Weight Loss milestone

I weighed in the other day at 256lbs.  I officially lost over 150lbs and got another ribbon.  I am 16lbs away from goal of 240lbs.  I started this process on June 11th 2012.

I am only a few weeks away from starting to introduce food back into my diet.  The transition phase takes 4 weeks.  Then I will be eating a balanced low calorie diet the rest of my life.  Reducing the amount I eat by consuming less and choosing foods that are healthier and lower in calories.

I'll continue to loose weight during the transition and plan to stick to a lower calorie diet throughout the year to maintain the weight loss.  I have a couple of areas I want to focus on as part of my life long goal of keeping the weight off.

1.  Eat less.  No matter what the food (no such thing as bad or taboo food).  The less healthy the food the less I should eat of it.   Don't eat more calories a day that I need to maintain.

2.  Change the proportions of what I eat.  Mostly vegetables and fruits with protein based foods and very little carbs or sugars.  I've been a vegetarian for over 26 years its about time I eat like one.

3.   Stay active.  Walk mostly at least 4 to 5 times a week.  Do things that get me moving.

Another Weight Loss update and thoughts.

I weighed in the other day at my weekly doctor checkup.  It has officially been 6 months since I started.   I began this adventure at 408lbs and just weighed in at 263lbs.   I set my goal at 240lbs so I only have 23lbs more to loose.  Another 5lbs and I will have lost 150lbs.  But more exiting is that my body fat percentage was 38% and now it is 21% (normal range is 22-11%).   My hydration level was 46% and is now 57% (desirable value is anything above 60%).   I'm really pleased with my progress so far.  I'm a little behind where I thought I'd be right now but the body does what it wants and all you can do is deal with it.    I have a self imposed deadline to be eating normally by the 3rd week in February so when I take my Disneyland trip I  a can just eat what I want during the trip and not have to pack shakes or have special food choices (I do enough of that being vegetarian).  I'll probably be fasting for another 4-6 weeks.  Then I transition to eating food during the next 4 weeks and then maintain a daily calorie level and exercise  program that I can maintain the rest of my life.  In fact my goal for 2013 is to loose more weight so I am down to 225lbs by 2014 and then keep to that weight the rest of my life.

As I look back on this adventure I put myself on over the 6 months I think about how long it took me to get to 410lbs and how quickly and easily it was to loose it all.  I am also amazed each day of this process how much I have missed the qualities of life that being a normal healthy weight brings you and how you forget them and don't value them enough when you are heavy.   Things like...

Being able to tie your shoes easily.
Bending over with ease.
Walking up stairs or carrying something without being out of breath.
Sleeping soundly without snoring and waking up throughout the night.
Having more energy than you know what to do with.
Fitting into clothes that you just buy at any store.
Being able to sit in booths at restaurants.
Being able to fit comfortably in an airplane seat without asking for a seat belt extension.
Theater seats that feel comfortable and chairs with arms that don't cut into my legs.
Having plenty of room in the car to put the armrest down.
Realizing that 2-3 miles of a walk is no trouble at all.
Wanting to walk to the store to buy one item instead of driving less than a mile.
Walking the neighborhood and exploring where I live.

If anyone out there wants to add this list to the things they want out of life I am living proof that it can happen.  I'm not a health nut and can't stand going to the gym or lifting weights.  I don't eat well (although I did made a choice a LONG time ago to be vegetarian).   This process isn't complicated and it works.   If you need to loose a lot of weight and want to change your life and you can spend 4-7 months not eating and doing little travel it is worth the results.
  

Latest weight loss news

It has been 21 weeks.  I am down to 280lbs and counting.  I have lost over 128lbs so far.  I recently got my 125lb pound ribbon which is my 5th 25lb ribbon in total so far.  I have 40lbs more to go to my goal which will include another 150lb ribbon and a final goal reaching ribbon.  Then it is on to maintenance and a life of keeping it off.

I can't tell you how different I feel.   It is almost like living in someone else's body.   None of my old clothes fit and each day I am discovering new things I can fit into.  I notice little things about myself now that I never noticed before.  I was sitting on the couch and looked down to see a "real" lap.  One that the cats can sleep on and a sloping L shape from my thighs to my chest that I hardly recognize.  Don't even get me started on my energy levels and my sleep and rest.   I feel I could take on any challenge that comes my way after this achievement.

The next 8 to 10 weeks are going to be the toughest as I start to loose my resolve for this fasting routine but I am determined to make my goal weight and even more determined to spend the rest of my life keeping it off.

Weight Loss milestone

Last week I got my 100lb ribbon.  I weighed in at 303lbs after 16 weeks.  I get one of these after every 25lbs lost.   Looking forward to my 125lb and 150lb ribbon in the months to come.

Going to have a little celebration next week when I should officially weigh less than 300lbs.   My goal fo 240lbs is getting closer and closer.

Weight Loss update

I'm working on week 12 of my 28 week program.    I have lost 78lbs so far.   Which seems like a LOT but if you need to loose 170lbs it isn't even half way.  But I'm already feeling the difference.   The fasting with 5 shakes a day is getting easier and easier to do.   I am enjoying the new found energy and restful nights.  My overall well being is much happier than it has been in many years.   I don't know why it takes something drastic like this to make me realize what I have been missing.    I'm really looking forward to the final results. My goal is to continue to fast until I am at 240lbs or under 22% body fat.   I'd like to continue to work on weight loss once I start eating again and try to get to 230lbs or maybe a bit less by just watching my diet and continue with my daily walks.

My other big goal is to keep the weight off.  This is actually the hardest part and the part I am most nervous about.  I don't want to slip back into old eating habits and truly want to change my lifestyle and live the next decade a healtheir person.   One of the benefits of being average weight is being able to pay for normal health insurance and life insurance without being denied or turned down.  The next 10 years are going to be interesting.

Losing more weight

I'm into week 9 now on my 28 week liquid fast weight loss program.   I've lost over 60lbs.  I'm down to 345  from 408.  I still have 100lbs to go but it is getting closer.  Only 19 weeks to go to reach my goal weight of 240.  Once I reach that weight or my body mass analysis says that I am below 22% body fat I'll start the 12 week maintenance process to start eating again.   My long term goal is to try to loose even more weight once I start eating normal food again through just careful diet and my walking.

I've decided what I want to do for my birthday and as a reward for the weight loss.   We are going to take a trip to Disneyland.  Stay at the Disneyland hotel and visit the park for 5 days.  I haven't been to Disneyland since we left California in 1988.  The last time I stayed at the Disney Hotel was when I was 10 in 1973.  I am looking forward to spending my 50th birthday there.

33 Pounds and counting

It is the start of week 5 on my 28 week fast.   I am down 33 pounds with only 135 to go.   23 week seems like such a long time to be doing this still.  I try to think that at 5 weeks I am only 9 weeks away from half way.  So far no bumps in the road.  I'm just taking it one day at a time.

One of the unexpected things is that I am really enjoying my walks each night with Chris.  We walk in our neighborhood for 30-45 minutes.  Gives a chance to talk about stuff.  It is very relaxing and goes by really fast.  I look forward to them every day.  We only are doing it on weekdays since our weekends are booked with busy halloween stuff.

Losing weight....again.

A while ago I stepped on the scale and saw that I was over 410lbs.   I knew I needed to do something but life had been busy.  I vowed that this summer I'd do something about it.  I'd been here before.  When I was 30  I weighed 360lbs and I went on a medically supervised weight loss program and got down to 235lbs.  I gained it back and more 7 years later and did the fast again and got back down to 240lbs.  Now that I am 49 and even heavier now I am again going on the very low calorie diet.   It is a tough program to go through but you loose the weight faster and it keeps you motivated and there is an achievable goal in sight.

This time I want to get down to 240 and keep it off and in fact spend the rest of my life loosing some more and maintaining a healthy weight as I get older.   I'm going to try to be more active and completely change my eating habits and choices.

So as of June 11th I am on a 5 shake per day diet (900 calories).   I drink 2 quarts of water a day and try to walk 30-45min 5 times a week.  I'll stay on this routine until the end of the year sometime in December and then take 12 weeks to reintroduce food back into my diet.

The best way to handle this is one day at a time, one week at a time, one pound at a time.

I'm already down to 382.   Only 142 more to go.

Thoughts about life

The art of life is the art of avoiding pain; and he is the best pilot, who steers clearest of the rocks and shoals with which it is beset.

- Thomas Jefferson

I am a big fan of American History. I recently watched a HBO mini-series on John Adams and the above quote was spoken by Thomas Jefferson. It sort of rang true to me. I think avoiding pain is more luck than skill but I've spent the better part of my adult life staying out of painful situations. Having lost my mother at an early age (for her and for me) I've unknowingly avoided anything that would cause me to feel that or any pain like it again. But I think Mr. Jefferson had it right. There is an art to avoiding pain which is also a way of life. I've been blessed with only one tragedy in my life so far and no other real trials to speak off. Some would say that makes me soft but I would argue that it makes me happy in life.

Birthday thoughts 2012

Today is my 49th birthday. I have a simple day planned spending it with a friend and then an evening with my wife.

As I sit here and think about my upcoming 50th birthday which I have to say freaks me out just a bit. It will become harder and harder to think of myself as a young boy. But something I thought about is where I was in my life at each turn of a decade.

In 1973 I was living in Salinas California and turned 10. Probably had a traditional birthday party with cake and presents. I might have a picture of me somewhere.

In 1983 at 20 I was living off campus in Spokane Washington at Whitworth College. I probably spent the day in classes.

In 1993 my wife Chris threw me a 30th birthday bash in the back room of Patty's bar and Grill.

In 2003 for my 40th I was in London with my wife and little brother and his girlfriend at the time. They had bought me a cake and blew up some balloons and decorated the flat.

So for 2013 who knows what I will be doing or where.

Unemployed again

Chris was let go from her job back at the end of August. I got laid off mid December. We still haven't found jobs yet. This is the first time in our 28 year marriage that we've both been out of work at the same time. It has been an interesting winter getting used to being around each other 24/7 and learning to cut expenses where we can.

It is an odd feeling as you approach 50 to be out of work with no clear career goals and not much to show for the past quarter century of employment. Next week is my 49th birthday. My skillset is very outdated and there are no jobs out there for that skill anymore. Time to retrain or find a new career. Neither I thought I'd be doing at my age.