Half the man i used to be. Litterally

[ertlandia 74]

At my largest

updated pic ohhhhh ahhhh

side by side current 213.5 and day after surgery 380

I have always been heavy. When I was a kid playing little league football I had to play with kids 3 to 4 years older than myself to "make weight" This was the start of my struggle with my weight. When I got to Jr High I started power lifting and did that for a few years. I quit while in high school to get a job. It was at that point I started to pack on weight. I was used to consuming a large amount of calories for my physical activity and never scaled it back down after i quit. I quickly balloon up to 300lbs after graduating and getting a desk job.

Fast forward to November of 2011. I was diagnosed with diabetes. I weight 442lbs at the appointment. I still remember that day vividly. Its funny how you can remember the details of major events like that. I was in denial. I left the Doctors office and went to a philly cheese steak place and consumed a meal that consisted of 3500 calories. the entire time thinking to myself, "thats bullshit, I don't have diabetes, my liver function can't be at 60 some odd percent.". It took me a day to process everything and come to terms with it. It was then that I decided to pursue the option of WLS. I made and appointment with a local surgeon.

I started the pre-surgery diet before I even meet with the nut. I did that with the help of the diabetic education system that the local hospital has. Leading up the the surgery the process was took 6 months because of insurance requirements. My surgery was August 17th. During my stay at the hospital all I can remember were the apologies for not having a bed long enough for my 6'3" frame. It was only about 2 days until I really wanted to get up and start doing stuff. I did not become very active due to the doctors warnings to take it easy. The only issues with the post surgery diet that I had were issues with food intolerances. No eggs or turkey, kind of saddening but lift goes on.

At my first check up on talked with the doctor about when I could start exercising. He gave me a date that I would be cleared to go. I called some of my buddies and we setup a time to go for a hike on the Appalachian trail. My first real exercise was an 8 mike hike on the trail. I was beat and went home and slept for like 12 hours. I didn't slow down there. We started hiking every Saturday. We have covered about 1/3 of the Trail in the state of PA, multiple times over. I set a goal to get down to 100lbs below what I started and I would buy a bike. When I hit that goal November of 2012 I went out and bought a nice mountain bike. When I started riding the bike I would park at a friends house about 4 miles, direct route to work, and ride in. I would get between 8 to 10 miles a day. This went on for about a week. As my friends put it I went a little crazy one saturday on my way home. My house is 14.6 miles from work I rode the entire way home after riding for a week. That was the start of my commuting via bike to and from work. I started out getting 30 miles a day. I kept going riding 4 to 5 times a week. When the weather started to get snowy and really cold that slowed down and I joined a gym.

I set another goal, Complete a 100 mile ride for charity with in a year of my surgery date. I registered for the JDRF Ride for a cure, sold my Mountain bike and picked up a road bike. Starting out I was only able to get up to a speed of about 8 to 12 mph through my rides. I started taking the long way to work getting an average of 28 to 32 miles one way. After weeks of working on my speed I have gotten up to a constant 15 to 17 mph peaking with sprints into the high 20's.

At 9 months post op I am at 214 lbs a loss of 228 lbs total 174 in the 9months post surgery. I am no longer on diabetes meds and riding 60+ miles on the days I ride. I still hike and trail run. I have taken up yoga strength training and will be giving cross fit a try. The surgery has given me the tools to be as active as I wanted to be. I am not healthier than I have ever been. I have started running group rides for friends that want to get out and cycle to loose weight. I, for the first time ever, was called a role model.

the morning before surgery and few weeks ago(will take a new pick I have dropped 15 or 20 lbs since that was taken)[/font]

[fyre_storm 1,412]

Holy hell congrats! I started at 388 and now weigh 268! Your inspirational!!!

[No game 14,436]

You are amazing! And so is your story.

I'm so happy that you shared this with us

Thank you,

Laura

[leeann71 539]

You look fantastic! What an inspiration you are for all of us. Congratulations!

[buplee 556]

Great job. You are an inspiration to us all. Keep up the good work.

Sent from my iPad using VST

[lsereno 2,525]

congrats! I'm a little more than half the woman I used to be. I was 254 and I'm 135 now. You are so fit though and riding that bike! I love riding my 7 speed cruiser, but I only ride in my neighborhood.

Lynda

[superchica879 58]

Your story is truly amazing, thanks for sharing

[janie2024 59]

Wonderful story, it gives all of us pre ops great motivation!

[TES 858]

You definitely ARE a role model! Congratulations!

[Aries 95]

HOLY ****!

I'm speechless.

You look INCREDIBLE!

Your story is INCREDIBLE!

I'm so excited for you and the new life you have ahead.

Maybe I need to buy a bike and give my car a rest for a while

[ertlandia 74]

thanks everyone. I have been following post on the forum since I started the process. If the story of my success up to this point helps one person I will be happy.

@Aries riding my bike has been the greatest thing assisting me. Not only have I saved a ton of money on gas I feel amazing afterwards. I do not ride any longer for just exercise, I find in therapeutic.

[Aries 95]

Thanks ertlandia! Ill definitely look into it once I drop some more weight.

[mistysj 1,939]

You are my hero! Thank you so much for sharing this. You look so great!

[erics300 137]

Great job man. I was also one of the FAT lineman in high school and it was acceptable then but now it sucks. My surgery is next week. Thanks for sharing.

[bethxxx 304]

Wow... I'm speechless!!

You look amazing