Vaulting Over the Wall...
It has been a while, LiveJournal.
I'm sure everyone noticed, but the past few months of posts have been distant and, for lack of a better term, very angry. This happens sometimes, especially to me. I have an issue with keeping things to myself, and letting them boil over inside of my head. I've done really well with learning how to let things go, but if it's presented to me time and time again, well, it's hard to let it go.
That being said...
I started a new weight-loss regimen. It's not the standard "diet diet diet diet bounceback" system that most people do. I'm not actually on a diet. I have adjusted my eating habits (something that is sort of required of college students when the cafeteria closes for breaks anyway, so it's good practice for Summer) and I have adopted a very light exercise schedule that keeps me moving and losing weight. I walk 12 blocks each morning (unless I'm just too lazy to get out of bed, which happens on occasion), I have a pair of weights I borrowed from my campus nutritionist that I exercise with, I count now five basic things when I eat and when I shop : In order from most important : Calories(low), Sugar(low), Protein(higher than sugar), Fiber(higher than sugar), & Fat(low). I see a counselor, get weighed, and have my blood pressure checked every week. I see my doctor every 30 days for a checkup on weight loss, and to adjust my medications for appetite suppression and blood pressure.
I try to keep my calorie intake to at or less than 2000cal/day. You may think this is a big number, and you are right. When you are actually counting every one that enters your body, you can be surprised how hard it is to actually REACH 2000. And you may think that is high, sure, but consider my calorie intake is supposed to be over 5000 for someone my size and activity level.
Five thousand calories. I'm taking in less than half of that per day. So is it any wonder my weight, which peaked at 554.7lbs just before Thanksgiving, is now at 515.9lbs and is probably even lower since Tuesday?
I can't say I did it alone. My counselor and doctor are 200% behind me, the ladies at the hospital where I get weighed (can't use regular scales for obvious reasons) are always cheering for me when I get weighed and have lost something, my boss is happy for me... I have support for it this time around. That may be what I needed, in the end, is to have people pushing me on, and knowing they actually gave a damn about me, rather than just saying "yay Jephi" and forgetting I said anything five minutes later.
I have an ultimate goal of 300lbs by July 1, 2011. Yes that means I will still be overweight, but if you've ever met me, you would understand why 300 is the goal - even if I lost this damn belly, I would still be a very large guy. I have been described as "built like a brick shithouse" by more than one person. I don't think I will ever get back to 225lbs like I was just before graduating high school. However, I think if I could get to 300 I would be much healthier, active, feel a lot better, and look much better than I do now. I will still be big, but I won't be the big I am right now.
So yes, that means losing 200lbs in just under 18 months. I have set some small goals for myself, one of which being to hit 499lbs by February 14th. That will be a big milestone for me, to drop under 500lbs. That will mean I would have lost over 1/5 of the weight I was aiming to get rid of total (250lbs). It will also mean I'm back on the good side of the hill.
A lot of doctors claim that 500lbs is the benchmark from which many overweight people never come back. The health deteriorates exponentially, the weight packs on faster and faster, and eventually they bond with the polyester of the couch they have parked themselves on permanently. It's just a bad thing to be.
However, I think the opposite is true - if I can get myself under the 500lbs mark, things will start to get better health-wise, the weight will drop off quicker, and I will start being more active in the world around me. It's a hope, and one I'm clinging to for dear life, to be honest.
I don't want to be this big. I never did. And now I"m on my way to not being it anymore.
Updates as I get to them. Happy New Year, all.
-Jephi
...come, break me down, bury me, bury me...
I'm sure everyone noticed, but the past few months of posts have been distant and, for lack of a better term, very angry. This happens sometimes, especially to me. I have an issue with keeping things to myself, and letting them boil over inside of my head. I've done really well with learning how to let things go, but if it's presented to me time and time again, well, it's hard to let it go.
That being said...
I started a new weight-loss regimen. It's not the standard "diet diet diet diet bounceback" system that most people do. I'm not actually on a diet. I have adjusted my eating habits (something that is sort of required of college students when the cafeteria closes for breaks anyway, so it's good practice for Summer) and I have adopted a very light exercise schedule that keeps me moving and losing weight. I walk 12 blocks each morning (unless I'm just too lazy to get out of bed, which happens on occasion), I have a pair of weights I borrowed from my campus nutritionist that I exercise with, I count now five basic things when I eat and when I shop : In order from most important : Calories(low), Sugar(low), Protein(higher than sugar), Fiber(higher than sugar), & Fat(low). I see a counselor, get weighed, and have my blood pressure checked every week. I see my doctor every 30 days for a checkup on weight loss, and to adjust my medications for appetite suppression and blood pressure.
I try to keep my calorie intake to at or less than 2000cal/day. You may think this is a big number, and you are right. When you are actually counting every one that enters your body, you can be surprised how hard it is to actually REACH 2000. And you may think that is high, sure, but consider my calorie intake is supposed to be over 5000 for someone my size and activity level.
Five thousand calories. I'm taking in less than half of that per day. So is it any wonder my weight, which peaked at 554.7lbs just before Thanksgiving, is now at 515.9lbs and is probably even lower since Tuesday?
I can't say I did it alone. My counselor and doctor are 200% behind me, the ladies at the hospital where I get weighed (can't use regular scales for obvious reasons) are always cheering for me when I get weighed and have lost something, my boss is happy for me... I have support for it this time around. That may be what I needed, in the end, is to have people pushing me on, and knowing they actually gave a damn about me, rather than just saying "yay Jephi" and forgetting I said anything five minutes later.
I have an ultimate goal of 300lbs by July 1, 2011. Yes that means I will still be overweight, but if you've ever met me, you would understand why 300 is the goal - even if I lost this damn belly, I would still be a very large guy. I have been described as "built like a brick shithouse" by more than one person. I don't think I will ever get back to 225lbs like I was just before graduating high school. However, I think if I could get to 300 I would be much healthier, active, feel a lot better, and look much better than I do now. I will still be big, but I won't be the big I am right now.
So yes, that means losing 200lbs in just under 18 months. I have set some small goals for myself, one of which being to hit 499lbs by February 14th. That will be a big milestone for me, to drop under 500lbs. That will mean I would have lost over 1/5 of the weight I was aiming to get rid of total (250lbs). It will also mean I'm back on the good side of the hill.
A lot of doctors claim that 500lbs is the benchmark from which many overweight people never come back. The health deteriorates exponentially, the weight packs on faster and faster, and eventually they bond with the polyester of the couch they have parked themselves on permanently. It's just a bad thing to be.
However, I think the opposite is true - if I can get myself under the 500lbs mark, things will start to get better health-wise, the weight will drop off quicker, and I will start being more active in the world around me. It's a hope, and one I'm clinging to for dear life, to be honest.
I don't want to be this big. I never did. And now I"m on my way to not being it anymore.
Updates as I get to them. Happy New Year, all.
-Jephi
...come, break me down, bury me, bury me...