyone could ever want or need.
3) Diet: For me it was the Medi-Weightloss low carb diet and drinking 120 ounces of water per day.
4) Exercise: At least three 30 minute aerobic sessions and three 30 minute weight or strength building sessions per week, but always allow for at least one day of rest.
493/328/250 A few more pounds to the way side! My Doc raised my initial target weight to 250 due to the fact I will have some skin issues (extra/loose). She is estimating a minimum of 20 pounds of extra flesh will need to be removed. NOT looking forward to that! BUT am looking forward to seeing the final product! 165 pounds lost since before Christmas 08, 78 to go! 
Joined a spin class and am having a blast! Did that Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday. Gonna go try a pilates class tonight. Wanted to punch up the workout a bit so we will see where it takes me!
