The Journey of a one legged fat guy

Coffeebro

Coffeebro

New member
Good morning all. I guess I will start my journal with an introduction of myself. My name is Matthew and I have been overweight/obese my entire life. On top of that I am a congenital amputee, born without my lower right leg. I am 31 years old married for almost 10 years and I am the father of 3 boys. For most of my adult life I have weighed between 230 and 245, but this last year I ballooned to 260. Ive tried to lose weight in the past with some success, but I have always just put it right back on. About a year ago I had finally given up any hope of ever being thin. That was until this past January when something in me just snapped. On January 12th of this year I went out to play paintball. At the time I was 255 pounds. I got home that night and became really sick with the stomach flu. For the next couple of days I could not eat and I started to lose weight. So I decided to take advantage of the situation. Once I started to feel better I cut my calorie intake to 1500 calories a day. Over the next couple of weeks I started to lose more weight. When I told a co-worker of mine that I was losing weight we made a bet to see who could lose weight faster. I am a very competitive guys so that pushed me even harder. I exercise 5 to 6 times a week and do 30 to 60 mins of cardio a day. The bet started at the beginning of February and I weighed in at 245 at that point. My goal is to weigh 200 pounds by May 5th, and with only 4 more weeks to go I only have 15 more pounds left. I am at 215 pounds as of today April 8th. Now my long term goal is to be at 170 by the end of August. So I am almost half way there. Not only am I losing weight but I am in the best shape of my life. I just ran the mile in 9 mins 55 secs. Thats my lifetime personal best time. So thank you for your support on this forum I love to read your stories and see that I am not alone in this.
 
welcome to the forum, I know you will find support here!
 
My name is Matthew
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Hi Matthew - oh wait this isn't one of THOSE forums :)

I am a congenital amputee, born without my lower right leg.
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I just ran the mile in 9 mins 55 secs. Thats my lifetime personal best time.
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that's an awesome accomplishment... there are people with 2 good legs that couldn't do that... I'm curious -if you don't mind.. when you run - what type of prosthetic do you use? There's a guy I see a lot who runs the lakefront near me that is a double amputee- and has the most amazing looking prosthetics -they're all metal... almost like a spring... it's just amazing to watch him run...

anyhow - welcome to your diary... and the nag in me is going to ask if you're sure you're getting enoug nutrition - that's a lot of cardio and not a lot of calories... and are you doing any kind of weight training in addition tothe cardio?
 
that's an awesome accomplishment... there are people with 2 good legs that couldn't do that...
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Thank you. Thats the fastest Ive ever run a mile in my whole life.

what type of prosthetic do you use?
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I use a foot known as the Seattle foot. It is an energy return system foot. That means it has a carbon graphite spring foot.

and the nag in me is going to ask if you're sure you're getting enoug nutrition - that's a lot of cardio and not a lot of calories
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LOL- Its funny you say that, cause I asked a question about plateus a couple of weeks ago and so I bumped my calories up to 2000 a day now.

and are you doing any kind of weight training in addition tothe
cardio?
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Yes, I alternate between upper and lower body 30 mins a day 5 times a week.
 
Okay, well as some of you have read I have lost 40 pounds so far, but the last 15 pounds have been more difficult. When I hit the 20's I started to hit a plateau. I would lose a couple of pounds and then stay at that weight for awhile. Well, Im down to 215 and I am still struggling to get it off. I am in a race with a friend and I have to hit 200 pounds by May 5th. Its going to be close. I am currently shifting my calories between 1500 and 2100 every few days. I am keeping my exercise regular for the most part. At least one day a week I will kick up my cardio to one full hour of hard core running and biking.

So thats where I am at at present. Anyone have any ideas or comments that would be great.

Thanks!

Matthew
 
Hey, its weigh in day! Last Friday I weighed in at 217 and this morning I weighed in at 212!!!!!!!!!

This is a great day for me! I have not been this weight since I was in college.

12 more pounds and I will be back to my high school weight. :hurray:
 
great job on the weight loss... i was wondering what happens if you win the race?!? bragging rights maybe?!?
 
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He has to wear pink spandex to work all day. Note we work at a steel fabrication company with a bunch of burly biker guys.
 
Its Monday, which means it was weigh-in day for my competition. With 3 weeks left to go I have lost 3 more pounds. Unfortunately, my buddy lost 3 pounds also. We each have 9 pounds left to hit our goals. Its going to be a close race.

Im going to try to buckle down this week and cut my calories by a couple hundred calories and see what happens with my weight loss. If I slow down then I will kick it back up again.

Yesterday was awesome! I went to this designer clothing store and tried on some jeans. I found out that I cant wear size 36 anymore!!!! :hurray: I am offically into size 34 jeans! Last time I wore 34's was in high school 14 years ago. Very, good day yesterday.

I am hoping by this Friday that I will weigh-in at 209. I still cant believe Im in the teens, but singles would be awesome.

Welp, thats it for now keep rooting me on, and I will post some pics when I win the bet!
 
You are an inspiration. Not just in how your weight loss is going, but the way you live your life in general. 3 weeks, 3 pounds a week? You can do it. I'm looking forward to seeing the pics of the new you. I just wonder, what happens if you and your buddy hit the goal at the same time?
 
Thank you. Its funny cause I see everyone else here as an inspiration.

I just wonder, what happens if you and your buddy hit the goal at the same time?
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If we tie neither one of us has to be embarrased. :/

So last night I started the biggest pychological step to weight loss. The true
commetment. I bagged up my whole dresser of all my cloths that dont fit me
anymore. I plan on taking them to goodwill this weekend.

This is a huge step for me because it means that there is no going back. I wont be able to just gain the weight back no harm no foul. If I gain I have to go buy an entire new set of cloths. So this is it, the point of no return lose the cloths and say good by to Mr Big forever!
 
Last time I wore 34's was in high school 14 years ago.
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A fellow graduate from the class of 1994 :) hehe glad to see I'm not alone...

That is great to hear about the clothes...I have all of mine in a spare bedroom while I decide which ones I am going to alter and which ones I am going to toss. I was going to see a bunch on Ebay but I am thinking that is too much work...

Congrats on the losses - I hope you win your contest :D
 
Congratulations! I'm one of those people who couldn't run that far - period!

I think this time around I'll be getting rid of the clothes as they no longer fit. I bought new ones that did fit, but kept the old ones, and I don't think I should have. Maybe it would be the nudge I need to stay motivated.
 
oh wow i bet that was such a fabulous moment as you were clearing out those clothes... i can almost bet i will cry when that moment comes!!!


... and uh yeh... class of '08 is sooo going to own!!! lmao!!!
 
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Yes, I do too. :iagree:

Well, I have had a big lose of 3 pounds and then I settled into one spot for almost a week. Why is it I always get so upset for hanging at a certain weight for longer than a couple of days? I guess I expect too much of myself. At the beginning I was losing 4 to 5 pounds a week. Now I am down to 2 to 3 pounds, but I have leveled of from time to time. I just wish it wasnt now when Im so close to winning my bet.

At one point in my life I lost a good amount of weight. At the time I weighed in at 240ish and lost back down to 213. Thats where I stopped and couldnt lose anymore. Well guess what. Im right there again, but this time I WILL NOT QUIT!!!!!!!!

I can taste victory, I can taste thinness, I can taste 170 pounds! Give me weight loss or give me death!

Sorry, got a little caught up there. All of this is to say that I will not be defeated again.

Keep on Burning! Matthew out
 
Coffeebro said:
Yes, I do too. :iagree:

Well, I have had a big lose of 3 pounds and then I settled into one spot for almost a week. Why is it I always get so upset for hanging at a certain weight for longer than a couple of days? I guess I expect too much of myself. At the beginning I was losing 4 to 5 pounds a week. Now I am down to 2 to 3 pounds, but I have leveled of from time to time. I just wish it wasnt now when Im so close to winning my bet.

At one point in my life I lost a good amount of weight. At the time I weighed in at 240ish and lost back down to 213. Thats where I stopped and couldnt lose anymore. Well guess what. Im right there again, but this time I WILL NOT QUIT!!!!!!!!

I can taste victory, I can taste thinness, I can taste 170 pounds! Give me weight loss or give me death!

Sorry, got a little caught up there. All of this is to say that I will not be defeated again.

Keep on Burning! Matthew out
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I haven't seen a scale change in pretty close to a month...so I TOTALLY understand how you feel. There have been so many times when I get aggravated/pissed/angry (you get the picture) and just want to quit...so far I have managed to modify my approach. First I stopped weighing myself, only doing it every few weeks (although when I wait that long and there is no change I seem to get just that much more frustrated) and recently I have started doing measurements just so I can see if there is change taking place even without the scale moving.

The most I had ever lost was 50 pounds and I didn't really believe that I could do this until I passed that point and stayed past it. Although there are days where I still wonder if I will make my goal.

Hang in there and just know that if you keep doing what you are supposed to do (cal in<cal out) then things should keep moving in the right direction.

You can do this :D
 
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