My Final Hurdle (About 250 pounds to go)

Cannon 2006

Cannon 2006

New member
I would say that I hit the bottom point of my life about 8 years ago though I didn't reallize it at the time. Somehow, I had gone from an active athelete and the head of a television station's production department at 26 to working part-time selling comic books and living at my parents' home at 29.

Fortunately, I began to turn the corner and change my life for the better. I earned a masters in education and I became a teacher. I got out of a self-imposed shell and made all sorts of new friends. I started dating for the first time in years and I got my own place. In January of 2005 I reallized I had accumulated about $40,000 in debt and I put myself on a budget. I know owe about $12,000 in low interest student loans which will all be paid off by next Summer. My car is paid off and I feel I've defeated the loan beast. I now have only one more demon to fight and it's something I've been battling with my whole life--my weight.

I have been very lucky. Despite playing a lot of sports as a youngster and despite my extreme weight, I have never had to go to the hospital for anything. I have had no real health problems and I used to take proud in being in being able to walk further and go longer without a break than supposedly in shape people. There is no denying it. I finally purchased a scale that could hold me and I topped it at 465 pounds--About twice my lowest adult weight and about 250 pounds from my goal.

I've known this was coming. I steeled myself for this fight, but I know I'm going to need a lot of support. I didn't put this on myself overnight and it's not coming off that way either. I'm 37 years old and I'd like to be 215 pounds for my 40th birthday. I'm going to start changing my habits on Monday and I have purchased an IPod with the intention of starting an early morning walking routine. On Tuesday I will be seeing my chiropractor with the purpose of getting some medical help to make sure I'm doing this the right way. I know my biggest problem isn't how much I eat as much as it is what I eat and it's going to take some serious behavioral changes on my part, but I believe I'm ready to successfully fight the one battle I haven't had any luck with yet.

Joe
 
May I be your new best friend? :D

Ok, I dug out my trust calculator. On average, a healthy weightloss and a realistic weight loss for a month is approx 10 lbs.

It is approx 2 years, 6 months till your birthday (starting my count from June 30th this year).

That is... 30 months.

Your current weight.. 465 lbs.
you want to loose 250 lbs by your birthday.
You have 30 months to do that in.
You would have to loose 8.3 lbs a month to reach that goal...

Trust me!! This is gonna be fun!! You can easily do it... it will be the best thing ever!!

Look, the fact you are tackling this problem means you have just overcome the biggest challenge, and thats facing the truth and starting to work on it.

Here is my top 10 tips to start:

1. eat frequently.. atleast 3 meals a day.
2. Don't snack after dinner!
3. Keep around 1200 calories
4. Find foods that trick your body into feeling full, cream of wheat does it for me. I feel full with just 1 serving of it equal to 100 calories.. 150 if I add unsweetened applesause.
5. Tricks to helping your body, use no calorie sweetners, cut out sugar, cut out pasta, cut out bread. There are far healtheir ways to get fiber than those high calorie carbs.
6. Don't starve yourself.. get light jello (20 cal for 2 cups) salads, carrot sticks.. even watermelon (though high in sugar is really not bad).. and enjoy food. The key is.. don't get stressed. Stress isn't good for losing weight! Let yourself eat.. just monitor it.
7. Enjoy what you eat, this is gonna be a long process.. but its not jsut a process.. its going to be aprt of your new life. Get foods you like, I acsually find sugar free things have a much stronger taste.. more full and tasty.. so find healthy foods you like and enjoy. Dieting doesn't mean you cant enjoy your food.
8. Drink TONS of water!!! 8 glasses a day atleast! Got to clean out that system!
9. Join a club! Browse the forums! Absorb all this support! We are here to help you!
10. Join the FSD! Friday Scale Day. Don't become obsessed with weighing yourself to see changes :) Your weigh will yo yo.. remember muscle weighs more than fat... so once a week is a great idea.. (and i am in the FSD and would love to have you there!)

Last but not least.. message me anytime.. anywhere.. use m y messangers.. anything if you need help or wanna talk!
 
Hey AviKat, thanks so much for your support. It really means a lot. I wanted to respond to a few things you posted so I thought I would:

1. I did lose about 140 pounds once when I was 22. It took me 2 years and when I got to 50 pounds from my goal, I threw my back out running and stopping on stage at Second City. Somehow I managed to finish the scene I was doing and then collapsed on the floor backstage. I have had no lingering problems, but after that happenned I let the weight come back gradually over the next 6 or 7 years :(. In retrospect, though I did it over a long period of time I did it in a very unhealthy way.

2. I did decide on 6 meals a day and I'm going to make a real effort as far as what I eat.

3. I think 1200 may be a little light for me, but I'm not sure. I'd love to hear more of your opinion on a calorie target. Same from others on the list. I was thinking about 1400 was probably healthier. I will talk to the chiropractor about that on Tuesday.

4. Foods that trick the body into feeling full--I think I definitely need to look for that. No pasta or bread is necessary, but boy its tough.

5. I'm a teacher on summer break. I figured the next two months were the perfect time to start a diet because of the lack of stress in my life.

6. I have a slightly overweight friend (OK maybe he's not so sleight, but compared to me he's slight) who is a chef. He has a radio show in St. Louis about food--I think I'm going to hit him up for some food advice. I know if I don't find food I enjoy I will cheat a lot.

7. I am obsessed with weighing myself today because I really haven't since 1994 or so. Once you're over 300 pounds or even 350 it's hard to find a scale. I purchased a talking scale with a 550 pound capacity. It says "Hello" and "Goodbye" but won't say my weight. I think it's embarrassed. I think I heard it snickering last time I stepped on the scale. Weighing every Friday sounds about right for me though. I may change that to every Monday though to keep me closer to the straight and narrow on the weekend. What is the FSD exactly?

8. A water cooler for my home is a lot cheaper than I thought and would be a big help to me getting all the water I need. I think I'll order one.

Don't be surprised to hear from me. My AIM is my email name which is in my profile and I can give as well as receive support.
 
FSD is the Friday Scale Day :D

1500 - 1200 cal a day is a good start.

:)
 
1200 too low

1200 is probably WAY too low for your size. I am a 233 pound woman, and eating 1500 calories a day and walking 4 times a week. And I am losing about 2.5 pounds a week on this. If you ate the same amount, you would be starving your body and seriously risking heart damage. (You starve your body, you hurt your muscles, and what is the heart - a big muscle!)

PLEASE - consult a physician experienced in treating large patients. If possible get an EKG and make sure your heart is in good condition and ready for moderate exercise. Ask your doctor to help you calculate your calorie needs. Hillbillylee started about your same weight and his doctor recommended he reduce from the 6000 calories a day he would need to maintain his weight to about 3000 a day for now.

It is very important that you see an actual M.D. who is trained in this area. I love my chiropractor, and if I need an alignment, he's my doc. But he doesn't do my pap smear!!!! You get my meaning? Please - do this smart, because we really do care.

(Hillbillylee - if you are reading this, I mean you, too! :) )
 
Good luck ...

I totally agree with twinmom-- do see a doctor before beginning...

We can do whatever we put our minds to-- just be smart about it first... :)
 
twinmom2791 said:
It is very important that you see an actual M.D. who is trained in this area. I love my chiropractor, and if I need an alignment, he's my doc. But he doesn't do my pap smear!!!! You get my meaning? Please - do this smart, because we really do care.

(Hillbillylee - if you are reading this, I mean you, too! :) )
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice and support. I remember having some success before at 2800 calories. I definite will be consulting. As for my chiropractor, he's my first step. When I talked to him about weight loss about 5 years ago he had me go for a full medical workup. I then dropped the ball for other reasons. He can get me into see a physician in a hurry--in fact much faster than if I call one up out of the blue. One of the reasons I'm going to him is because he's talked to me about my weight in the past and has worked with several members of the U.S. Decathalon team as well as several very large people trying to lose weight. He's an extremely cautious person who works very closely with several physicians and unlike any doctor I would go see right now, he knows me and my health history.
 
good!

Good deal, Cannon! It sounds like your chiropractor will be a good part of your team. Keep us posted. I wish you the best in all your efforts, and I hope that you reach all your goals!
 
I have a friend who is at 410 lbs and he never goes over 1500 cal and tries to keep it at 1200. He is diabetic.. and is under the councelling of his doctor, and there has been no negative health effects. He is healthy besides being diabetic.

However... she is right. Do consult an acsual doctor to make sure it is right for you. :)
 
Cannon 2006 said:
Thanks for the advice and support. I remember having some success before at 2800 calories. I definite will be consulting. As for my chiropractor, he's my first step. When I talked to him about weight loss about 5 years ago he had me go for a full medical workup. I then dropped the ball for other reasons. He can get me into see a physician in a hurry--in fact much faster than if I call one up out of the blue. One of the reasons I'm going to him is because he's talked to me about my weight in the past and has worked with several members of the U.S. Decathalon team as well as several very large people trying to lose weight. He's an extremely cautious person who works very closely with several physicians and unlike any doctor I would go see right now, he knows me and my health history.
Click to expand...

This hit a trigger with me. I remember when I lost a ton of weight before, there was one person who seemed to just jump start my motivation. And when I started losing weight again, there's another person there who is rooting for me and keeping me on track. For me it hasn't been the, "I know you can do it", type of friends... it's the, "You better do this, you're getting out of control" type of friends that seem to get through my self deceptions around my eating.

I'm a big believer in chiros, especially ones that have good working relationships with MDs. There's just something about the whole body approach. It sounds like you've got a good one too with the right experience for what you need and the right contacts in the medical world.

Definitely post on Tuesday after your appointment with a follow up. I'd love to hear what he says.
 
I accidentally misread my own calendar and my appointment is actually Wednesday at 11 AM. Thanks for the concern--I do know that sometimes chiropractors think they can treat everything. I know that's not the case. I do have a lot of faith in my guy though. Here's what I know about calories.

I do want to go with a somewhat low calorie diet, but more importantly I want to change how I eat. I would guess I'm currently taking in about 3K calories per day, but overeating has never been my problem as much as overindulging. I'm not eating 3 Big Macs and a 2 Liter of Coke for lunch, but I'm eating unhealthy food 7 days a week. I do cook and need to rely on that skill a bit more.

As recently as last year I was on about a 1400 calorie a day diet without bad health effects, but at 2800 calories I was able to drop 4 inches from my waste 3 years ago that I haven't put back. I do want to find the optimal caloric intake, but I also want to change bad habits rather than simply eating less. I am going to be eating more frequently in smaller ammounts and I'll be drinking water water water.
 
Hi Cannon,

Welcome to the forums here. I hope you find insperation here and you are able to take control of you life again. :)
 
Welcome to the forum! As you have already seen, there are a lot of supportive people on here. I hope you start a diary so that we can get to know you better and have a place to offer you support. :D
 
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