Enough people have asked when I have posted progress on social media, so I just thought I would document what I am doing.
As of 7/9/2022, I have lost 85 lbs since 10/21/2021.
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| Data from 10/21/2021 to 7/9/2022 |
I was a skinny, skinny kid, and as a teenager, was consuming between 3000 and 5000 calories daily. For my 17th birthday, my mother took me to Whataburger, a Texas-based burger chain, which is still my favorite. She told me I could eat as many Whataburgers as I wanted, with one order for fries, and one large Dr. Pepper. She would buy one burger at a time.
I ate 7.
That was an extreme day, but I ate a lot, not only burgers. I would go through apples, oranges, bananas, cheese, and ice cream like they were going out of style. I ate some veggies as well, but I also loaded up on mashed potatoes, rice, and pasta.
At the time, I had just reached by current height of 6'0" (183 cm), but I weighed 120 lbs (54 kg).
When I went to college, I did not have a car, and I rode my bike everywhere. I worked and eventually lived off-campus, so I was riding between 80 and 150 miles (130 to 240 km)/week. I bulked out to about 170 lbs (77 kg) by the end of my 4th year in college (I went five a half years).
Then I bought a car.
Within 1.5 years, I was up to 200 lbs. I hit 230 in 1990 at the age of 24, and it kept going up.
In 2001, I had almost hit 300 lbs. I was diagnosed per-diabetic, and had high-blood pressure. I quit sugar, and lost 45 lbs in six months! Alas, I increased all of my other intake.
In 2010, my triglycerides were normal, but I weighed 265. I somehow decided that I did not need to quit sugar anymore. Besides, when you have young children, it's impossible to keep a diet or exercise program.
During the months of September and October 2021, I receive three pretty critical diagnoses. I was diagnosed with depression, ADHD, and diabetes. And I was carrying 335 pounds.
This shit got real.
I made the decision to live, and tackle everything.
I was put on Bupropiol for depression, Aderall for ADHD, and Ozempic for diabetes. The last two are appetite suppressants.
I decided to mostly quit carbs. No more potatoes, rice, tortillas, bread, sweets, or pasta. I have mostly kept to it, although I still have 3 or 4 sandwiches or tacos/burritos per week. But no fries, or rice, or potatoes.
With the anti-depressant medication, my mood is much more positive. The ADHD meds have left me more focused. And the appetite suppressants are working.
With all of that, my resolve is firm, and I have good will power, and the weight has melted off.
I do keep having to buy more clothes:
- Pant size used to be 52" waist; it's now 44"
- Shirt size used to be XXXL or XXXLB; for polos and tee-shirts, I can wear L, but for button-downs, I still need XXL.
- I had some fitted baseball caps size 7 5/8 or 7 1/2. I just bought a Bowling Green Hot Rods cap, size 7 3/8.
- I can wear my dress shoes again.
- The suit I bought in 2010 is now hanging a little loose on me.
- I need to have my custom-made tux altered before the next time I am required to wear one for a gig.
But I feel great. I am much more limber and flexible, and have more energy. I have more cardio stamina, but I do get low on enery, so I have to watch that. But this has been fun.
My weight app says that above 226 lbs is "Excess", and that if I can hit that goal, my weight will be "High". I don't know where this will stop, but that seems like a reasonable goal.
