Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Am I Actually Ready? (918 Days Left)

So yesterday was a rough day at work.  We had some compliance errors that I had to come down hard on some people for, I came home to a house that looked like a tornado blew through it and then to end it all, I had to fish a dead squirrel out of the pool. Let's say today has a pretty good chance of being a better day.

In my last post, Allen from AlmostGastricBypass slapped me with a reality check.  He asked me if I was actually ready to lose weight.  Quickly, I answered yes. As the day progressed, I thought about it more.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this is not going to be easy.  It is not going to be as simple as cutting back here and there and then killing a whole pizza and a growler of beer during the big game.  I thought about this being a lifetime commitment. Later on in the evening, I was watching that extreme weight loss show on DVR with my daughter and every time they showed the guy on TV, I saw my daughter checking out my belly.  I think last night my daughter might have put it together that daddy is unhealthy.  Before, I was just a big guy…now I am a fat and need to lose weight.  And for her, the rest of my family and myself….I am actually ready to lose the weight.

A couple of years ago, my doctor recommended having weight loss surgery.  I thought about it long and hard and went to a couple of meetings and met with a few people to see if it was what I wanted.  I came to the conclusion that I it was not for me because having the surgery meant not having carbonated drinks or ice cream anymore. I let my love of food make the decision for me.  Not the risks involved.  How stupid and selfish is that??? Today I weigh 15 pounds less that the day of that doctors appointment.  All because I wanted I did not see the world of opportunity that would be opened up to me. 

From this day forward, food is not longer going to rule my life.

10 comments:

  1. Again, any help we can offer, just ask... Lots of us obese men, turned into less fat men are here..

    ReplyDelete
  2. We're all here cheering for you AJ!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good. I think this is something that most obese people like us have to realize. We let food have WAY too much power over us. And there's no reason for it. We miss so much because we let food hog all our attention and energy. I used to spend all day thinking about what I was going to eat at the next meal or snack or what I was wanting. Think how much better my life would be if I used that energy for better things.

    Now I KNOW how much better my life can be and I'm no where near goal yet. It is WONDERFUL and liberating when you finally let go of food. You can do it! If you want to.......

    ReplyDelete
  4. I found you from Allen :) I'm cheering you on, wish you luck in the struggle tht we all are experiencing. I'll be watching! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I heard about you through Allan's blog....you can totally do this. I'm cheering for you. I started at 340 lbs...I'm now at 260. I've been up and down the scale but I'm still here...hanging on by my toenails, trying to get back down the scale again. The first thing you need to decide is that you will NEVER give up, no matter how long it takes to get there. Fast, slow, slip-ups and pitfalls, whatever happens along the way, just DON'T give up on yourself. Nevermind about the family...know that you are worth the effort all by yourself. Your health matters. Your happiness matters. YOU matter. I know you can do this, and I'll be here to cheer you on. Congrats on making the decision to change your life for the better. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. With only reading your few posts I would like to know you more. You sound similar to my husband, a HS athelete that got up to 410 lbs by age 30. I just wonder what happened along the way. I know for myself depression played a part and not feeling worthy of all the good things in my life. For me, therapy played a big role. I know guys don't like the word "therapy" but I'm throwing it out there to think about. It's for sure that food addiction is in the mind, just a symptom of other things going on mentally.

    I'm rooting you on though and it really is all just a choice, a decision we make one day to DO IT! I know you can do it because you've decided you're worth it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I start getting serious about losing weight at the beginning of this year. Since then, I have lost almost 75 pounds. I joined Allan's challenge (my favorite is still Phase 4, where I started) on Jan 9. My highest weight ever was 383.2, on 1/9 is was 366.5 and now it is 292. If I can do this, anyone can!! Allan has some good advice about getting healthy as fast as you can and then figuring out how to maintain that later. How much more damage will you do to your heart, liver, kidneys, knees and hips by doing things in moderation. Moderation is for after you reach your goal and have been there a while. If I were you, I would get Allan to send you the Phase 6 beginning and do that for a couple of weeks and then go into the Phase 4. I find that easier to keep track of because it is a more steady level of calories. I needed to learn self control and it is easier with a steady diet vs high days and lower days (Phase 5). Start now!! We are here for you if you needs us. Welcome to the wonderful world of "I am worth it!!"

    ReplyDelete
  8. Go to Allan's blog. Go to Sean's blog. Even Mike's blog--Starting at 500, and you can find links at Allan's post/blog sidebar--and see that it is possible.

    I felt hopeless, HOPELESS a a couple years ago. Researched bariatric surgery. Felt like food would win and win and win and I needed emergency level help. I made it up to 300, which for a 5'6" woman is HUGE!!!!!! Life was hard. Movement was hard. Sleep apnea. Sugar rising. Sucked.

    But last year, I decided to try again, really try, and I joined a few challenges--one in summer, then Allan's in October. Those challenges changed my life, changed my opinion of WHAT I could do. In January, I pretty much gave up my fave foods (pizza, lasagna, cheese enchiladas, mac n cheese). Haven't had pizza since Jan, yep, my main trigger food. Cut out almost all sugar. Focused on fresh, whole, real food and cut back on canned/boxed/Frankenfoods.

    Real food. Real exercise. Real commitment to NOT LET cake, ice cream, cookies, fast foods, etc rule you, but YOU rule them.

    It's super hard the first months. CRAZY HARD. For me, the first 6 months were sooooooooo hard, but I lost through Christmas and NY Eve. I lost Valentine's week and my birthday week. It's possible.

    Just choose YOUR LIFE over your dessert or your fast food or whatever is your weakness.

    And even if you think moderation is the key, consider strongly the cold-turkey approach. You will lose more faster, detox from sugar faster, and see such huge losses on the scale that it will propel your motivation. If you see a 10 pounds or 6 pound loss from week one, it will make you FEEL the difference sooner and help with the temptations.

    If you're a sugar junkie...moderation can backfire big time. I've seen it happen time and again with well-meaning diet bloggers. A little treat here, becomes a little treat here AND there, then every day, then bye-bye weight loss.

    Think of FRUIT as your treat, or sugar free lower calorie options. Trust me, sugar is da debbil. Fast food is created to make you addicted to it (read THE END OF OVEREATING by Kessler, which totally gave me one of my major epiphanies about fast food/eating out at franchises as DANGEROUS to conditioned hypereaters, which we fat folks ARE).

    I want you to succeed. Commit today. Right now. Throw out the crap in your house and walk, even if it's 15 minutes. Walk, drink water, commit to a lower calorie plan. Read Allan's blog. Do it!

    And if you MUST have carbonated beverages, consider Zevia. They don't have aspartame and have some good flavors to "counterfeit a bit" the main commercial sodas. Or buy seltzer water and sugar-free flavorings (like Da Vinci syrups) and make your own fizzy drinks. :)

    wishing you the best...go for it! Don't wait to be 50 like me to really get on it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think Allen is your best resource for what to do. He truly is interested in providing YOU with the tools YOU need in order to lose YOUR weight. He cannot do it for YOU and will not be nice if YOU are insincere or just talk the talk. He will tell it like it is because it's important to him that YOU succeed.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I am a surgery person, lapband to be specific and actually having it removed and revised to the Gastric Sleeve. Surgery is not a gimmick and is as much work, if not more, than traditional dieting. If I overate before surgery, I overate and it showed up on the scale. If I overeat now, I get excruciating pain. Instant hit in the head if you will. Anyway, it was a huge decision and it is a life-long decision. I can still eat any type of food but I choose not too. Many of the foods that "they" say to stay away from, in your case "carbonated beverages and ice cream" got us into trouble to begin with. Why would you even want to have them in moderation especially when you have so much weight you need and want to lose?

    Stick with Allan....he has a plan that has worked for himself and many others around here. Believe me, moderation is great when you are at goal weight, not when you are trying to lose weight! Good luck!

    ReplyDelete