So... I decided I'm far enough along to post in (and, yes, revive) this thread...
Reposting this here from my FB feed, dated Oct 22:
Today, I am 250.
As my family and friends know, I've been dealing with fairly significant weight issues for most of my life. It's led me to depression, illness, chronic pain, and many other problems that have considerably lowered my quality of life for the better part of 30-40 years.
Back in my senior year (1984), I took myself from 285 down to 220 or so, and was able to keep myself below the 250 mark until a couple years into my marriage in the early 90s. From there, I steadily went up to 285 again.
In 1999, I got the bug to get myself into shape, and started working out. Got serious into cycling, and got down to almost 165. I was scaring everyone around me, but I was in the best shape of my life, culminating with my doing century rides (100+ miles) on my bike nearly once a month, and literally climbing mountains (ie: starting in Redlands @ 1200' altitude, and climbing for 65 miles through Big Bear and over Onyx Summit @ nearly 8500', before a 45 minute descent at 40+ mph and completing almost 110 miles in about 7 hours).
My sons were born in 2003 and 2005. Between wanting to spend time with them, working, and going to school, I lost steam, and the weight came back.
In June 2016, I turned 49, and hit the highest weight I will ever be - 317 lbs. I was beyond miserable, and it negatively impacted most areas of my life: my marriage was pretty much over, the job that I loved would end in self-created disaster the following March, my blood pressure was out of control, and the sciatica that had been affecting my body since 2012 was killing me.
In October that year, I joined a gym with my sons, and started working on my weight and chronic pain, focusing on swimming/aqua fit classes and spending time on the elliptical machine. This, combined with eating better, allowed me to lose about 65 lbs, putting me just north of 250 in mid-2017. My boys got the bug as well, and managed to successfully take off a lot of the extra weight they were carrying. This was a big boost, but I started falling into old habits as the year wore on, much of which I spent finding new employment, and the weight came steadily back.
This year has brought entirely new challenges and opportunities - and an entirely new focus on making myself better. I joined the YMCA and found AMAZING instructors at the pool, who have been extremely helpful in working through my sciatic pain and getting me focused on losing weight. I'd managed some success on my own, and then in early August I met the newest, most wonderful person in my life (outside of my immediate family), who has become my ultimate accountability partner. I've gotten her to the pool, and she has helped me learn about the Keto diet, and it's doing wonders.
It took a lot for me to post this, as I've always been embarrassed about my weight problems, and didn't want to start a "Look at me! I'm dieting!" thread early on that'd probably wind up in failure. Instead, I told myself that I'd celebrate a bit by posting when I had some real numbers to work with. Well, I'm officially down 67 lbs from my highest weight today and it's the lowest I've been, going back to when my sons were born.
...and, today I am 244
Seriously feeling like I can start 2022 somewhere between 220-225lbs.
