Having gained to more than 240 pounds, I was sent to Weight Watchers by my wife in April 2008. I weighed in officially in at 241.2 pounds on a 5 foot 6 inch frame. Goal weight: 150 pounds. I didn’t give it a snowball’s chance of succeeding.
may 2008 - even after three weeks on weight watchers
After my first three weeks I had lost 16.2 pounds. I was sold. On week three, I weighed in at about 225 pounds. There was a couple at the meeting. He had lost 150 pounds and described the emotional feeling at having crossed his legs for the first time. She had lost 75 pounds. I blurted out, “My God, between you, you’ve lost me!”
Hearing them, anything was possible now. Both of these people still had a way to go yet. They were conquering what must have seemed an overwhelmingly impossible challenge. It had taken them almost two years but they were doing it.
In early June, I hit my 10% milestone. The following week, I lost a little over a pound and hit my 25 pound milestone.
Over the summer, I had my ups and downs. Our daughter Dani graduated med school at UNC in May. That was a “gainer” week. So was a late June Disney cruise we went on. But Fourth of July was a loser week. Most weeks were loser weeks. Some big losers: two, three, even a four pound weeks. I was beginning to entertain fantasies of being to goal by my anniversary or of going whole hog and losing a full 100 pounds. Anything seemed possible now.
I was no longer waking up choking. In fact, Herself told me I was not even snoring so loudly anymore. I was eating properly for the first time since I can’t remember when. I wasn’t popping three or more Tums every evening. In fact I wasn’t needing them at all. I had begun to exercise: walks, bicycles, Wii Fit, even some weights. I started to do more than walk; I began to hike in Patapsco State Park. The last time I hiked two years earlier, it was to the top of Mary’s Rock in Virginia near Thornton’s Gap in Shenandoah National Park. I wondered then whether Page County had a helicopter that could med-evac me to the nearest coronary care unit.
By the end of July, I had a health problem that everyone should have. Several times over the course of a week or two, I would feel faint. So I checked my blood pressure. What had been 130/70, was now 110/60. One evening, I couldn’t even get out of my chair. I couldn’t even stand. I had Patrick bring the cuff to me. It was 88/40. Just as I had 9 month earlier with the blood pressure spike, I figure it was an outlier. I took the average of three readings. Now my blood pressure stood at 90/45. I called the doctor in the morning. His answer was to take me off the Diovan completely. Permanently. We tested my cholesterol: HDL 39, LDL 57, Combined 96. He wanted to see my HDL’s go up above 40.
I went out to the car and I cried.
In August we went on to Arizona for another Disney trip. This time I took care with my points. I lost weight. Not much, but some. I hiked for about an two hours on the Bright Angel Trail at Grand Canyon. I hiked almost to the top of the Gunsight (I was alone and didn’t want to risk a fall on the very steep final ascent) across from the Red Cliff Lodge in Moab, Utah. My dear wife of 35 years looked at me and asked, “Who are you and what have you done with Tim?” I answered, “You threw his fat, lazy ass out of bed on April 19 to go to Weight Watchers and he ain’t comin’ back.”
In September, I broke through the 200 pound floor. First time in about eight years. On my six month date, 18 October 2008, I hit 50 pounds lost. Half a century in half a year. In November, I joined the local YMCA, which is in walking distance, and I started swimming a couple of times a week. A year prior, it wasn’t within walking distance; they didn’t move, but walking distances just changed.
Thanksgiving week I lost weight by front loading my week with exercise and eating my meal with salad, then all my veggies, then half my meat. I was three pounds down that Saturday. I was shocked.
21 december 2008 (christmas) tim is 25% off
I normally weigh in on Saturday, Christmas was a Thursday, and we would be on the road on Saturday, So I weighed in on Christmas Eve: 180.9. I had lost 60.3 pounds total. Do the math and that’s exactly 25% off; I was on sale.
When I saw all my sib’s on Christmas at Mom’s house, I expected to hear “You look sick. What’s wrong with you? You’ve lost too much.” Instead it was “Congrats, what an accomplishment.” Only my sister Patricia who is also on Weight Watchers and has lost half what I have, jokingly snarked, “Yeah, well it’s always easier for men.” Yeah, and women’s push ups are easier for men, too, that’s why I don’t do them.
January, February, March, April. Reality check. Plateau! In February there was good news: my combined cholesterol jumped by 40 points to 136 only because my HDL rose to 79 and LDL stayed at 57. Over those four month I sloooooowly dribbled off the next eight pounds. Every time I would ask at the meeting or on the site about how to break this, I was told one of two things: eat a little less or exercise a little more. I reached the point where I was eating about 75% of my Daily Points and earning about 15 Activity Points a day, every day; that’s about 100 points a week.
I was hungry and sore and not losing weight. I was getting some nice looking abs, losing my butt, defining my legs and arms, and running the treadmill faster and longer. I went from three push-ups-and-that’s-it to more than 40 a day as part of a program. I went from 3 MPH for 20 minutes on the treadmill to 60 minutes at an average pace of 4.5 MPH. So I wasn’t doing nothing. Just not losing weight.
Then one of the leaders came up with a new formula for me. Eat more and exercise less. What? She told me to eat all my daily points, four activity points and even sometimes dip into those weekly points which I never touch. And since I was exercise sore, only work out between four and eight points a day. And take days off.
Well, the other way wasn’t working. I was game for anything.
Week one of this new regimen I gained. But one week doesn’t change things. Week two I lost a little. Week three, BANG, 3.8 pounds lost. Week four, 1.2 pounds lost and I even had a Coca-Cola. I slowly floated back to earth. But I was losing. I didn’t quite make 75 pound lost by my anniversary, that had to wait two more weeks, but it seemed like the plateau was busted.
In April, I took a critical look at myself in the mirror. People had been saying I had lost too much. I looked like a scarecrow. The problem wasn’t me; it was my wardrobe. My jeans were too big, size 36. I went to WalMart to buy some size 34s. I took them into the dressing room and tried them on. I thought for sure I was a size 34 and I was stunned that I was not. I had to go back out and find some size 32s. I haven’t worn 32s in over 20 years.
I went out to the car and I cried.
In June I hit a new low of 158.6, then I went to Mississippi for a church thing with 60 teenagers. I came back 4.4 heavier and didn’t get back to 158 until the second week in August. This was no plateau, it was a mesa. During July though, my doctor decided we could try to take me off the cholesterol medications; first the Tricor, then blood test in November. If everything is good, we’ll try the Lipitor until March.
I signed up for a 5K race to be run in September. My first!
So there I am. New wardrobe, three washers on my 10% Keyring, a 50 pound and 25 pound dumbbell in my family room. I am hoping to reach goal by October. It took me 25 years to pack on an extra 90 pounds. It will take some time to take it off. 18 months? Two years? I don’t know now. I have a goal of 18 months. I expect that a big week from now on will be anything over a pound. Don’t expect many more big weeks.
This has been a major reclamation project. It’s a marathon not a sprint. Even when I reach goal and Lifetime, and I will, it’s not over. I’m a better cook now. I exercise now and I am stronger. I have abs! I barely recognize that guy in the mirror.
who is that skinny guy in my kitchen?
On Saturday 19 April 2008 at 6:30 in the morning, over my objections and in spite of my doubts, my wife loved me enough to save my life.
Tim~
Love the website! Would love to talk if you have time.
I’m very impressed with your success but not at all surprised. You always were a guy who could get very focused.
~Pam