FatBloggers.net

I’ve gone and done it. Again.

After setting a goal in January that I thought would take until September to achieve, I met the goal in early May. Shortly thereafter, I was riding a pretty good high, and set my next goal with September 18 (my birthday) as my target: I wanted to reach 275 pounds.

Tonight I blew it out of the water.
Again.
A month and a half ahead of my target.

Tonight, I weighed in at 271.8 pounds. That’s down 161.2 pounds since I was at my heaviest. Go ahead… do the math. I’m finally saying it publicly. There’s no shame in saying that yes, I was once a 435 pound man. Not anymore!

Read the rest of the story on my blog: http://tinyurl.com/n8z4am

Well I undid the damage of the last couple of weeks this week. I am feeling better each day and will try week 3 of the “Couch to 5K” program (http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml) probably on Wednesday or Thursday. I want to make sure I am all the way better before I do too much. I haven’t been eating nearly as much while I’ve been sick which is a great thing. Usually I overeat because I seem hungry, but I am trying hard to match what I eat to how much energy I am using. The only way to lose weight while I’m sick is to do it with what I eat since I can’t exercise.

Starting Weight (May 25, 2009): 285 lbs.
Starting BMI: 39.7
Weight Last Weigh in: (July 20, 2009) 278 lbs.
Weight Today (July 27, 2009): 274.5 lbs.
Current BMI: 38.4

Weight Change This Week: -3.5 lbs.
Total Weight Lost: 10.5 pounds
Loss Streak: 1 weeks in a row
Longest Streak: 6 weeks in a row
NEXT GOAL: 260 lbs. (14.5 lbs. to go)

Well, the last two weeks I haven’t done very well at all. I gained a couple of pounds each week but I am hoping my next weigh-in in the next day or 2 will be good news. I have been out of town and got sick which are two things that often trigger weight gain for me. I haven’t been running and hope I can continue back on week 3 of the “Couch to 5K” plan, which is where I left off. I worked out a couple of days ago and it went well with good weight lifting and 15 minutes on the elliptical machine, which means I will hopefully not miss a beat this week. I am still getting over the flu, but I hope I will be better in a couple of days.
Starting Weight (May 25, 2009): 285 lbs.
Starting BMI: 39.7
Weight Last Weigh in: (July 13, 2009) 276 lbs.
Weight Today (July 20, 2009): 278 lbs.
Current BMI: 38.8
Weight Change This Week: +2 lbs.
Total Weight Lost: 7 pounds
Loss Streak: 0 weeks in a row
Longest Streak: 6 weeks in a row
NEXT GOAL: 260 lbs. (18 lbs. to go)

Last week marked my first week back in the gym after a my vacation. My two weeks off were followed by a week where I had a pretty nasty sinus infection, so not much time was spent sweating out the calories or eating anything particularly healthy. You know how it is — you feel like crap, and oddly enough eating comfort (sometimes crap) food is what makes you feel better… a bit better, that is.

So, just in time for a weekend training session with Seb, my sinuses cleared and I was ready to get back into my routine. I was feeling a bit anxious because I had been away from it for so long. In fact, looking back on it now, I was probably feeling a little depressed — not only because I was sick, but also because I realized that I didn’t miss working out as much as I thought I would while I was off. I mean, it was really easy for me to not go to the gym for three weeks. It was really easy for me to dig into a decadent cheesy pizza instead of my daily dose of raw broccoli. In other words, getting back to my ‘old ways’ was really easy… and I didn’t think I would revert that quickly, or even that willingly. I was feeling a bit disappointed with myself — not necessarily for having taken a break from the rigor of daily life… that we know, I needed. I was disappointed that I felt like I was beginning to slip. And when you’ve focused on staying strong for so long, that slipping feeling wasn’t a pleasant one.

Read the rest on my blog at: http://tinyurl.com/mzlxtb

Without a doubt, I’ve been working hard. I’ve had this intense focus on health and wellness for over a year now that has been almost unshakeable. And it has been fantastic. But what has been even more exciting for me, was the prospect of taking a break from it all — work, home, working out — and chilling out while doing something I absolutely love… travelling and watching great theatre.

It feels like it has been a couple of years since my last overseas adventure, and this year, I decided to stick closer to home than I normally would. But I decided to do something that has always been a bit of a dream — spend days soaking up the lights and energy of Broadway in New York City. As I’m a bit of a Broadway musical junkie, so many people have a hard time believing that I’ve never been before. But after finding amazing deals on hotel and airfare, and show tickets, one of my best friends Tony, and I set off last week for 4 days in the Big Apple.

Read the rest at http://tinyurl.com/nv3gks

A little over a week ago I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea, a condition that while not limited to those being overweight is certainly likely to target that group at a higher rate.  As a public service announcement I’d like to educate my fellow fatbloggers in the hopes that should you be exhibiting any of the symptoms of sleep apnea that you get yourself checked out.

What is sleep apnea?

From this article:

People with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) experience recurrent episodes during sleep when their throat closes and they cannot suck air into their lungs (apnea). This happens because the muscles that normally hold the throat open during wakefulness relax during sleep and allow it to narrow. When the throat is partially closed and/or the muscles relax too much, trying to inhale will suck the throat completely closed and air cannot pass at all. This is an obstructive sleep apnea episode.

A cessation of breathing must last 10 seconds or more to be called an apnea. Obstructive apnea episodes can last as long as two minutes and are almost always associated with a reduction in the level of oxygen in the blood. When an individual is in the midst of an obstructive sleep apnea episode, as long as sleep continues, the apnea continues. It is only terminated and the victim’s life is saved by waking up. This arousal instantly increases the activity of the muscles of the tongue and throat muscles that enlarge the airway. The victim will be able to breathe and to once again fill the lungs with life-giving oxygen. This cycle may be repeated hundreds of times a night while the sufferer has no idea it is happening.

What are the symptoms of sleep apnea?

For years I had prided myself on my ability to “fall asleep on a dime” literally any time of day.  As it turns out it wasn’t something to be proud of – it was a symptom of sleep apnea.  Here is a list of symptoms:

• Fatigue and tiredness during the day
• Loud snoring, especially if punctuated by brief periods of silence or choking sounds
• Snorting, gasping, choking during sleep
• Feeling that sleep is strangely unrefreshing

I gradually developed these symptoms as I gained weight and I attributed them to my just being heavier.  But in my case it was something else – I had sleep apnea.

Do you have sleep apnea?

If you have the symptoms of sleep apnea and want to see if you have it the answer is as simple as getting a referal to a sleep clinic.  I did this during my annual physical but I would imagine you could arrange for this at any time.  Don’t be afraid of having a sleep study, it was actually very interesting.  Read about my visit to the sleep clinic and you’ll see it is no big deal.  In my case I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea which means I was having over 35 apnea episodes a minute.  My bloog oxygen level was dipping down to 80% which is simply not good.

Treatment for sleep apnea

While there are a few different treatments for sleep apnea the most common one, and the one I am on, is called a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine.  It’s a small machine that is hooked to a nasal mask (some are full face masks) that you wear to bed.  It’s connected to a pump that forces air into the nasal passages at pressures high enough to overcome obstructions in the airway and stimulate normal breathing. The airway pressure delivered into the upper airway is continuous during both inspiration and expiration.

After being on the CPAP machine for a week I can confirm that it works.  My wife says I no longer snore and I do feel better during the day.  Not perfect yet because I am still getting adjusted to it, but better enough to know it is working.

Don’t be afraid, get check out

If you have any of the symptoms of sleep apena please do yourself and your family a favor and get checked out.  It’s easy to do and it could extend your life.

Already diagnosed with sleep apnea but don’t get treatment?  Get on the machine!

I hope for your sake you don’t have this problem but if you do please seek help.

Anyone else have sleep apnea?  Let is know in the comments!

Cross-published at Rejected Reality

When I had lost enough weight for people to notice; I was asked the inevitable question, “How are you doing it?” My answer, “Eating less and moving more”. I was always amazed by the fatalistic response, “I just can’t do that”.

One night, I was watching Finding Nemo with my kids; Dory’s mantra “Just keep swimming” struck me as a pretty appropriate philosophy for those times when you feel like there is no point. When people would ask how I was able to stick with the change in lifestyle effective weight loss demands, I would tell them, in the words of Dory, Just keep swimming!

I’m embarrassed to say; I stopped listening to Dory.

Last fall when I started Grad School; there was always something… books and articles to read and papers to write. The late nights, studying at the library, and lack of exercise caused the weight to start creeping back. WIth a pound here and a pound there I dismissed them thinking I just needed to get back on track. After all, I had lost 134 lbs!

School got more stressful… then the separation, divorce, and the accompanying drama… pizza, ice cream and beer were my friends. Add to that the need to streamline my finances… WeightWatchers and my old gym membership went into the dustbin (an $84 savings!).

Last night Robert and I joined Club 24 a card-lock gym. Its in a nice location, the price is right and it’s open 24/7!

Just keep swimming…

Starting Weight: 412 lbs
tarting BMI: 54.4
Last Weigh-In: (04/28/09): 301.6 lbs
Weight Today: 320.8 lbs.
Current BMI: 42.3

Weight Change: +19.2 lbs (yikes!)
Total Weight Lost: –91.2 lbs. (still, not bad)

I weighed in this morning as I got out of the shower. Wednesday sounds like a nice day for these weekly reports.

The overriding goal of my life was to hit my goal weight (225 lbs) by the time I hit 40. That was last week. Let’s say we adjust that to 41?

Wish me luck!

Today marks my one year anniversary of changing my life forever.  Now, here I am some 60 pounds lighter, and much, much healthier.  It makes me shudder to think the path I was going down.  I am not to my goal yet, but that time is not so far off now.  Let me tell you, that is a wonderful feeling.  Head over to logmyloss to check out some of the stats for the year, a yearly recap, or learn more about what the future holds.

Still no official weight, but I’m finding that the longer I do this, the more I don’t need it.  I feel great.  Moreover, I hit another of my small, intangible benchmarks in that I have another pair of 38 jeans that I can now wear.  They’re still a little tight, so I won’t be wearing them right away, but there was no way I could fit into them when I started all of this.  I anticipate they will be quite comfortable a couple of weeks from now. By the way, my wife calls these “Trophy Clothes,” because they’re the ones we keep around just for the purpose of fitting into them when we get down to a certain weight.  And she’s right, especially with my jeans. I have about four pairs in the closet that are at least eight years old.  I bought them right after the first time I lost a bunch of weight, back in 2000 and 2001.  Ah, the memories that are in those indigo trousers…

I met my first goal of 10 pounds lost and I finished my second week of the “Couch to 5K” program this week! (http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml). I lifted weights 2 times this week and hope to do better than that this week, but everything seems to be working well together. To lose weight over a holiday week is a great thing for me. I got some new running shoes to reward myself for finishing my first goal… the next reward will be a massage!

Starting Weight (May 25, 2009): 285 lbs.
Starting BMI: 39.7
Weight Last Weigh in: (June 29, 2009) 276 lbs.
Weight Today (July 6, 2009): 274.5 lbs.
Current BMI: 38.4

Weight Change This Week: -1.5 lbs.
Total Weight Lost: 10.5 pounds
Loss Streak: 6 weeks in a row
NEXT GOAL: 260 lbs. (14.5 lbs. to go)