Weighing In on Weight-Loss
Posted by Keith on Wednesday Sep 24, 2008 Under Lifestyle*sits in quiet auditorium of people… raises hand and is called upon to stand up*
Hi… my name is Keith and I am a food-a-holic. I have been a food-a-holic most of my life, but used to be active enough not to have to worry about the effects. That all changed over the last decade, but my eating habits did not. So, as you would expect, I gained weight. At my peak, I weighed 385 pounds. That was in 2005.
Starting in July of 2005, I began to work on weight loss. I was also taking dextroamphetamine (dexadrin a.k.a. prescription speed) for dealing with Attention Deficit Disorder. The dexadrin jump-started and drove my metabolism at a high rate, and losing weight was easy. I dropped to 285 pounds in about 8 months and had little to no appetite. Then I decided I didn’t like the mental effects of the dexadrin and stopped taking it. The food cravings came back, and very quickly I was shooting back up. In mid-2007, I was back to 365 and determined to halt the trend.
I joined Weight Watchers, and experienced a fair amount of success. By January of 2008, I had dropped back down to 328 pounds and was on track with my goal of getting down to 245 by the end of this year. But then I could no longer afford Weight Watchers, and doing it on my own wasn’t as compelling as going to meetings. My food cravings got worse as I dealt with personal stress, and as of this weekend, I was at 375 pounds, my highest since 2005. I am determined to lose the weight, hit my goal and be healthier, for many reasons including wanting to have a long, healthy life with those that I love and because I believe it will help with my depression.
Right now I still do not have the money for Weight Watchers. I am prepared to make some hard changes to my budget to afford it if need be, but first I am going to work hard at trying it the SparkPeople way. SparkPeople is a health and wellness site that support weight loss, including tracking food and exercise. It has been recommended by a couple of friends, so I am going to see if I can make it work for me. Because I also do better with public accountability, I will be posting my progress on here as well, though no more than weekly unless something dramatic happens! Hopefully we’ll see positive trends here. If YOU are working on weight loss, please feel free to contact me and we can support each other!
Until later… have a healthy day! 
September 24th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Hooray for you, Keith! I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Be my weight loss buddy!!! I have about 25 to lose but it comes off very sloooowly for me
September 24th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I know how it goes…though I’ve never been in the “morbidly obese” category, I have struggled with thyroid disease. And when you’re not even 5′2″ like me, just plain “obese” or even “overweight” is plenty big enough (five pounds of extra weight looks like 15 on my petite frame!).
You know that hooping thing I started in August? I am really surprised at what it’s doing for me. I was mostly expecting groovy fun, but suddenly I’ve dropped almost a full pants size. I don’t weigh myself, because that distracts and discourages me. But I’m sure I’ve lost at least five pounds, judging by how my clothes fit me now. This, without attempting any other kind of big weight-loss effort.
I hate exercise that has me breathless and panting, but the hooping (which is major cardio) is hard to stop because it’s so fun and addictive. I have to make myself stop after 30-45 minutes, and even allowing myself rest days is a big bummer. I used to live for rest days!
I have been modifying my diet somewhat, but I’m not obsessive about it. I find that getting active automatically regulates my appetite and snacking habits. Plus I don’t want to eat a heavy meal so I can hoop soon afterwards
I am not struggling to resist impulses to eat, or feeling burdened by restrictions. I just try to pick the healthier of two options every time I go to eat something. ( There’s a book called “Eat This, Not That!” that helps a lot with these choices when in various popular restaurants and fast food joints).
A basic, no-frills hoop can be had for about $40 including shipping. I can let you know what kind of hoop is appropriate for you if you are interested. There are DVDs as well, but they are not necessary to enjoy the hooping experience (there are a bunch of YouTube hooping tutorials that teach the basic set of moves for nuthin’ but perhaps a kindly comment on their pages). You mostly just need some mp3s you love and about 8′ of clear space.
You know how to get in touch with me if you want this information! But no matter what path you follow, I wish you oodles of success! Keep us posted.
September 24th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Oh, crap! Have I been posting with the wrong nickname? This is nenuphar! Oh merde, alors. You know me! A goofball is a goofball by any other name…
September 25th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
No worried, nenuphar! I knew it was you!
*hugs*
September 27th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Keep us updated. I can be a nag. Nag me too, of course…