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[theinevitable]

I'm not really sure what to say here. i think everyone could do to get in better shape... I went to a concert last night and danced, and remained out of breath for about an hour afterwards. That was not attractive to anyone.

All I can say is that I give my full support to each of you. And I mean... everyone here. I've never met someone who didn't have something they could do to improve their health (well, maybe a few people...).  I, too, need to get better about my eating/exercise/etc. I'm in an endless cycle which consists of:
Not eating enough, because I'm not hungry
not having the energy to exercise
since I don't exercise, I don't burn calories
so I'm not hungry
so I don't eat enough again
(plus when i do eat, I eat utter shit that makes me even less healthy)
etc.
I am at a point where I recently lied to my parents about my weight so they'd stop worrying. (but now I'm gaining weight, so all is good)

Smells, I was getting in such a serious mood before you made that boob comment. Man. I think we should make a bet about whether smells loses her "giant boobs." Would this be good for you, SO aside, or bad? I know that certain people I know really disliked their huge boobs. Apparently they put a lot of strain on your back.

[AlohaDawg]

Good going Jough! And Mel! and everyone in change-for-the-better mode.

I say this because for a lot of people, the DECISION to make a serious lifestyle change is a hard thing to do, let alone the tough journey you have toward wellness.

I use that term because I think it's important to be sure to pay attention to your life's needs while you work on your physical health. So everyone else's advice is probably good (if not probably at some level conflicting) in terms of working toward decreasing your weight and raising your physical activity, my main advice is to be sure not to neglect you social, emotional, intellectual, vocational, and spritual needs while you concentrate on your very attention-dominating physical needs. ALL these things need to be attended to for your overall wellness.

It's impossible to overemphasize a doctor's role in this process too - sleep apnea can be life-threatening and orthopedic problems could result in huge weight-loss setbacks. Do you sleep with any kind of rig for the sleep apnea?

I have a friend in Akron who was in his 50s when he finally had bariatric surgery - he had many of the issues you describe but was probably close to 600 pounds at 5'10. I used to work with him and for a whole summer, drove him all over the state because his feet and legs had terrible sores that wouldn't heal. It was fun to hang out with him - he's funny, gregarious, and good at what he does - but it was also a real illustration of the worst outcomes of obesity over time.

The bariatric surgery was necessary in order to get his knees replaced. The knee replacements were necessary due to structural failure.

I think there is a good chance you are in a better position than he was - 20 years younger, less weight on your frame - so I think that you can do this without the surgeon.

I also have to say that I think that it is a pretty courageous thing to come out on a board like this and describe your situation. Using the term dying is not an easy thing to do but I think it describes only one potential outcome out of many, and I think you are a stubborn SOB and you won't let your situation get worse or destroy your quality of life. At least, that's how I see you.

Low impact exercise like swimming is excellent for everyone but especially people with bone and joint problems. Smells, if you are having joint pain or motion problems, you may be able to find a place that has an arthritis exercise class. Our Y does this. the Pool is always between 85 and 90 degrees and they go through some water excercises with just the water for resistance, but also since you are in water, less stress on your feet and legs. This might be good for you too, Jough.



Modified: finally read the whole of all the posts, Smells is right on and if they have the really highly heated pool, that is probably even better for you. Also, if your Y has aquajogging/water walking equipment, you might find that an interesting low-impact way to excercize as well.

[Turbo Ninja]

If doctor and nutritionist visits are getting 'spensive, it might be worth it to join a gym and enlist the services of a personal trainer.  You might be obliging yourself to a monthly membership fee and maybe a trainer's fee on top of that, but it could be cheaper than repeated visits to the doc or the nutritionist.  Trainers at my gym will do a dietary analysis along with the initial physical appraisal, and they'll design a diet for you that will help you reach your goal.  Consider that a value-added feature to go along with their exercise guidance. [EDIT: Consult a doctor before beginning any exercise plan or altering your diet significantly.  There is no substitute for a thorough physical checkup, and they might tell you if your heart is gonna 'splode if you do some jumping jacks.  The trainer suggestion is just in place of repeated visits to a doc who just tells you to exercise more or eat less.  Duh.] 

Not all trainers exist to turn people into models and movie stars.  A certified exercise physiologist should be able to ease you into a total plan.  It's almost certainly going to be stressful at first, particularly on the cardiovascular system, but once you can get some endurance and metabolism on your side the whole thing will come together.

Another suggestion: replace your computer chair with an exercise ball, one of those big inflatable yoga things.  It will make you "actively sit" and engage more muscle groups than just letting a regular seat support you in relaxed repose.  That little extra bit of daily effort will burn calories and every little bit makes a difference.

[robot_god]

I have yo-yo dieted with a low-carb diet twice between normal weight and 50lbs overweight for the past two and a half years.  This year I've given up any attempt at diet adjustment, just all excercise;  it is impossible for me to give up cake and chocolate permanently.

The weightlifting idea is good, I would also suggest stationary bike.  It's basically essential to mix cardio and weights, I've been trying to do six hours of bike a week, and it gets exponentially easier each day.  There was just some article on the cover of People magazine this week about a woman who lost and kept off 200 something lbs and started with stat. bike for 30 minutes, 6 days a week, but to keep it off, she excercises for hours every day (has become a fitness class instructor).

A friend, formerly more overweight than me, has had excellant results at a gym, but he's also been doing alot of coke, so his results are skewed.

And another friend who is severely obese/extreme breathing problems has just joined a gym to swim and use the sauna in the past two weeks, so his results are pending.  He has said 5 minutes in the steam made him feel like he was about to have a heart attack.  I will ask him tomorrow if he has tried it again yet.

But whatever regimen you choose, the most important thing is to be motivated about it.

[AlohaDawg]

For people who are carrying a lot of extra weight (>100 lbs for sure) a doctor's help is really important. The stress activities put on a heart that is already severly overworked and possibly enlarged (this is a common problem with obese patients) makes it really important to make sure the patient can handle stress - you don't want to find out by having a CV event on an exercise machine. Trainers are excellent for people in otherwise good health but this is a different case altogether.

The sleep apnea is another critical problem that needs to be medically evaluated, as are potential orthopedic problems. Successfully treating a severly overweight is a complex process that goes well beyond monitoring weight loss. The reason for the extra weight needs to be explored as well as a whole-body approach - the heart, the breathing, the metabolism, the musculoskeltal issues and the emotional issues around obesity are really important as well.

[theinevitable]

health tips:

One should never, ever, interrupt one's desire to defecate. I have inquired at the Bronx and London Zoos as to the daily bowel evacuations of primates. It is not once, twice, or three times, sir, but four. At the end of an average day, their cages are filled with a veritable mountain of natural health.

 Sex is the sewer drain of a healthy body, sir! Any use of the sexual act other than procreation is a waste of vital energy! Wasted seeds are wasted lives!

"He that killeth the ox is as if he slew a man." Each juicy morsel of meat is alive, and swarming with the same filth as found in the carcass of a dead rat. Meat eaters, sir, are drowning in a tide of gore. What is a sausage? A sausage is an indigestible balloon of decayed beef, riddled with tuberculosis. Eat and die! For I have seen many a repentant meat glutton his body full of uric acid and remorse, his soul adrift on the raft in the ocean of poisonous slime, sloshin' against the walls of the body's kitchen.

Dr. John Harvey Kellogg: The liver is the only thing standing between the smoker and death! Also certain other things have to be avoided... like, uh, feather beds, and romantic novels... and the, uh, touching of one's organs. Masturbation is the silent killer of the night! The vilest sin of self-pollution! It is the sin of Onan!

An erection is a flagpole on your grave.

AND: I never really got to my point in the previous post. What I meant to say was, "everyone has something they can do to improve their health-- I am glad that both of you have decided to do it."

[wombat]

I have inquired at the Bronx and London Zoos as to the daily bowel evacuations of primates.

And you, sir, whoever you are, have been the subject of conversation in the keeper break room at the Bronx and London zoos, you can take my professional word for it.

[littlefallsmets]

If it helps at all, I'm totally on-board with you.

I recently had a muscle infection that mimicked a heart attack in symptoms and... yeah... it's been kind of a wake-up call for me to try and get my life together. I'm only somewhat overweight, thank Somebody that being 6'6" hides being 315 well, but... my blood pressure is high-ish and I'm in my middle twenties, maybe the oldest you can be while still being able to shed pounds relatively quickly and...

As I recover from it, I'm trying to turn my life around. I'm cutting back insanely on salt and fat and generally trying to get my overall caloric intake down but... its hard, especially when I'm still recovering from a virus that made my upperbody feel like Jell-O, to get into exercising immediately.

There's nothing for losing weight like PA-ing on a movie but... with that not coming up around anytime soon, it's hard to like... walk and run and swim and such after a day of office work. I don't really have any good advice, I'd just like you to know that I deeply identify.

[AlohaDawg]

LittleFalls, did you check yourself for Marfan Syndrome?

The silent killer of tall people.

[Doc]

I'm about 40 or 50 of your american pounds over where I should be so I can't really say I know how you're feeling but I'm damn glad you're looking it in the face and realising that if you don't do something you'll die a lot sooner than you should. I mean, everyone dies of something but you sure as hell don't want to make it come any sooner and a lot of people just shrug their problems off so it's really good to hear that you're doing something about it. You too Smells, though you may not be dying chronic pain is not kind of fun at all. Plus any kind of ongoing goal means more Smells-stories and that's good for everyone.

So do we get to know what your respective objectives are so we can start keeping a book or something?

[AugustWest]

Checklist for Marfan Syndrome:

DO YOU:

-- Regularly wear a stovepipe hat?

-- Have your picture on the penny?

-- Feel a vague sense of foreboding when someone suggests going to the theater?

-- Split rails?

-- Emancipate large groups of oppressed people?

-- Hold the Union together?

-- Purchase the Alaska Territory?

-- Worry that children's toys bearing your name and likeness will be used to catapult small brown chunks of wood at playmates' heads for many generations into the future?

-- Write on the back of envelopes?

You may have Marfan syndrome (a.k.a. Abe-ism).  See your personal physician or call me, Dr. Samuel Mudd, for further information.

[wombat]

Eek, if there is a scary silent killer of short people, could you not post a link to it?  I'm enough of a hypochondriac as it is.


Also: everyone please give August a tiny can right now.  Thanks.

[misterqueue]

Eek, if there is a scary silent killer of short people

I wouldn't say I'm silent exactly....

[pmcd9]

First off I'd like to say that I love this board.  It's wonderfully awesome that three members of this board somehow chose the exact same day to take decisive action to improve their health.

Jough, your not going to die.  This is a winnable battle.  You have the support of a lot of people here who have insight into the problems you are facing.  We'll help you.  I can tell you that a positive attitude goes a long way.  My problem with breathing isn't severe like yours is, but moving to the mountains has pointed out that I ain't in the best of shape.  The altitude and the inclines leave me without breath much easier than I am comfortable with.  One things for certain, not being able to breathe stone cold sucks.

Melanie, I'm saddened that your health issues are shooting your career in the foot just as you are set to take off.  But I'm glad you are choosing to focus on your health.  I've been thinking about you and hoping that you are alright.  This is a tough time for you, but you have a strong support system and you also have your internet friends here to encourage you.

I'll take your challenge.  I'll even give away my natural advantage and do it percentage of body weight rather than total weight lost.  I'm gonna win either way.  While it's true that I don't need Weight Watchers to tell me how to eat healthy I've rejoined for the social aspect.  It's like AA for fatties.  Anyway, I quit in March when I came to Utah because they wouldn't honor my coupon from Texas.  It's another franchise they said, essentially ripping me off for over 100 dollars.  I swore they would never get another cent of my money, but I've swallowed my pride and handed over my money.  I've lost over 100 pounds, but have been slipping back up these past 6 months since my life has been topsy turvy and have put about 20 pounds back on.  I'm settled now (for the next 6 months) and I've suddenly regained my focus.  Today is my first day and I am brimming with confidence.  Ok, lets do this thing.

Of course since this is a virtual contest we will need before pictures.  Head to toe shot with minimal clothing. Standing on the scale would be optimal.  I'll show you mine, so you show me yours (giant boobs included) and we'll start it as of today if that suits you.  Jough are you in?  Let's get the pictures up in this thread.  I'll post mine tonight.

I don't have a favorite charity so if I win you can donate to your own favorite charity.

~Paul

[AlohaDawg]

I'm willing to take each person's word for their weight loss - if you want to share pictures, maybe create some way to make them less public...I'm not having a problem with seeing them here, but I think maybe it's not the most appropriate place to post 'minimally clothed' ' pictures of anyone in any situation. A little too public, possibly.  At least maybe a place where guests and really new people can't get to them? Just thinking out loud. Whatever motivates you is cool with me.

I can post a picture of this gut that won't go away. Any of you other guys have this problem? I have great blood pressure, get lots of great outdoors excercise and this paunch won't budge. Maybe I need Pilates or yoga or something. I actually want to keep my weight the same but lose the paunch and put on upper body muscle.