12 months to 275 lbs!

Most folks who know me have heard me referred to as "The Heavy Revy". A friend coined that nickname a long time ago, I always thought it was funny and it kind of stuck. To say I'm a big guy would be an understatement. Not just big as in fat (though yes I'm that too) but I'm a bit of a giant, even without the weight. I am 6'7" tall, I have a 60" chest, and nearly a 7 foot wing span! When I got married at 19, I was 6'6" tall and weighed in about 250 lbs. I had a much smaller frame, in fact I was about 6 to 8 " smaller, shoulder to shoulder. My frame is much much larger than it was back then.

Why is that important? Well I often hear people talking about getting back to what they weighed back when. Though I'd love to get back to 250 lbs, I'd likely have to lose both legs and all my weight to get there! I don't think if I survived a famine I'd ever make it back to that, I'm just too big even without the fat I've put on these last 22 years. So I have set out to find a more realistic goal for getting healthy. I am going to shoot for 275 lbs. I am not even sure I could lose enough weight for that but it will be my goal. IF I ever get back to 275 lbs, I will be SKINNY, believe me!

Now for a bit of background. As I said earlier, I was about 250 and much smaller in frame when I got married. I grew an inch in height but grew much more in frame. I averaged putting on about 4 to 6 lbs a year for the first 15 years or so. At 34, I weighed in around 320 lbs. No excuses, just laziness, love of food, and a sedentary lifestyle. It was gradual but steady and it sure didn't make me feel any better that is for sure. I got sick back in 2002, when I was 31. My weight didn't change all that much at first, just kept inching up. Somewhere around 2005, one of my doctors got the bright idea to start pumping me full of steroids. They didn't really know what was wrong with me but they thought it was auto-immune and figured steroids would help. Long story short, that was the WORST thing they could have done for me health-wise and for my weight.

In 2007, I started seeing a new doctor in Ft. Worth. That is when they REALLY started pumping me full of steroids! My health plummeted, my weight soared! By 2008, I weighed in at 408 lbs! I was deathly sick and far heavier than I'd ever been. By August of 2008 I was literally near death. I spent 6 days in Baylor hospital only to be told they didn't know what was wrong with me and I should probably get ready to spend the rest of my life in a wheel chair. Things were bad to say the least.

Without retelling my whole illness story, in September of 2008, I was finally properly diagnosed with Lyme Disease. All treatment with steroids stopped but by then the damage had been done, I was horribly over weight, so weak I couldn't even stand, and my health was shattered.

For the last four years I have fought the disease and kind of / sort of worked on my weight. It has been a constant journey of three steps forward, two steps back. By 2010, I was some what improved and decided to start seeing if I could get some weight off. I am blessed, despite all I've been through, to have a killer metabolism. My wife calls my "diet", if you can call it that, the "Pop Tart and Cereal" diet! :-) Since 2010, I managed to lose about 55 lbs, despite eating pop tarts and cereal every night (to satisfy my sweet tooth). I make my wife sick! :-)

So here I am, roughly two years later and I weigh 358 lbs. I'm doing better physically, I feel somewhat better but know I have much to lose. I need to get my strength back, having lost a ton of muscle over the years of being so sick. I have kind of plateaued the last few months but had kind of fallen off the wagon a bit as well. I've been border line diabetic for a while, and I've felt pretty bad lately. I don't know for certain but I'd wager my blood sugar has been elevated. I guess that adds a bit more urgency to the need to get the last of the weight off but it isn't the only reason. I'm 41 now, not getting any younger. Years of broken bones and blown out joints have begun to take their toll. Chronic pain has become a much bigger part of my life, even more than with the Lyme Disease. The two combined issues have really gotten bad. Getting the weight off can't help but make me feel better and cut out some of the pain. If you have to walk around on bad joints, weighing less can't hurt! It is time to get serious and I'm going to use this blog and Facebook to keep me more accountable.

SSSOOO if you are reading this, please say a prayer for me every now and again. I have a LOT of bad habits to break, from soft drinks, sweet tea, cereal, and that sweet tooth that flares way too often. I need to get back into regularly exercising as well. With my metabolism, it won't take a lot to get my act together. I don't need to eat like a bird, just keep it sensible and steady. Getting under 300 lbs won't be all that hard I don't imagine. Those last 25 lbs I think will be harder, because I really don't know what the lowest weight I could get too with my frame. Truth be known, if I can get under 300 I'll be thrilled. Well, I know I can get under 300, just need to do it! So this is what I'm going to post daily. As "daily" as I can keep it anyway.

WEIGHT CHECK IN

High Weight: 408 lbs.

Dec 1, 2012 Weight: 358 lbs.

Dec 1, 2013 Goal Weight: 275 lbs.

Amount Still to lose: 83 lbs.

Yesterday's Weight: 358 lbs.

Today's Weight: 358 lbs.

One Day Weight Lost: 0 lbs.

Total Weight Still to Lose: 83 lbs.

Days Left: 365 days

So thanks for taking a minute to read this. Feel free to tell me "PUT DOWN THE DONUT FAT BOY!" if you see me getting out of line or slacking. Insults accepted, prayers appreciated! Thanks!

The Heavy....soon to be less Heavy....Revy!