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2011-12-15 1:17 PM
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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...
buck1400 - 2011-12-15 1:07 PM
TriAya - 2011-12-15 9:18 AM

... how did you lose the weight? What do you feel were the factors that motivated you to start, and keep, getting fitter? Did you yo-yo? How have you kept it off (or not)?

I am 5'-9" and went from 210 to 160 over about 8 months.

I have kept the weight off and have not really yo-yo'ed.  But the question I highlighted above is the one I am struggling with mentally right now.  To lose the weight I really felt like I had to be "obsesive" about food; I would joke to my wife that the best way to lose weight was to develop an eating disorder.  My question now is, "what now?  do I have to be obsessive the rest of my life about food?"  Really not sure what the answer is.  Someone else on this forum a while back was of the opinion that a person who was overweight for most of their lives would have to maintain this "eating disorder" forever.  Not sure I disagree.

 

 

 

It does feel like an eating disorder for me.  Not all of the time, but enough of the time get a little nutty about excess food sometimes.

Some of my old bad habits are still under the surface.  Like grazing trough the kitchen at night. It's usually nuts and carrots and the like, but the grazing habit is still in place.  Sometimes I stare into cabinets and curse myself for not buying cookies, then I eat some cottage cheese.



2011-12-15 2:06 PM
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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...

Eight years ago I was 241 lbs (I'm 5' 10.5", so BMI 34 = obese).  Had minor ailments associated with obesity (sleep apnea, acid reflux, borderline high BP), but mostly it was being tired of not fitting into my limited supply of dress clothes that finally pushed me into deciding to make a change.  That "straw that broke the camel's back" was a formal photo of my wife and me on a cruise with my parents...I had to move a button on my blazer to fit into it and I looked like crap in the photo...just couldn't abide how I looked at that point.

As I often tell people, I lost 75 lbs on a "fad diet"...called "eat less, eat better, and exercise daily."  Amazing how portion control, eliminating most refined sugar and junk fat content plus upping fiber, and committing to at least walking 20 min every day will make the lbs fly off.  Actually, I lost the first 9 lbs with no regular exercise at all...started walking about 3 1/2 months into my diet when we moved to a neighborhood more conducive to walking (and soon after that, running for the first time in about 12 years).

I hit my original goal weight of 179 in about 1 year and 9 months.  At that point, I had just done my first race (a 10K) in 27 years and I decided to press on down into the 160's.  I've been about 165 (+/- 5 lbs) since Feb 2008...no "yo-yo'ing" at all.  Started losing at age 43--currently 51--so age is not really an issue, IMO.

What I tell people all the time is that you have to start by being brutally honest with yourself when you're obese.  You have to accept that you really do have a health problem (no different from an alcoholic...or a heroin addict, frankly) and that you MUST change your relationship to food (and, again frankly, for most people, also alcohol) to successfully get healthy.  I treat my recovery from obesity EXACTLY like recovery from alcoholism (which I've watched my dad manage successfully, fwiw):  Recommitment to health and an appropriate intake of food each and every day...one day at a time.

My "one day at a time" attitude extends to the scale.  I weigh myself every day (at least when I have access to a scale).  Multiple studies, encompassing many thousands of successes, have demonstrated a direct relationship between regular weigh-ins and weight maintenance.  The mirror can show you what you want to see...the scale can't.

Most importantly--for me, anyhow--I don't train to eat, I eat to train.  (Well, sometimes I get stuck in a period of overconsumption forcing me to workout more than I might want to, but I try to stay out of that cycle.)  Food is fuel...not entertainment.  Quitting drinking alcohol helped, also, but I was also doing well at losing weight when I just limited myself to no more than two drinks per week...so much weight gain in our society is driven by a false equation between healthy self-discipline and "deprivation"..."I won't have as much enjoyment in life if I don't drink with my buddies or order that dessert."  Want to talk "enjoyment of life"?  Think about how much fun you'll be having after congestive heart failure sets in...

Lastly, I never used finishing a race as a "carrot" to get healthy.  My commitment to change was to getting healthy in a sustainable way...so that I would stick with it for a lifetime.  Not interested in taking on motivating tools that injury or disease could take away from me.  I race because I enjoy competition, not to lose or maintain weight...if I didn't race, I'd still workout every day.

2011-12-15 2:08 PM
in reply to: #3940038

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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...
Flapjack - 2011-12-15 2:17 PM
buck1400 - 2011-12-15 1:07 PM
TriAya - 2011-12-15 9:18 AM

... how did you lose the weight? What do you feel were the factors that motivated you to start, and keep, getting fitter? Did you yo-yo? How have you kept it off (or not)?

I am 5'-9" and went from 210 to 160 over about 8 months.

I have kept the weight off and have not really yo-yo'ed.  But the question I highlighted above is the one I am struggling with mentally right now.  To lose the weight I really felt like I had to be "obsesive" about food; I would joke to my wife that the best way to lose weight was to develop an eating disorder.  My question now is, "what now?  do I have to be obsessive the rest of my life about food?"  Really not sure what the answer is.  Someone else on this forum a while back was of the opinion that a person who was overweight for most of their lives would have to maintain this "eating disorder" forever.  Not sure I disagree.

 

 

 

It does feel like an eating disorder for me.  Not all of the time, but enough of the time get a little nutty about excess food sometimes.

Some of my old bad habits are still under the surface.  Like grazing trough the kitchen at night. It's usually nuts and carrots and the like, but the grazing habit is still in place.  Sometimes I stare into cabinets and curse myself for not buying cookies, then I eat some cottage cheese.

Yea, maybe "eating disorder" is too strong, but I know that I can never go back to the way things were, eating whatever, whenever I wanted.  I am trying to build good eating habits that will become second nature.  But I also know that I do use food as comfort, and as a crutch, and that I will always have to fight the urge to eating when am stressed or depressed.

2011-12-15 2:20 PM
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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...
Flapjack - 2011-12-15 11:17 AM
buck1400 - 2011-12-15 1:07 PM
TriAya - 2011-12-15 9:18 AM

... how did you lose the weight? What do you feel were the factors that motivated you to start, and keep, getting fitter? Did you yo-yo? How have you kept it off (or not)?

I am 5'-9" and went from 210 to 160 over about 8 months.

I have kept the weight off and have not really yo-yo'ed.  But the question I highlighted above is the one I am struggling with mentally right now.  To lose the weight I really felt like I had to be "obsesive" about food; I would joke to my wife that the best way to lose weight was to develop an eating disorder.  My question now is, "what now?  do I have to be obsessive the rest of my life about food?"  Really not sure what the answer is.  Someone else on this forum a while back was of the opinion that a person who was overweight for most of their lives would have to maintain this "eating disorder" forever.  Not sure I disagree.

 

 

 

It does feel like an eating disorder for me.  Not all of the time, but enough of the time get a little nutty about excess food sometimes.

Some of my old bad habits are still under the surface.  Like grazing trough the kitchen at night. It's usually nuts and carrots and the like, but the grazing habit is still in place.  Sometimes I stare into cabinets and curse myself for not buying cookies, then I eat some cottage cheese.

I alluded to this point in my own (long) post about my own experience, but there is a lot of current research that more than just suggests that obesity is often associated with an actual addiction to overeating.  The neurobiology is not really different from the mechanisms for alcohol dependency or narcotic addiction.

I think--unfortunately--society does a huge disservice to people who are undertaking a difficult recovery from a very real addictive condition by throwing around labels like "obsessing."  Recovering from habitual overeating is in some respects harder than recovering from most kinds of substance abuse...you can stop smoking or drinking alcohol if you are breaking those habits...if you're an overeater, you still have to eat to live.

2011-12-15 2:26 PM
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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...

Wow, this thread is my new motivation to stay healthy. Thank you all for sharing your stories.

And I can relate to the person who posted about staring into the cabinets wishing they had bought cookies.

2011-12-15 2:33 PM
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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...

I am 5'11.  I used to weigh about 270.  Now I weigh about 180.  It took me about 5 years to get to this point.  I'd say I'm still "trying" to lose weight, but now it's about 5-10 lbs a year.  I've been below 200 for about 2-3 years, and I've been 190 or less for about 2 years.

There were a number of factors that helped get the weight off and now keep it off.  I have a supportive wife who went through a similar process; she's kept 50lbs off for about 5 years.  That helped and continues to help as she has similar athletic and health goals.

Keeping a long-term perspective of what I wanted to achieve and how to achieve it has helped.  Losing 90lbs in a year or two would have been impossible for me.  90lbs over the course of 5 years is a lot different.  We have made small lifestyle changes over time that slowly add up. The big thing is "lifestyle change", not a diet.  Any change that one makes that is not sustainable will not help you 1, 5, or 10 years from now.

Eating and exercising the way we do now would have been unthinkable and impossible 5 years ago.  Now it's our reality and it's not difficult to maintain.

As for keeping it off, it's not that hard to do as the way we live is dramatically different.  It's not terribly conducive for gaining weight.  Furthermore, I live in a general state of fear and paranoia of getting fatter and slower; I know that these two thing are closely linked and it pays off (for me) to keep working on both.



2011-12-15 2:34 PM
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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...
Five year ago I was upto 254lbs.  I lost 30lbs by changing my deit.   Then three years ago I decide the only way I would loose any more weight was to exersise on a regular basis.  So I did the only sane thing I could think of sign up for Ironman Boulder 70.3.  At that point I could not even ride a bike for 20 miles or run a mile without walking let alone swim.  I spent almost a year sore but, I finished (6hr 57min.)  I am now down to 186 working on going down to 170.  Triathlons keep me working out.
2011-12-15 3:12 PM
in reply to: #3940161

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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...

I alluded to this point in my own (long) post about my own experience, but there is a lot of current research that more than just suggests that obesity is often associated with an actual addiction to overeating.  The neurobiology is not really different from the mechanisms for alcohol dependency or narcotic addiction.

I think--unfortunately--society does a huge disservice to people who are undertaking a difficult recovery from a very real addictive condition by throwing around labels like "obsessing."  Recovering from habitual overeating is in some respects harder than recovering from most kinds of substance abuse...you can stop smoking or drinking alcohol if you are breaking those habits...if you're an overeater, you still have to eat to live.

Good points.  Recovering addict.  I think I can accept that label.  I think it pretty well summarizes my relationship with food right now.



Edited by buck1400 2011-12-15 3:13 PM
2011-12-15 3:17 PM
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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...

I'm 6'1"

325lbs.

 Reading these stories are very inspirational to me!  Thank you all!

 

My journey began 2 weeks ago.

I'll let you know in a year exactly how it turns out...



Edited by RushTogether 2011-12-15 3:17 PM
2011-12-15 3:18 PM
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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...
It can be done!
2011-12-15 3:30 PM
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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...

Around 1992 I was in the 228 range.  About 8 years ago I was 275.  Depression, overeating, etc.  No real excuse.  I was on vacation in MX, and had a dive gear bag on which the airlines had attached a tag saying "Heavy."  Someone said "they should put that on you."   That was enough to convince me that no one was going to change me but me.

So with mostly diet I got down to around 245, when I found this site.  I used training as an excuse to eat, so even though I was IM training at times, and HIM training, I never got much below 220.  Raced most years at the 235-240 range.

This fall I got motivated again, for whatever reason, and decided to change the way I eat. As Todd says, the scale didn't lie, even though I looked in the mirror and thought I wasn't too bad.  After all, i did tris!!!   And I am 6'2" and built .. portly....  so I can carry a few extra lbs well.

Sept 1 I was 235, today I was 213, current goal is sub 210, and go from there.  Current plan is (1) don't drink your calories (2) eat smaller meals every three hours - usually a protein and a fruit/veggie, but I still have my morning coffee and bagel, and I still eat carbs; and (3) no eating after dinner (I used to get probably 500 or so calories in after dinner...  it adds up)

BTW, I was "obese" per BMI, and I am still firmly in the middle of the overweight category. I would need to lose 19 more pounds to be "normal" ( I don't put much stock in BMI, but I bring it up because I fit the "obese" definition.

While I originally always thought that 19 more pounds (down to 194 or so) was "ridiculous, where would that weight come from???"  having lost 22 so far, and seeing further areas for improvement, it's not such a a crazy idea.



Edited by ChrisM 2011-12-15 3:31 PM


2011-12-15 3:36 PM
in reply to: #3940315

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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...

I grew up as an athlete, playing basketball & volleyball, receiving offers to attend college on a basketball tender.  (I didn't accept but that's a different story for a different day...)  As I reached my mid-30's, I went over 300lbs but still didn't acknowledge that I was fat and had a weight problem.  I figured that I was just lazy and could lose the weight if I wanted to.

My "moment" came about 12 or 13 years ago when I took the family to HI for vacation.  The day before we were scheduled to come home there was a triathlon taking place on the island.  As we were driving along the run route, we passed a racer that was my size (fat) running in speedos and a race belt.  My thought was, "If he can do it, why can't I?"

When we got back to the mainland, I began to talk to my wife about my desire to exercise and get in shape.  It took some time and effort but I eventually got down to ~240 lbs and was comfortable there.  (I'm 6'5" and have a muscular build, so that's an okay weight for me.)

In 2010, I signed up for and finished IM Louisville.  Through all that training, I got to around 225 and was full of energy.  Then, the post-IM blues took over.  I trained VERY sporadically for the next 12 months and my weight went back to over 260lbs.

It was, literally, 3 weeks ago that the light came on and the desire for fitness returned.  (I think this was mostly due to my disgust of the view staring back at me in the mirror.)  For the past 2 weeks I have been pretty regularly exercising and am under 260 and aiming to get back under 240.  I'll get there eventually but know that I have to take the journey slowly and move my lifestyle back to a more healthy place.

I've enjoyed reading about the successes of others and that motivates me more to stay on the good path.  Thanks everyone!

ETA: Yes, Flapjack, it can be done!  And I will do it!



Edited by cornchexs 2011-12-15 3:38 PM
2011-12-15 3:36 PM
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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...

DP



Edited by cornchexs 2011-12-15 3:37 PM
2011-12-15 3:41 PM
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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...

I was at almost 250 and now at 189-192 and have been as low as 186 (I'm 5'11) and my goal is to be around 175-180.. My wife is a health nut and got me to change my diet. Quit smoking a year ago and cardio has helped me from smoking (dont ever want to feel that "my lungs feel like they are on fire and melting and I want to die" feeling).  One of my friends planted the Tri bug and I plan on doing my first events in 2012 Smile



Edited by seankanary 2011-12-15 3:47 PM
2011-12-15 3:45 PM
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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...

Last Dec17th, I just had it, I was 315#, Im 6'1, everything hurt, hated the way I felt and looked. My first grandson had just been born the month before, I was pre hypertension. I had LapBand surgery that day. I usually dont tell people because they dont hear the rest of the story. I went to work, exercising as much as possible, paying attention to my foods, the LapBand was a "tool", I worked it.

Today, Im 215# did 1 sprint tri last year and planning many more this year and maybe an OLY by the end of the year. I was actually 213 on Oct 12th, but I had a hernia aggravated and it put a big damper on my exercise routine untill the 5th of this month, had hernia suregery, Im feeling good today and getting back on the exercise horse, 10miles on the bike yesterday, my goal is 200-205#.

 

2011-12-15 3:59 PM
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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...

I am humbled and inspired by the responses so far.

I've had my journey, too. I remember when the write-up of my physical came back with "MORBID OBESITY" on top. I knew I'd gotten chunky, but ... morbidly obese?! At that point, I think I was around 250 (at 5' 3" and change), but it wasn't enough to shock me into change (yet) ... I still gained a good bit of weight after that, not sure how much. I don't think I got to 300.

What's really sad is that I had been a world-class athlete before that. I chose academics over continuing a profession in that sport, but I made all sorts of other terrible life choices that spun me out to a great weight. An injury also left me sedentary and I didn't change my eating habits to match, nor pick up another sport.

I lost the first 30 in a partying binge (alcohol and ++, dancing, horizontal dancing, total general insanity), but also wound up losing my gallbladder and got pneumonia because of it.

But ... the whole of my journey up to then did inspire me to get sober, and with that, continue to keep the weight off and lose more. A few months or about a year later came endurance athletics (my first marathon) and that took more weight off and made me want to eat better to fuel running. Eventually tri came into the picture. Eventually I lost, when at the lowest weights, probably 140-150 lbs off my highest.

I have done some yo-yoing (gain/lose about 20lbs a year) and once most notably due to some medication I was on for a while (actually blew up less than expected for those types) and was up to 180 lbs. However, over time, the trend has always been down.

I'm probably about 30lbs less than my avatar right now, but I've been really sick lately, so I anticipate some of that weight may come back as I'm able to eat more. I'm actually going to try to stay here. We'll see.



2011-12-15 4:55 PM
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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...

I've battled my weight my entire life.  I was a child of the 'willowy' 70's and no one would ever use the world to describe me, no matter how thin I got.  I had a tall thin mom, a tall thin brother and an ex-football star for a father. And then there was chunky little me.  

At my heaviest, just over 2 years ago I topped out at 175 lbs.  At 5'4", that was 'obese'.  That is when I signed up for my first tri. I had been as low as 132 as an adult through diet and weight training (and gym cardio), but I couldn't hold it there.  I was always a body builder and a sprinter...so trying to do something in the endurance arena was really tough for me.  It was a different kind of challenge since day one, but it worked.. I was slowly getting back into shape, losing weight and I was enjoying the journey.   I am down over 30 lbs, but I am still not at my goal.  I've got about 15 lbs to go before I re-evaluate.

The difference is that this time, I will get there and I will stay there.  My journey is not fast, but it's steady and it's sustainable.  It's taken me 2 years to lose 30 lbs, so I expect that by this time next year (or sooner), I'll be at my goal.  As I lost the weight, I had to adjust my diet.  At first, cutting out the worst foods worked.  Then when the loss stalled, I had to take it up a notch and clean up the diet even further.  Then it stalled again.  Now I'm paleo and honestly, I feel so damn good about it that I have complete confidence that I'll make my goals for the first time in my entire life.  The difference is that eating this way has removed completely (100%) my food obsession.  My family has always joked that it was a good thing I was such an athlete growing up or I'd have been 300 lbs the way I reacted to food.  I was always thinking about it.  In the past, I only lost weight by sheer willpower because the cravings and desired were always there...sometimes well hidden.  Now, they're gone.  Now I feel what I think 'normal' people feel about food.  

I'll let you know next year if I've made my goal and if I am able to maintain it...but right now, I'm very confident that I will.

2011-12-15 5:04 PM
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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...

I have lost about 105lbs or so. I yo-yo between 157lbs and 165lbs. I was as high as 267lbs in 2007/2008. I went from 44 pant and 2XL shirt to a 32 pant and a S shirt. At 68" I was morbidly obese.

I just got sick of it and sick of my wife kicking me at night because I was keeping her up with my snoring. I was about to get kicked to the couch! I spent a lot of time and money at the doctor because I felt like crap all of the time and nothing was ever wrong despite myriad tests.  I figured it had to be weight. I was also a 20 year smoker. I quit 6 years ago which was another reason I gained weight.

I bought a cheap bicycle and started riding and started using Excel to track my calories. I figured out my RMR and cut from there. I learned a lot by surfing the net and Googling stuff. I started running in late 2008 wanting to keep the weight loss going. I decided to try a triathlon in 2009 and also ran my fist marathon.

It's been 'on' from there and I just did my first IM this year in under 12. I've kept the weight off since hitting this size in early 2010.

I'm much happier now.



Edited by TriFlorida 2011-12-15 5:11 PM
2011-12-15 5:04 PM
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DanielG - 2011-12-16 4:34 AM
chrishayward - 2011-12-15 12:29 PM

From 240 to 175.   Previous pack-a-day smoker

Oh yeah, I forgot about that part. I smoked about a pack a day from 14 until 39 or 40. That was six months after I decided I was fat and started losing weight.After my first sprint tri I kept running to the end of the building and lit a cigarette One day I had enough, said this is my last pack and never bought another pack nor did I bum any. I was done being a smoker.One thing that drives me nuts is the, "Don't you feel better since you quit?" Well, honestly no I don't. No difference in breathing or whatnot. If I hit 85 I may start back up. May not.
I always say that I really enjoyed smoking. If it wasn't so bad for me and likely to kill me I'd take it back up again in a second. I gave up cold turkey also and never looked back.
2011-12-15 5:04 PM
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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...

in 2004, I was 5'8.5" and 200(ish) pounds so my BMI was 30 (technically "obese").  I wasn't particularly "active" (I could keep up with the scouts on campouts and with my boys doing family things).  In January, I committed to be one of the leaders (actually, *the* leader) taking a group of boys to Philmont for a two-week backpacking trip.  By October, I'd succeeded in dropping to about 195# and realized if I was going to get below 170# to have a great trip, I needed to change some things in my life.  So...no more candy bars in the desk drawer, no more cookies, chips, etc. outside of meals, no seconds, and start some daily exercise.  I managed to lose 5# in November and between 5 and 10# in December.  I continued to watch what I ate like a hawk, including more fruit and vegetables, and I increased my exercise a little bit at a time.  By June, I was down to 160# and my avatar pic is from that trip. 

I've kept most of the weight off, staying 170-175 much of the time with a few excursions to 165 and 180.  Ironman training got me down to 160# again (twice). 

My diet is not nearly so clean now (I work out enough to burn it off). 

2011-12-15 6:58 PM
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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...

In November of 2010, I got on the scales and saw a number I had never seen before.  I'm 5'8" and weighed 179.  I had been unhappy with my weight, appearance and pant size for several years.  Historically, I had not been an overweight person, but in the past few years, I went through menopause, endured a stressful job, and broke my shoulder.  But that day on the scales, I knew i needed to stop making excuses.  If I wanted to lose weight, I had to get serious! Instead of just talking about it or wishing I was thinner, I was going to actually have to DO something about it. 

I started keeping a food journal.  I wrote down every morsel of food that passed my lips.  That was an eye opener and it kept me accountable.  I joined a gym and started going daily.  I "scheduled" my exercise just like any other part of my day.  I told myself that if I can find time to shower, do my hair/make-up, watch tv, surf the web, etc....., I could commit to at least 30 minutes of exercise every day.  I started to walk/run and lift weights.  Before long, I was walking less and running more.  I added cycling to my exercise program.  Then I ran across this website and the idea of a triathlon caught my attention.  So I started swimming a few times a week. 

I started losing weight right away.  Some weeks, more than others.  I weighed myself everyday and wrote my weight down on my calendar at work.  This gave me a great visual to "see" my numbers getting smaller and smaller. 

I knew i wanted to make a life change, not go on a diet.  So I made sure to change my eating habits.  I stopped buying cookies, candies, etc.  I stopped going through the drive in at McDonalds every morning for a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit.  I made healthy food choices and felt so much better!

I'm now 60 pounds lighter.  At 119, most of my family/friends think I border on too thin.  I'm happy with my current weight and am enjoying my new lifestyle (swim, bike run) and have not plans to stop.



2011-12-15 7:22 PM
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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...

I haven't read the entire thread, but here's my general story.

I was 'big' my whole life.  I remember being the biggest girl in school for..  almost my whole life.  I don't know when I broke 200 lbs, but I'm guessing it was sometime around 19 years old.  I got married, had 2 kids, and wound up weighing 290 lbs and in a deep deep depression. 

That was November of 2007. 

I have a photo of myself that I keep as reference to where I've been.  It is that photo that motivated me to change.  I did a lot of hot yoga, went to Bikram Yoga Teacher Training, lost about 60lbs, and felt better.  I got complacent..  then in August of last year, decided I wanted to try running.  Long story short I got really hurt, gave up, then started over.  I started the journey I am on now at 224 pounds.  I was inspired by one of my best friends Kerikadi who was already doing tris.  I ran a 5K, signed up for a Half Marathon, bought a bike, and decided to give tris a try. 

I now weigh about 165,  I'm officially 125 pounds lighter than I was in 2007.  I am a triathlete, a runner, a half marathoner, and I will soon be a marathoner.  Triathlon was the kick in the I needed and I love it.  I am not fast, or fierce.  I will probably never place, I will probably always be an Athena.  But I am so happy to be part of this community of amazing athletes.  Being healthy is the best gift I've ever given myself. 

2011-12-15 8:38 PM
in reply to: #3939370

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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...
In 1995, I was 6'0'' and 250 lbs. I went from working in a restaurant to a papermill which was hot and a lot of physical labor. In 3 months, I lost 70 lbs. I felt so good, I started walking the dog and then jogging with the dog. After having trouble jogging because I was still a smoker, I finally gave up that habit. In 2000, I started mountain biking. In 2010, Istarted P90x. In 2011, I did my first xterra & 1/2 marathon. At a 170 lbs, eating right, and the exercise bug latch to my backside, I don't think I'll be quitting anytime soon. 2012 - in addition to triathlons, I will attempt my 1st marathon - the Leadville marathon. Hey if I can run up to Mosquito Pass at 13000 ft and back, I can do any marathon.
2011-12-15 8:54 PM
in reply to: #3939370

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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...

Very motivational to read all the posts. I've been thinking about it and hope to post tomorrow about my journey.

2011-12-15 9:19 PM
in reply to: #3940617

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Subject: RE: If you were obese and now are not ...
It is great to see all the hard work pay off. I have been a yo-yo for the past 10 years. I did the best at losing weight when I was really stressed from a divorce. Now, I am happy and fat. My question to myself is can I do it without the chip on my shoulder? Lets hope so.....
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