370 to 228; still need to get past plateau

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kiramon

New member
(I reposted this here, I guess since it's sorta an in-between post)

LONG STORY (not so) Short


I have been working on losing weight since oh sometime around last August.



I started off at a measly (lol) 370 pounds at 6'1" and 24 years old. I lost some weight just through a general increase in activity, eating way more salad and no fast food, and walking daily for several hours at a time (woops :p). After the winter, during which I walked mostly to my college and up the stairs instead of taking the elevators, I ended up at a nice 280 pounds. :)



When the Summer started, I tried my hand at walking, running, and interval stuff. I went from 280 to 260 relatively quickly, but then I kinda stopped losing anything. After that, I got a great offer from a friend to go to the gym, so I started to do that. My workout schedule is 2 hours every morning M-F, though the gym doesn't contain cardio. I lost very little weight from doing the gym stuff -- but I also began to do my own funsies, which means I started Rollerblading (what a nerd) for 1.5-3 hours two times a day, along with the occasional walking and general activity increase -- as in, I'm home for maybe 3 hours a day that doesn't include sleeping time, lol. I lost 30 pounds during this time, which brings me to today...



Today I weigh around 228 pounds, although most people are like baffled by that number. I feel (and I think I always will feel) way bigger than I am, though I know I certainly am not tiny, lol. I know I have some loose skin on my arms, and I'm pretty sure I have some on my stomach, though it's not all that bad there, but it's definitely not normal fat. I also still have an extra chin or something that makes me look like a goose from the side. :p



Anyways, I still rollerblade and go to the gym. I have begun to eat more because I got yelled at for not eating enough (and thus having very little gains in the gym). My arms have gotten slightly bigger ;). I still eat relatively way too little (and I am sure most people would tell me to eat more, as I'm probably at about 1000 calories less than I should be eating daily...). I don't eat so little because I';m trying to lose weight, now, though -- it's just become habit. Probably another bad one like overeating... I fill in most of the calories now with protein shakes.





ANYWHO.



I still have really big man-boobs. Urgh. They haunt me. My friend was actually commenting that it might be gynecomastia and not just fat, though I don't know. He thinks they should be smaller by my weight than they are right now. Ugh. My chest area is my largest area (and it makes finding shirts hard...), and it's not cuz I have a manly chest -- definitely booby, lol. I went from a 54 inch pant to a 36, and 4XL shirts to 1X (mostly the boobs lol).







I still rollerblade, I still go to the gym. But I am no longer losing any weight. I have been at 228 for 3 weeks now, and it's not budging. My original goal at the start of the summer (when I was 280) was 225, but I feel like I should be able to at least go down some in a month. My ultimate goal is 170, though my more realistic goal is 186.





I have a picture of me at around 350 (after I lost about 20 pounds) and one from me today. You can't see my boobs, but that's mostly the way I have learned to pose for the camera (the green shirt-pic is the newest). I added a blue-shirted one where you can see the boobs better :(. The black and white one was from around December! I was in a 3XL, and I thought I had lost most of the weight I would at that point!







If anybody has any tips on how to lose more weight or get myself started again, I'm always looking for advice. I am considering running again (I stopped when I started the gym) in the morning and at night, and perhaps filling in my days with walking in between Running and Rollerblading. Any other advice? I really am tired of plateauing and want to try and get these last 40 or so pounds out![/b]
 
You're doing fine. I was 340 @ 6 foot. This morning I was @ 206. I hit plateaus on 256, 225, & 215. Each lasted about 6 - 8 weeks. Keep watching what you eat and exercising. It will begin to come off again. About the man boobs. If you're anything like me, it's just skin. A good rule of thumb is to not even worry until 2 years after reaching your goal weight. You're a young guy so your skin will recover. I've had to weight train to make my loose skin start to tighten up. Doctor says at 54 I will have to live with some of it, but doing cardio and weights it is shrinking up better than I had hope. Be proud of yourself. You've done something most people are unable to do without surgery.
 
Originally Posted by Bob Hiatt


You're doing fine. I was 340 @ 6 foot. This morning I was @ 206. I hit plateaus on 256, 225, & 215. Each lasted about 6 - 8 weeks. Keep watching what you eat and exercising. It will begin to come off again. About the man boobs. If you're anything like me, it's just skin. A good rule of thumb is to not even worry until 2 years after reaching your goal weight. You're a young guy so your skin will recover. I've had to weight train to make my loose skin start to tighten up. Doctor says at 54 I will have to live with some of it, but doing cardio and weights it is shrinking up better than I had hope. Be proud of yourself. You've done something most people are unable to do without surgery.
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Thanks for the reply :)


I have hit a few plateaus that I have been able to overcome with time (usually I plateau and then it comes off for 20 pounds really quickly and plateaus again); I just fear that the lower I get the harder it will be and the harder motivating myself to keep going might get (Though I'm still motivated right now, lol).


I don't know. Some of it might be some extra skin. Hopefully it starts to go away, though. I'm really hoping my man-boobs go away, because they make me feel not only really bad about my weight, but also about being a man. They're probably the only thing I would have really wanted to lose from before, lol, and they're still here to haunt me.


Thanks for the kind words,

I appreciate them, and I hope to be able to keep losing down to my goal.
 
Here are some pictures of me in my 4XL shirt and my size 50 (I wore a 54 at one point) shorts.


And also are pictures of me in my Large :)D) shirt and hoodies.
 
Originally Posted by kiramon


I bought my first shirt in over 10 years that didn't have an 'X' in it today. :D
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Well done!!! that must be an amazing feeling! I love the pictures in your old shorts as well - funny but also inspiring for people who are closer to the beginning of their journey.


Keep it up Kiramon!
 
Originally Posted by silash






Well done!!! that must be an amazing feeling! I love the pictures in your old shorts as well - funny but also inspiring for people who are closer to the beginning of their journey.



Keep it up Kiramon!
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Thank you!


It was the most absolute amazing feeling ever... putting clothes back that didn't fit because they were too big, as opposed to small, was like the highlight of my year, lol. I think people don't ever think about it, but when you buy clothes 'just because they fit' rather than because you like them, being able to have a choice is like... wow. I was like a little kid in the store today, lol, trying on all different shirts :). I feel so impatient about losing the rest of my weight (more clothessss), but at the same time part of me is like 'I have the rest of my life to get it down.'


Yeah, lol I still have a size 54 pant somewhere at my moms. I think I'll get them from her and take a picture in those someday, lol. I still remember starting to lose weight, and being excited about barely being able to keep those shorts up even when 'sticking out' my stomach. Good luck getting me to keep them up now.



Although I'm not done, I honestly wish everyone in the world that has ever experienced what I have or anything like it can feel the joy of just ... fitting in. Whether it be in a societal sense or in a non-big and tall section of a store.



I know before I started to lose weight, I was sure I was pretty much doomed to just accept myself. I remember seeing TV shows of people losing weight and thinking why can't I be on a TV show that forced me to lose weight? Or when I would see people on TV Shows who had the opportunity to do something to lose weight and they 'gave up,' I would get so frustrated because I would never give that up; eventually I realized that I already had given up by just accepting my weight. Then I I figured out I could do it myself, albeit slowly. I remember thinking at one point 'Well, even if it doesn't do anything good for me, it's definitely not going to hurt me to go walking.' And then I kept walking. And walking. And it did do good.



It is really hard to find pictures of me 'before.' I used to hate taking pictures. Now look at me. I can't stop. I'm like addicted and starting to look like a narcissist!
 
You look amazing! You are so smart and lucky to have realized at your age that you have to take control of your life. Because this is your life and you only have one.

As to plateau - yes running would definitely help. If you haven't run before I would suggest 5 minutes walk followed by 1 minute run, walk 5 run 1 for 1/2 hour to 45 min and slowly increase the runs and decrease the walks until you are running the whole time. Running at over 220 lbs can be jarring on the bones so don't overdo it and don't overdo it at the start especially. But you would shed pounds more easily by adding that in. Also finding a local running group and working towards a 5k or 10k race can be extremely motivating and a place to meet other fit people.

Also you will never again lose 20 lbs in a month. At 370 lbs 20 lbs is 5% of your body weight. At 220 lbs, 20 lbs is 9% of your body weight. That is way too much to lose so quickly. I am nearing my goal and just want to lose 2 lbs this month and 1lb per month for the following 6 or 7 months. I'm finding it extremely difficult to get even one pound off. Also like you said, you have your whole life - if you do it too quickly you will be more likely to gain it back. You really look fantastic so there should be no rush now - except to stay healthy.

Stay motivated. Think of all the reasons why being thin for life is so important to you. All the reasons it will be better for you physically, socially, emotionally. Mentally go over that list every day if you are losing motivation. It's not always the technique - it's the wanting to do it and staying with it.

If it were me with the man boobs - I would set aside $25 per month in a fund as a reward to myself and use it for surgery one day if necessary. If they come off on their own before then, use it for a vacation. Maybe will take a few years but give you something to spend that money on that used to go towards food! I know not everyone is a fan of surgery but I do believe in it if it is something that you know will really make you a happier person.

Anyway you really look fantastic and I see no man boobs in any of the photos by the way. Congrats on the shopping without the X!
 
Hi


Wow thank you for such a kind reply! Yeah, I have considered starting to put money aside from surgery, though I don't know how much it usually runs and it really is a scary thought. Part of me is like "It would be so cruel to have done all of this and then have surgery and have something go wrong and that be the end of it," too. I had that fear when I first went back to try and fit on a roller coaster (which I did :D), too, though. I know I definitely want to get surgery, though, especially for my arms, which sag like a Grandma, and my moobs.


Definitely it has become much harder to lose weight at this point. Much much harder. Overall I'm doing more and getting less in return, but I still do it. It's kinda fun for me now. I'm hoping to keep moving forward even a little bit at a time, because change is change. There is definitely a mental list of things I want and reminders that I sometimes see that make me want to keep moving forward. And believe you me, fitting into clothes is a big one. :) Like I cannot begin to express my desire to be able to go into a store see something I wanted and get it. GIDDY LIKE A SCHOOL GIRL, I AM. :p


As for running, I actually started running at around 280 pounds. I haven't run in a while so I know I can't go as far as I actually could at that weight. I have gone running with my brother one day last month and it was a little difficult for me. Not because of my legs (which are products of the gym lol), but because it was cold out; I have asthma and running in the cold makes it extremely horrible for me. It gets really painful and hard to breathe, so I had to stop my running.


I will definitely add running in and hope to see some change. I originally stopped when I hit 260 because (well most of it was because I started the gym and the leg day stopped me from being able to walk haha) I was running and killing myself, and I didn't have any results.



There are definitely man boobs, but it is my hope that they are going down. I have chest day on Tuesdays, and I have just started doing pushups every night to try and add a less girly shape to them, lol. Once those are gone... world better watch out :).


Again, though, thank you for the super kind reply!
 
Congratulations on your incredible achievement so far, your transformation is really inspiring and hopefully you can soldier on and reach your final goal, with those remaining niggles such as the moobs disappearing in good time. I suspect they’re simply the result of the speed of your weight loss- the skin needs to time to adjust and settle. As you’ve alluded to, I’m sure you’d rather deal with having those for now rather than be lugging an extra 140lbs around everywhere you go!


Thanks for sharing your success and insight into how you’ve got there, believe me it will act as real motivation for many others on this site, myself included- I had a good run and then about four or five months ago settled back into routine and stopped losing, but seeing threads like this is a really helpful reminder about what can be achieved with some dedication and effort.
 
Thanks Caiman!


I really have a drive to finish my last 40 pounds and a lot of it more recently comes from the people on this forum and their encouraging words! I hope other people can benefit from my journey, because the way I feel is something everybody should feel.
 
Today was an interesting day :(


School started, so my day consisted of waking up at 6:45, going to the gym at 8:15 and finishing at 10. Then I showered and headed to school, where I park in the parking structure which is about a 15 minute walk from my class. I ended up walking to my car and to class a total of 4 times, and then I kept going up to the 4th floor via the stairs, which I 'run' up and down, 3 times. Unfortunately that is pretty much all of the exercise I got today, because it's nasty and rainy out X_x. I feel like crap not being able to do anything... grr.


The highlight of my day: Fitting into the desks with PLENTY of room to spare. I used to feel so bad about the desks because I was always right at the edge (they are like high school one sided desks), and I wondered how the other people had so much room. I had a ton and they were comfortable (they used to be super uncomfortable for me).




The negatives of my day: I saw an overweight guy squeeze into a desk in the back corner of a room because there were no chairs for the bigger desks with the wheel out chairs. I felt really bad and wanted to go into the other room to get a chair for him so he could at least be a little more comfortable, but the class was full, and I didn't want to embarrass him. :( I don't know if I should have gotten a chair or not.


The other big negative is about me. Aside from the fact that today I ate more than I usually do (I ate a 'normal' amount of calories for someone losing weight, which is way more than a typically ate and it makes me feel like a pig. I hate like 1900 calories today as opposed to my typical < 1000 calories under normal calorie consumption levels. It just feels like I ate too much, even though I know it wasn't. It depresses me.


I also came home and saw my giant man boobs in the mirror and instantly felt like I hadn't accomplished anything. I know everyone keeps seeing changes, and I can see some too obviously, but when I see the moobs it just feels like I haven't done anything at all. They are so haunting and just... ugh. Why are they so big and so.. droopy lol. What I would give to have the chest of a 'man.'



Here are some pics of me today in which you can see my giant moobs that make me feel horrible.


PS: I know this isn't the diary section but I write here because I am very much in between; my writing style just comes off in a 'diary' sense.


PPS: I have lost around 2 pounds since I posted this thread; Feels super slow now, but I have also been working out a lot at the gym and seeing definite changes in at least my arms... so..
 
ADon't feel blue, man. Your chest is only a very small part of who your are and you've accomplished so much. You're still quite young and your skin is still resilient. Hopefully it will sort it self eventually with the help of chest exercises and the like. The most extreme option of course would be surgery, if it continues to haunt you. Good luck!

 
Originally Posted by Daybehavior

Don't feel blue, man. Your chest is only a very small part of who your are and you've accomplished so much. You're still quite young and your skin is still resilient. Hopefully it will sort it self eventually with the help of chest exercises and the like. The most extreme option of course would be surgery, if it continues to haunt you. Good luck!
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Hey thanks for the response!


I hope so. I've been going to the gym for 3 months now doing chest stuff, and I just recently started doing 3 sets of 20 pushups a night, working my way up to more. Hopefully it'll start becoming more of a chest and less of some boobs after some time. They are by far the most depressing thing to me.
 
AI know what you mean man, the things I hate most about me are my moobs and my love handles (and I still have a lot of weight to lose compared to you). You are looking great man, and I'm sure your body will sort itself out in due time.
 
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