Well, I am almost at the 1 year point of my journey. I have not been with Traineo for the entire time, but have been a daily logger for over 8 months on the traineo site.

My journey has been chronicled throughout the forum, but I will give an overview here for those of you that have not been in the forums over the past 8 months.

My lifestyle was just like anybody else's that was overweight. My days, weeks, months, years were filled with, eating too much, looking forward to the times I could get together with friends and just pig out, and just sitting in front of the TV or computer with a bag of chips fully knowing that by the time I got up they would be almost gone. Bad food choices coupled with the absolute avoidance of any type of activity over the years led to me being who I was at the end of 2006.

Here I was before January 1 2007, at 258lbs +/-:



Over the years I knew I needed to lose weight, but just kept gaining. I always told my wife that if a Doctor would tell me to lose weight I would do it, but I could never get a Doctor to tell me to lose weight. I switched Doctors but still no luck. Finally I asked a Doctor to do some blood work on me and it came back that I had really high liver enzymes. I went to a specialist and finally, for the first time I had a Doctor tell me I needed to lose weight...... so I did.....

Here I am today, at 180lbs:



I started January 2, 2007 after the holidays since I knew I would fail if I tried to start right during the worst time of year for eating.

The first thing I did was slow down with my portions, and think about how much I was eating, added more water, and stopped all sodas. I did this for
one week before doing anything else.

Starting the second week I changed my schedule drastically. I was used to staying up till midnight or 1:00 am everyday. I started going to bed at 10:00 so I could get up at 5:00 am. I started getting up at 5:00 am every day and going for a walk. I didn't do anything special, I just got up and walked for about 30 minutes everyday.

That was pretty much all I did for the first 2-3 months, but I was seeing the weight come off at a good rate.

After 2-3 months I thought about running, but figured I couldn't do it. I started running about 100 yards at a time a couple days a week, but was absolutely exhausted. I didn't give everything up, just kept walking and eating less and felt good about myself for what I was doing.

I did think about switching it up a bit so I decided to join a gym. I found a no frills gym and joined. I had to change my schedule a bit to figure in the travel time so I started to get up at 4:30 am. I had no idea how to use the equipment, so the first week I just walked on the treadmill and watched other people use the different machines. I then started venturing out to the weight machines and have made that a regular part of my week 2-3 days a week.

While walking on the treadmill one day I wondered if I could run on the treadmill. I was scared I would fall off, but after a couple days I gave it a shot. To my surprise, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was only able to run for a few minutes, and I was really slow but it was a start. I kept running a little bit at a time, and eventually tried to move to the road, but was in a lot of pain. After doing some research, I bought some new shoes from a running store and the pain was gone. It still took me quite a bit, but I worked my way up to running 3 miles at a time, and entered my first 5k in May.

I was elated to run a 5k, since the last time I had run any race was a 10k when I was in high school over 20 years ago. It was a small race, and I finished last in 36 minutes, but I FINISHED!

Around this time I started looking more into what I was eating, not just how much. I started counting calories and watching what I was eating instead of just how much. I also kept running now with my sights now set on a 10k. The lbs kept coming off, and I was very pleased with how everything was going, just continuing to tweak all the time.

As I kept tweaking, I started to add whey protein into my diet for right after working out or running, I also started to eat 6 times a day. I would eat breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. This really helped me since during this time I started to plateau a bit. I even had to up my calories at one point around here because I was not eating enough.

July came and it was time for my 10k. I woke up on race morning and was almost 200 lbs. The race went really good, and I knew I was making good progress with getting my life in order as far as my health was concerned. I ran the 10k in 1 hour and 3 minutes.

A devastating day came just a few days following my 10k. I continued to run, but was over doing it and pulled a muscle. When all was said and done I had to take 3 months off with almost no running to get my pulled muscle to heal. I was depressed because I was making such good progress, but I kept losing weight because I kept eating right and working out at the gym.

I have now been back running for a few months, and have ran another 5k at 26 minutes this time, and have also run an 8k in 40 minutes. I have made progress that I hadn't even dreamed about. I am now in the middle of training for a half marathon which I will run on February 16th. I have for the past few weeks been running 5 miles two times a week in the morning and have been getting long runs in every other week following a training program. My longest run to date was 10 miles which I did in 1 hour and 37 minutes. I am set to put in 11 miles this Saturday. I even have my sights set on a Full Marathon sometime in 2008, and possibly even a Sprint Tri.

All being said and done, I am now just over a week from my journey being at the 1 year mark. I have lost 78lbs, and would like to lose 10-20 more. Things have slowed down quite a bit which can be frustrating at times, but I know that is how it works when you get closer to your bodies ideal weight.

I know this has been a long journey, but it is just the beginning of an entire life change. I have aspirations of continued success in running and toning of my body, as well as continued weight lose and further tweaking of my diet to make it even more healthy, and also continue to build habits to where it is just part of life.

I put this quick site up for my parents (who live far away) so they could track my progress. It is not much but it shows the progress well. www.2big.org/stuff/weight.html

I know I can be very long winded, I am sorry -

Thanks for reading!

Tim

Long read but congrats Tim, way to go. Keep up the awesome work.

tim-thank you so much for sharing your story! that is so amazing! you are such an inspiration! i admire you so much! i can relate to you so much too as i am also from big numbers and have been fighting the battle of the bulge and feel like my journey is just beginning. i am looking forward to so many more challenges along the way. you have made such tremendous progress and have done it in a such a healthy manner. thanks for sharing your pics and graphs etc. i have thrown my fat pics out b/c i didnt want any memories of them. sometimes i regret that bc i would be able to see the progress like you. anyway, keep it up and keep being a great part of this community! thanks again!!! i hope you continue to reach whatever goals and dreams you desire!

Tim, congratulations! That is really an inspiration for me - after losing just over 30lbs I still have 75 or so to go to get to my major goal, and from your efforts I can visualize that goal so much better! Thanks for sharing

Congrats Tim! A true inspiration and fantastic member of Traineo!

That's awesome Tim. I don't even know what else to say other than great work!

Thanks all, I really didn't do it for all the comments back. Some of this was even hard to put into words because it is so personal by nature to be so overweight.... not to mention the fat pics!

My main reason was just for what has been mentioned..... To give someone hope. I know it was stuff like this that I could tell was real that helped me see that it was possible to get there.

I am in no way where I want to be, and I still struggle from time to time, but I think some things do get easier when the results are coming around. I am not yet ready to take a picture of myself without a shirt...... but I will do so by late spring, and I will be proud of it..... why? because I know I can do it, just like if you are reading this right now and you have a question - YOU can do it. I know... first hand.... if I can do it, you can do it, and I am not just giving lip service. Persevere!

And again.... sorry for the long post (my fingers needed a workout )

Hey Tim! That's outstanding progress...you're an inspiration! Thanks for sharing your very personal journey!

Hey Tim,

That's great. I think post like yours are extremely valuable for people looking for support or advice on how to begin losing weight. Personal stories like this really help people connect to the fact that they need to personalize their own journey. It also gives them good advice on where to start. I especially liked how you periodically assessed where you were and what you needed to change to continue improving.

Great job and congratulation. I hope you rewarded yourself well.

Inspirational read! ....

Good job man, you should be proud of yourself... Keep it up! No matter how hard or unpleasant the effort can be at times, you are proof that if you set your mind to it, you can win!

Wow! You've done an amazing job so far and I know you'll keep working hard to reach all of the goals you've set in order to be healthy! I love the personal touch of your story. It's nice to see the results you've obtained just by making healthy choices and getting right back into the game when you have a bad day/week. Way to go!

Two words Tim......You Rock !!!!!!

Great work Tim. How tall are you?

Awesome job, Tim! Very inspiring!

Wow.
What an inspiration.
Thank you for sharing your story. :]

Tim, Tim, TIM!!!

As I imagined your folks clicking on that site you made for them, tears came to my eyes, they must be out of their beans happy for you and all the work you have done. What a gift you've given yourself, and in turn to them.

Thanks for this thread, and for adding just a little more fuel in my inspiration-tank--and just in time for our Christmas holiday.

I bet that leather chair doesn't recognize yo' ass anymore!

Thank you all for your kind words. Funny thing is I don't sit in that leather chair near as much as I used to.

Matt - I am 5'9"

Great job, Tim! When I hear stories like yours, it makes me feel like I can definitely reach my goals. I should probably read 1 every day. And thanks for not candy-coating it and making it sound like it was super easy or anything. Really great job!!

Awesome post Tim!!

Thanks for sharing your journey through 2007. It is making me think long and hard about how I am going to up my game for 2008.

You're a true inspiration!!

Great job Tim, your story wasn't long at all. It was perfect! Going from the size you were at to size you are right now is pure GENIUS!

Like you, I need to force change on my habits. I need to stop trying to get comfortable in my life with the way I am and pick myself up off my butt and say "I aint going to take this anymore!"

A story like this only gives me more fuel to work off of. Thank you!

I am sorry, I had to add this to my post since it was such a hugh accomplishment before the end of the first year.

I have posted the details at this other post http://www.traineo.com/1019_4386_0.html

But..... I have ran my very first Half Marathon!!!! It wasn't an official race, but just in my training - but I am still pumped! I ran it in 2:07.

What a great birthday and Christmas gift I have given myself!!! One day before my 38th birthday, and just a couple days before Christmas, I can say that I have officially run a Half Marathon!

WHOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!!!!!

congrats congrats congrats! and happy bday!! i couldnt see the post as it only let members view it but awesome job!!! what an accomplishment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!! what gift (s) you have given to yourself!!!!

Well, I am almost through the holiday season, and I have maintained (if not dropped almost a pound) I have family in town till the new year and so far am eating healthy and just like I should. I am not counting calories because that is a bit difficult with family in town and limited amount of time on the computer, but am eating what I should, and nothing more. I am sure new years eve will be a bit of a bad night, but I plan on running a race that night at 7:00 PM so that will help.

I would love to lose another 2 lbs by the end of the year because that would put me at an 80 lb loss for the year, but I don't see that happening.

Onward to my goal(s)!!

WOW, Tim, that's fan-freakin'-tastic! Looks like that cold didn't get in your way after all, congrats!

Congrats too on the pound down during a time of year that this rarely happens. I managed to do the same this year and I'm damned happy about it.

Enjoy the accomplishment, I can only imagine what the year has in store for you. Keep takin' those pics!

Absolutely amazing! You are such a great example that anyone really can do it. Thanks for sharing your whole story and your accomplishments! It really has been a lot of fun watching you disappear and and become speedier as you do so.

Well done Tim, truly inspirational.

Great pics. Amazing what difference a year makes. Oh yeah and a little work.

Congrats Tim you're an inspiration

Forest

FABULOUS! What a great committment you have made to yourself and your family!

Thanks for sharing!

April

Wow... Tim thanks so much for sharing your journey. You truely are an inspiration.