Weight Loss

Never Fast Enough

2005-06-15T07:03:00.000-07:00

Well I weighed myself this morning and I was estatic that I was 239. I am in the 230's. Really that is a big accomplishment since I started around 270. But even after all that weight loss, I feel like not much has changed. I still have this belly. I still have love handles. I just have to stay focused and keep working on it. I realized I have only been doing this agressively for about 3 months. So 30 pounds in 3 months is good. But it just stinks, it takes so long to take off all this flubber.

Back from Across the Pond & My Doctor Info

2005-06-02T19:39:00.000-07:00

Well I got back from my company business/vacation trip to London and Paris, and it was wonderful. I did forget my medicine, but walking an incredible amount kept me from gaining any weight. We had a great time, it was unbelievable. Traditionally one wouldn't have to worry about gaining weight in London, but our company really did it up. Lots of wine, liquor, and gobs of food.

It was actually nice to still be able to maintain my weight and eat quite a bit, due to my activity level.

Anyway's, I had a request to know what doctor I was using, and if he took blood work to tailor fit a weight loss solution to each individual and any of their specific conditions. My doctor's name is Dr. Jay Piatek and he does do blood work to see if you have any specific issues. He test your thyroid level, testosterone, and sugar levels, and does a 9 minute breathing test that indicates your daily caloric energy level, (at least that is what he tested on me). I will say other than verifying that medical information, he doesn't use any secret formula. I get the sense he prescribes "Adipex" or a generic for of this classic appetite suppressant, coupled with the traditional advice to exercise 3-5 days a week (for at least 20 minutes) to a majority of his clients. He also strongly encourages that 2 days a week (and no more than 3 days a week) you do some kind of strength training. Basically with the understanding, to sustain long term weight loss you have to increase your metabolism level. This can be done with regular exercise and strength training. Now please understand me, he isn't wanting people to become exercise junkies. He even thinks the strength training should be around 20-30 minutes and that is it. He does proclaim that using Adipex with exercise you will get a magnified results as it is supposed to kick start your metabolism. He makes you go to a 2 hour info session or watch a DVD prior to your first session. All this being said, I will say he can be expensive. The first session is around $400 and it is approximately $100 each additional session (that is including the cost of medicine). He initially has each client set appointment every two weeks. So that can get expensive. He says that the percentage of success is a lot higher with clients that visit every two weeks. I will say he is truthful, he does tell you that the biggest indicator of success if "you" and he helps with sitting goals and provides motivation.

Pro & Cons.

Cons:

Very expensive, if you have drive you could get the same medical crutch by visiting any normal doctor and get adipex prescribed that doesn't have the increased cost (granted they don't specialize in weight loss 7 they probably won't run all of the tests I mentioned above).

Going every two weeks can be hard to fit into a schedule.

Pro's:

He is a specialist and he truly understands obesity and the wide variety of causes and factors that help influence your weight. He sees around 1000 patients a month.

You always see him. You get weighed in by a staff member, but you always meet with the doctor every visit.

Although I mentioned two weeks being a con, it is also a positive. Their is this psychological factor that makes you want to do good for your "teacher."

He is also a realist. He doesn' t tell you all you have to do is take this pill. He tells everyone you must make some changes with regard to diet and exercise. He preaches that you must take in less calories than you consume. I AM TIRED OF FAD DIETS.

Having the machine that weighs you and tells you how much you have lost or gained. It will tell you if you gained or loss muscle, water, or fat. This is a good way to tell what your true weight loss is.

I found him through this article. http://fatnews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/how-to-lose-weight-with-phentermine-5-htp-exercise-and-motivational-techniq/

Going to the Doctor...

2005-05-12T07:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I am going back to my weight loss specialist today. I last went two weeks ago and I have lost 10 pounds.... I have lots of questions for him, and he had under estimated some of my measurements. There are times when I got, wow, I lost 17 pounds and I don't see that big of a difference. Then I hear my doctor saying losing weight is like getting rich, it doesn't happen over night and 3 pounds this week 2 pounds next week and after several months it a big difference. So I am keeping focused and just plugging away. When you were 70 pounds over weight it take about 30 lbs or so to start to see a difference. Of course my clothes are starting to fit better. Pants that I couldn't wear I can now, that sort of thing. Pant's that I shouldn't have worn actually fit... So I guess that is good.

Wow - Results -----

2005-05-11T16:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I have being have a lot of success. I now weight 250 pounds. That is 17 pounds down from where I was 5 weeks ago. I have been eating once a day (in the evening). The adipex I was prescribed really does a great job of curbing my hunger. I wake up at 6:00 am and work out do cardio for 25-30 minutes. I then take my adipex around 11:00 am, and then drink some Diet Dr. Peppers when I fear some hunger pains. And it works pretty good. I am eating a pretty normal dinner. I am staying away from sweets. But I eat "baked fries," maconroni & cheese, just normal things. It actually helps me a lot. Because there are a lot days I know I am going to be bad at night. I may be going somewhere where I know I will have a couple of drinks and be around a lot of bad food, and I can feel pretty good about it, because I am not eating throughout the day.

I go to the doctor tomorrow. I am curious to see my blood test results.

My doctor is doing great. I think the biggest thing is I take 5htp at night. It is a herbal supplement that is an appetite suppressant that has some drowsy effects. The good news is, since I started taking it I haven't woke up in the middle of the night. And that was my biggest problem.

WEIGHT LOSS

I seem to be loosing about 1 pound every 2 days. That really excites me, but I know it won't continue at that pace forever.

PRINCIPLES

Well, I continue to workout every work day, before work. I eat very little during the day, snacking on broccoli, carrots, celery, etc. I eat a normal meal for dinner. And I use 5htp with a prescribed appetite suppressant "adipex."

And so I march on. Check back for some photos.

Doing Well

2005-05-05T09:11:00.000-07:00

Well all is going pretty good. I actually went to a doctor and have been doing a great job of eating right and working out each morning before work. The doctor has put me on advise which is an appetite suppressant. And it has been working great. I now weigh 255. Which is 15 pounds under where I was a month ago. Now granted it hasn't been easy.

Some other good news. I am going to London for work next month.... Yeah. Bad news, none of my clothes fit. So I have had to buy some things. Which I hate, b/c as I contiue to lose even these clothes will not fit (for the good reason - too big).

I'm Back !

2005-04-14T07:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I went off online for a few months but I am back. No signifigant weight loss. I did join a local gym and I have been going there several times a week. I have been watching my carbs, and on Monday I am going to a doctor who specializes in weight loss / control. My biggest problem has been getting up and eating at night. Although for the past two weeks I have been very good.

We had some friends come down last weekend and I went off task. We had a great time.

This weekend we are going to Nashville for a family gathering. I am not looking too foward to that, but it shouldn't be that bad. We got a hotel room and that is always fun.

OOOHHH I fogort to tell you all. I earned a company trip to London and Paris next month. We are going for 9 days. It should be so fun.....

Way Off Track

2005-01-11T18:05:00.000-08:00

Okay, I have been horible. I have no excuse but the new year and holidays somehow got the best of me. I have gain every pound that I lost. But I am going to climb back on this train of healthy choices.

I promise to update this site at least 4 times a week if not everday.

Signing out

2004-12-20T14:11:00.000-08:00

Well just a little update. I was so good to get up early on Saturday to workout. But then I woke up at 2:30 am at at 4 pieces of pizza and drank a 16 ounce of sprite. The Steve of Old was back. And I took Sunday off, which was needed b/c I have been a freak. So I have to get focused again and stay on track during these challenging holiday times.

Steve

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

2004-12-18T13:45:00.000-08:00

Well I have continued on my road of exericise and self control. Kinda funny, I didn't think I would be able to work out on Friday because I went to a friends house after work to fix their computer, etc. So I ended up eating some "fried" wings and some french "fries", and came home. I was in bed with my wife and then said I need to go work out. So I am at the gym, by myself (who else works out at 10:00 pm on Friday) and I was looking in the miror looking at my fat self and I could see my thin self inside. I know it sounds funny, I was looking at I could see my end goal. My thin self is inside, just waiting to come back out.

I had t drive about 2 hours on Saturday to my hometown for a family photo. I was good and went to the gym before leaving. So good work continues.

Steve

I am So MAD!!!!

2004-12-15T18:58:00.000-08:00

http://www.road2thin.com for pictures & goals

I just got done working out. Of course the place has mirrors all over the room. I sit there looking at myself going. How in the hell did I let myself get like this. I mean, when I had gained 20 pounds, why didn't I go, holy shit you just gained 20 pounds. 20 became 30 and 30 became 70. None of my clothes fit, I reluntantly go buy clothes just a little too tight, that I hope to loose a few pounds and fit in. I have 20 pair of pants that won't fit, and countless shirts. I mean, when you have out grown your shirts, my god.

.......Well I wrote that last night as a draft. So I have to use those feelings to improve myself. I feel like I have a long way to go. But little by little I will improve myself.

Signing out.

Photos of Me

2004-12-15T06:23:00.000-08:00

Okay so today I took some photos of myself this morning. Oh my god. I am soo soo fat. And to tell you the truth I am a little discouraged this morning. I have been working out everyday for about a week and a half and I don't feel or notice any differences. I have been using Whey Protein and Myoplex as meal replacemnts. I also ordered some creatine (phosphagen HP) and metabolism boosting supplments (CLA). I am going to give that a 30 day trial. I basically created a list of supplments I needed by going to the Body for Life website and then ordering them from www.fitrx.com. They are about 1/2 the price. So I plug on.....

DECEMBER 14th 2004

So as you can see I have some major work to do. It does make me a little excited to see the changes as I see some progress. I will be posting more photos on January 4th, 2004.

Back on Track -Measurements & Goals

2004-12-14T05:25:00.000-08:00

Well after being bad this weekend I am back on track. I ate pretty good and I worked out for 30 minutes on cardio. I was extremely tired yesterday, so I took a knap at 7:00 pm, so that made me stay up later than I wanted to.

I have decided not to weight myself for 21 days. I took my measurements and weighed myself this morning. Here they are.

Weight 267.5
Neck 16.5
Chest 48
Waist 49
Hips 50
Thighs 29.5
Calves 17
Upper arm 14.5
Forearms 11.75

Now it is time for GOALS. First Goal, don't weigh or measure for 21 days. I will weigh 260 on January 4th, I will have lost 1.5 inches off my waist. I will be in a routine of working out and eating better. I will feel more energetic and healthier..... And gosh darn it, people like me....lol....

Back on General commenting

I need to force myself to eat even when I don't want to. Yesterday I got really hungry after 6:00, b/c I didn't eat at 4:00. I will do better.

Signing Out,

Steve

I've Been Bad

2004-12-13T11:41:00.000-08:00

Well I mean that in a couple of senses. For one I have written for a while and I also went a little off track this weekend. We have a family friend who had a Christmas party and I did alright with the eating side, but I had way more than my fair share of drinks. We also went out to eat on Friday night where I had too much pizza and 3 big beers. But on the positive side I did walk on a treadmill for an hour on Saturday and did the stair climber for 20 minutes on Sunday. Which was big b/c I was really hung over.

And when I went to weigh myself I was only 1 pound under what I was last Monday. But hey a pound is a pound.

I got the protein powder and EAS meal replacement drinks I ordered the other day. FitRx is great. I get the order the next day.

Back to the party. Well it was a formal affair, everyone wore suits and taxes, but I couldn't fit into a suit so I wore my elastic waist work pants and a shirt and tie. I wasn't way out of place, but I felt uncomfortable. I didn't tell that to Dawn (my wife), over the last year she had made comments that we always dress opposite. Well the truth is, I know that, but I don't have the clothes to fit into. And my friend Andy went with me to this party. I have a blast with Andy, but he can be brutally honest. He asked me what I weighed in front of Dawn. Which is something we don't talk about. I said 256 even though it is more like 266.

I was looking at myself today. Wow, have I let myself go. My stomach is huge, I get really large around my waist. I think I am going to post a website with some photos. I also read that any male who has a waist over 40 inches increases their chances for height disease. My waist was 49 inches last week (48 inches Monday -yeah), but still out of wack. I hope to be under 40 inches in 3 months.....

SEX

Well last night I had sex with my wife. I always feel so fat when I do. Kinda a catch 22, I want to have sex, but wish I wasn't doing it in my body.... She is so incredibly beautiful. I kept my shirt on, she must know I feel embarrased. But she also knows I am working out and trying to change.

On Task - Staying True

2004-12-09T06:25:00.000-08:00

Okay, well yesterday went very well. I ate pretty good and walked for about 40 minutes. Last night I also had the Christmas party for my company and I won $150. So I decided to put that towards my health and fitness. I purchased some Myoplex and some more Whey Protein. That prompted me to look at info on the Body-For-Life website. Some of the before and after photos gives me some inspiration.

I measured my waist this morning and it was 49 inches.....Wow, I didn't realize I was getting that bad. My pant size is 44 inches but those are stretching pants. Truth hurts... But I have to use it for motivation. I am currently 266 pounds and my goal is to be 250 lbs by February 1st and 240 lbs by March 1st. I won't go any further than that with specify goals, but I will not stop until I am 195 lbs.

ANOTHER OVERNIGHT SUCCESS
For the second night in a row, I did not wake up and eat.

First Day -My Story- Fat - Thin - & Back to Fat

2004-12-07T07:50:00.000-08:00

Hello All or Hello No One....
Okay this is my first day ever blogging. As I said in my description I am a 28 year old male inspired recently from the movie "Super Size Me." I am 6'1" and I am 270 lbs. That is about 80 lbs over my ideal weight. To track some of my weight shifts I will start back in high school.
....dream sequence with the harp........
So I was an overweight funny kid with lots of friends. My parents had no money so all I had was my sense of humor. Around Junior high age I was starting to develop some crushes on some girls that where friends of mine. I never had a chance...I had lots of friends who were girls, but they were interested in the jocks. So I spent hours on the phone listening to them tell me how crappy these guys treat them, yet they were always waiting at their feet. So somehow someday, I decided I needed to loose some weight. I don't really recall how I did it, other than think how desperately bad I too wanted a relationship and felt like my weight was holding me back.

.....fast forward to high school.....
So I had recently been elected as Junior Class President and I met this spunky cute girl from a neighboring school named Erin.... By now I was very thin, still poor, but I had my sense of humor, and was gaining respect with my commitment and dedication to the tasks I committed to like being a class officer. I went on to be Student Body President and head off to college. It was sometime at college I again started to develop my weight problem again. I was still dating Erin, and there was alot of friction between her and my friends. They didn't like her and she really didn't like them. But I am a people pleaser by nature, so I danced the line between all of them. I joined a Cooperative -kinda like a fraternity. As college went on I gained pound after pound... Soon I was up to 265. I had been with Erin for 5 years, I had many many friends, and had held several offices with my co-op and I was the President over all the Cooperatives at Purdue. It was apparent the my weight was an issue with Erin and soon she broke up with me..... Even though I wasn't happy with her 100%, it hurt incredibly. I was fat, alone, and still funny. Erin was a board member on this Cooperative Housing board I was the president of so I had to see every other Monday....

FIRST BIG WEIGHT LOSS BEGINS

So I vowed to loose 5 lbs every two weeks so I when I went to these board meetings I would look better and better. Especially since in a few months from then I would be going on Spring Break with a large group of people, and you guess it...the ex was one of them.... So the weight loss went on... I ate good, and exercised, and with my determination to "show my ex" -who in reality didn't care anymore... I lost 70 lbs over the next few months. That summer I went to study aboard in England and still felt very alone.

My last year of college

So I had a great summer and was thinner than ever. I was serving a very challenging 2nd year as the president over all the cooperatives again. Then I met this incredibly spunky attractive girl named "Dawn." She was pledging a girls cooperative and I was paired with her in an event and we quickly became friends and that developed into a relationship.

DAWN AND I

It was a long journey to get married. I eventually graduated and move back to my home town. I commuted the hour back to Purdue frequently and that next Christmas we got engaged in Jamaica. I had gained about 15-20 pounds but with my height and frame it wasn't too noticeable. She graduated Purdue and then went to another state school to finish her master's degree. That was a three hour commute and thank god for unlimited night and weekend cell phone plans. Two years later (now 40 lbs heavier than I met her at) we got married. It was wonderful. We went to Cancun for our honeymoon.

NOW BACK TO MY WEIGHT PROBLEM

All during the time I was dating Dawn.... comfortable and gaining weight. She stayed very thin and beautiful. I always seemed ashamed even 40 lbs ago. She never ever has made it an issue. But I now find myself at the same weight prior to Erin's breakup. I have had to buy pants that have the stretching elastic waist. I have pile after pile of clothes that don't fit me. I have had to go buy new Jeans, etc. For work I only have two pair of pants that fit me. But I am either too embarrassed or wishful thinking of my waist line going down I don't buy more. I feel awkward and out of place in our sex life. I feel too fat to initiate sex and I feel undeserving of any sexual advances. Wow..this hurts to type this...

SO WHY AM I FAT

Well mostly just the basics. I have a track record of eating a lot of bad food with little physical activity. Lunches at fast food chains, binges on sweets, and probably worse of all I awake in the middle of the night and eat food. I think the latter is my worst trait. I have had habits off and on to wake up and eat sweets uncontrollably. I eat spoonful after spoonful of peanut butter, cookies, you name it. I work at an office and my hobbies are computers. So I don't get out and exercise. Dawn and I love to watch TV, and I have two DVRs (Tivo like units) to allow us to never miss a beat. And to compound those issues. I have tried diet after diet, gained and lost, and I have felt ashamed about my weight.

SO WHAT AM I GOING TO DO AND HOW IS THIS TIME DIFFERENT

I'm glad you asked.... hee hee. I am going to admit I have a problem. I am going to quit the fad crap and eat healthy. I am going to commit to exercising at least 30 minutes a day for a minimum of 5 days and I am not going to eat any fast food. And I am going to publish my progress on this blog. So tune in tomorrow to see my progress and struggles.