From 2002-2006 I generally stayed fit by swimming laps. It was great. Then in July 2006 I was riding a bicycle when I hit a curb, flew over the handlebars and fractured my shoulder. For the rest of the year I could barely lift my right arm.
During that long period of inactivity, my lazing around, poor genetics and even worse dietary decisions conspired to pack a good 50 extra lbs. on to my ass. It was a dark time, indeed.
While I was packing it all on, the guy who works at the place where I buy bottled water and an occasional coffee got the gastric-bypass and dropped pounds with amazing speed. Dude is kind of short, maybe 5′7″ with his hair, and he was hauling around a good 350+ lbs. Before I knew it all that was left was a little loose skin overhang on his belt. That was kind of gross, but he really looked great. And it was very depressing for a guy who was porking up so drastically while he was slimming down so effortlessly.
In January 2007 — MLK day to be exact — I adjusted my attitude toward diet and started to walk on a treadmill at my gym. By March I was running on the treadmill. By May I was running on the road. In July I ran my first 5K race. In November I had four 5K races behind me when I ran my first 5-mile race.
The combination of diet and exercise reduced my big ass down 58 lbs. and I am in the best physical condition I’ve been in since I was in the army. Probably better, really, since I don’t smoke now like I did then and my resting heart rate now is 52-58 when I don’t remember it ever being below 70 when I was a smoker. My shoulder still doesn’t allow me to swim laps like I used to, or throw a baseball harder than a soft toss, but that’s ok. I’m totally hot.
Over the last year I’ve learned how to eat and exercise and look and feel great. Even a holiday season of typical overindulgence couldn’t derail me. I also just started an exercise program that will have me run the National Half Marathon on March 29 (which you actually have to qualify for, and which I do) and the Frederick Half on May 4.
This morning I saw dude from the shop for the first time in a while. Typical holiday overindulgence wasn’t kind to him. He’s really starting to stretch the seams of the clothes he looked so great in 6 months or so ago. Granted, he had a good 2.5 times more weight to lose than I did, but when he took his shortcut to weight loss there was obviously nothing in place for him to lean on when figuring how to maintain his new body once he got it. Conversely, I learned as I lost and now that I’m here I know what to do to keep what I got.
Just goes to show that like everything else health and fitness is a marathon and not a sprint.
Wow, way to make up for a posting dry spell.
I never think the gastric bypass folks look healthy. I think they are kind of told not to do heavy exercise. I know people on those medical very-low-cal diets are specifically told to do nothing more than walk a little. It seems kind of psycho to have all the torture of not eating combined with not having use of something that can do you good in many ways.
Saddest thing of all is when the gastric folk learn to override the stomach signals and stretch out what they have remaining, and regain. But maybe the worst thing is the ones that need some compulsion to take the place of eating, so they turn to booze because it goes down easy, and become alcoholics.
Have a hot new year, Cheese.
Diet and exercise may not be exciting, but you will look and feel so much better than having your insides cut out, rerouted or stapled together.
I know a few people who have had the gastric bypass and while they’re thin, IMO they look like varying degrees of hell. Most noticably their hair thins out and looks horrible. There’s one blogger who was quite portly, had weight loss surgery, and looked so freakin’ awful they didn’t know they’d contracted Hepatitis A and had been sick for weeks. You’d think the yellow eyeballs would be a clue.
No shortcuts for losing weight and keeping it off, unfortunately.
because you said, “I don’t smoke now like I did then” this leads me to assume you still smoke now. But n the next sentence you said, “..below 70 when I was a smoker” So wtf? Do you smoke or what? I hope not. Ew.
Anyway since no one knows what you look lie, I wonder just how bad a extra 50lbs looked on you and I really wonder just how hot you look now! but good for you for taking control and working it out. Maybe think about being a personal trainer? I need personal training.
Hey - gonna watch the Hawks tomorrow?
I quit smoking in December 1997. I haven’t touched a cigarette since.
My Facebook friends know what I look like.
I will be watching football, but not just because it’s the Seahawks. They’ll just happen to be there.