April
For the past several months, I've been having a lot of trouble with my knees. Last year, I had a fall and sprained my MCL I had another fall in October (I am a bit of a clutz) and was having a lot of trouble with my knee feeling "gritty" when it bent. I was sent for an MRI, which revealed that I have degenerated meniscus and thinning of the cartilage in my knees. They said it was from "wear and tear" and age, but let's face facts. I'm only 32 years old. If my meniscus are worn out, it's probably because I am carrying around so much extra weight for the past 16 years.
The fact that I was going to have to get serious about losing weight was really driven home to me just before Christmas when a good friend of mine from college died suddenly from a heart attack. He was only 31 years old, but he weighed 600+ lbs. He had struggled with his weight for his entire life. For the past few months, he had been trying very hard to lose weight and get healthy, but it was too late to save himself. I don't want to wait until it is too late for me.
I have to lose this extra weight, for my sake, for Chris's sake, and for my daughters' sake. I want to be around for my girls for a long, long time. I also don't want them to follow in my footsteps. I want to show them that being healthy and physically fit is important. My short term goal is to make positive changes in my lifestyle. I've already begun the process of meal planning so that Chris and I can cook real food and eliminate as much processed and fast food as possible from our diets. I've never been much of a cook, but I've been making an effort to try to find healthy, uncomplicated meals that my kids will actually eat. I've been doing this for about a week now, and it's much easier than I thought it would be. I am currently doing physical therapy rehab to help reduce the pain in my knees, and I hope to start some sort of exercise regimen soon. I have serious doubts about whether I can lose the extreme amount of weight that I need to lose in order to be healthy on my own. The fact that I have tried and failed so many times is discouraging. I am going to try, but I've already made up my mind that if I fail, I am going to look into gastric sleeve surgery. I currently weigh more now than I have ever weighed in my life, and I refuse to let that number keep climbing.
I have to lose this extra weight, for my sake, for Chris's sake, and for my daughters' sake. I want to be around for my girls for a long, long time. I also don't want them to follow in my footsteps. I want to show them that being healthy and physically fit is important. My short term goal is to make positive changes in my lifestyle. I've already begun the process of meal planning so that Chris and I can cook real food and eliminate as much processed and fast food as possible from our diets. I've never been much of a cook, but I've been making an effort to try to find healthy, uncomplicated meals that my kids will actually eat. I've been doing this for about a week now, and it's much easier than I thought it would be. I am currently doing physical therapy rehab to help reduce the pain in my knees, and I hope to start some sort of exercise regimen soon. I have serious doubts about whether I can lose the extreme amount of weight that I need to lose in order to be healthy on my own. The fact that I have tried and failed so many times is discouraging. I am going to try, but I've already made up my mind that if I fail, I am going to look into gastric sleeve surgery. I currently weigh more now than I have ever weighed in my life, and I refuse to let that number keep climbing.
Age: 32 Weight: 321 lbs Height: 5'8" BMI: 48.8 | Measurements: Neck: 16 1/2" Bust: 54 1/2" Band: 47" Waist: 49 1/2" | Hips: 60" Arm: 21 1/2" Thigh: 33 3/4" Calf: 21 1/4" | Sizes: Pants: 24 Shirts: 3X |
Chris
Chris has decided to try to do this with me. I think it works best when we do this together anyway because we have each other to lean on and cheer each other on. Since he has gained his weight back, his medical conditions have resurfaced and he is back to taking 9 pills a day. He wants to lose weight to be healthier and to live a fuller life. Can you tell he has a great sense of humor?
Age: 31 Weight: 309 lbs Height: 6'0" BMI: 41.9 | Measurements: Neck: 17 1/4" Chest: 51" Stomach: 56" Waist: 46" | Hips: 48" Arm: 15" Thigh: 25" Calf: 18 1/2" |