20 years to Blue

Mar 26, 2013

I have trained in the Martial Arts most of my life starting in Japanese Jiu Jitsu when in middle school.  I began training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in the year of 1993, just out of high school.  That year I had to drive 250+ miles one way to Portland, OR to the closest BJJ gym and train.  Needless to say I could not support those trips for long and have been inconsistent with my BJJ training.

 A few years ago I met Randy Stacy when he transferred to the local Air Base, he teamed up with one of the local schools and the built a grappling room for us to train.  I started training BJJ consistently in the year of 2010 but due to my size I did not progress as I should have.  In 2011 I took time off to prepare for surgery and to follow my prescribed 6 month monitoring period.  Surgery happened in April 2012 and I took nearly 4 months to fully heal, once the doc gave me the all clear I was back on the mat!!

BJJ has been vital to my success, the guys push me daily and have wooped, armbared, and choked me into shape.  This past week, I was awarded my blue belt in BJJ which is an accomplishment 20 years in the making.

Below are a few pics of my progress and weight loss.  

With my weight loss, I have grown so much on and off the mat....it is amazing how much differently I can move between being 370lb and now at 230lb.

Don't give up, you can achieve your goals....now I am confident my Purple belt won't take as long.....we will see in a few years. :)

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Celebrating hitting my goal weight!

Mar 23, 2013

 

I took my daughter for her first skiing trip on Friday to celebrate hitting my goal weight.  The snow started out frozen and tough in the am but the afternoon it was about perfect.  We both ended up with sunburns and good memories.....and being a couple days before they close for the season and on a week day we just about had the place to ourselves.  There were maybe a total of 40 people on the mountain and on the steeper runs I had them to myself.....good stuff.  At one point she wanted to rest in the lodge so I made a few quick runs, two runs each on two separate lifts and I was the only one there...crazy.

 

I could not have though of a better way to spend the day, finally able to show her how to do one of my favorite activities.  She is going to be a good ski buddy for years to come. Her smile pretty much sums up the day.

 

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Hitting my Original Goal!!

Mar 20, 2013

 

Well yesterday I weighed in and the scale read 229.8lb!!!!  I thought that was great but decided to wait until today and try it again before officially calling my goal reached.  Well, this morning the scale read 229.4 so I say it is official.  Below are my stats.

Height = 6'0"

Highest = 370 (6/2011)

At time of 6mo monitoring = 358 (9/2011)

Day of surgery = 328.8 (4/12/2012)

Current = 229.4

So, I am just under one year out and have reached my goal weight that was expected to happen at 18 months.  At my last doctor visit I had only lost 5lb of muscle from when I started so the doc was very pleased.  I can tell you this journey has been very positive, not only in my life but in my families as well.  I have gotten back to some of the activities I loved when I was younger and honestly feel I do some, if not all, of them better now.  

During this journey I have reevaluated my goal weight and feel that somewhere between 210 and 220 would be a very good place for me to end up.  My sights are now set on 215!

I did have a difficult time in the beginning and it really took me 6 months to fully heal up, relearn how to eat and to get my energy back.  I started working out at the 2 month mark but felt exhausted for the most part.  I really was having second thoughts and wondering what the hell I did to myself but that soon passed.  Around the 6 month mark I stopped loosing and plateaued for almost two months which was very frustrating, the doc and nut kept reassuring me to stay the course and it too passed.  My weight loss has been a series of plateaus and drops, usually it would run in a 2 week cycle but most always I say a net loss throughout the month.  From the first if this year to now I have only lost around 15lb but the weather has kept me from mountain biking which contributed to some of my losses.  I stayed very active with wrestling and BJJ throughout the winter but missed the bike.  

I quit attending support groups around the first of this year.  For me it was an 80mi drive to listen to a group of folks talk about ways they can cheat and how to eat foods they are not supposed to.  I tried to give valuable input to new folks but was always over run by those giving, in my opinion, bad advice.  I have found this site as well as some Facebook groups to be a great resource and highly recommend others seek them out if you have questions.

My advice to those thinking about surgery or that are currently struggling is to stay the course.  You have the tools and have been giving the knowledge to be successful all you need is the will to see it through.

I thought I would share a few pics of my progress to date....enjoy.

Pre surgery

A work in progress

Reaching a goal - My XL shirt and 38 waist pants are getting too big...bring on the large!!!!

Thanks all for the time and support....more to come.

Andrew

 

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About Me
Klamath Falls, OR
Location
31.2
BMI
RNY
Surgery
04/11/2012
Surgery Date
Jun 27, 2006
Member Since

Friends 27

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