Hitting my Original Goal!!!

 

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

 

Congratulations, Andrew, on a job well done!

Congratulations!

Good job, Andrew!  You should be very proud.

You look great! Congrats on all your hard work!!

Wow, that is just awesome! You look awesome! what a great accomplishment on your new life. Love the pic on ice with shorts!!!LOL

Way to go Andrew on hitting your original goal, it is a great feeling I know that feeling of hitting that goal and it is a great motivator to keep moving forward. From looking at the pictures you have posted, it looks like you are enjoying life to the fullest now. that is AWESOME! Warmer weather is on it's way, so you will be able to jump on your bike and hit the trails in no time. Like you, when I reached my first goal I had to reevaluated my weight because, I knew that my body was not finished loosing weight. I am currently at that second goal and have been for the last six months. I am pleased at the weight I am now, so no more weight loss goals for me. I take that back; my only goal as far as weight loss goes is to maintain what I have lost and NEVER find it again.
I think just about every support group has people that love to talk about how they eat around their WLS. To me, those people are the ones *****ally were not ready to have their surgery at all. I also receive more informative information from OH then I do at my support group. I still go to mine, but it is only a 14 mile round trip. I go more to encourage others then to be encouraged. My encouragement comes from my family, friends and those on OH. Well good luck on hitting your next goal. I'm sure you will have no problem with getting there. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

Thanks all, I took my daughter for her first skiing trip on Friday to celebrate.  The snow was frozen and tough in the am but the afternoon the snow 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.