Turning over a new leaf

[Draconys]

Hey everyone! My name is Jeff, but I usually go by Draconys.  I just joined the boards here after lurking around Nerdfitness.com for the last week and a half or so.  Let me give you some history: 

 

March 2004, I weighed in at 555lbs. It was an effort to make it from my house to my car. I didn't think I'd live to see my next birthday, which was in April. So I underwent Roux-n-y Gastric Bypass surgery.  If only it had been as simple as that. 
 

After the surgery, I got down to 260lbs, and thought I was doing great. I was very lightly active, as I still had some problems with my back, and my leg joints. Then the weight regain started.  I found that I had received tons of bad info from my nutritionist, and  I was regaining weight slowly but surely. 

 

Fast forward: December 2006, I had a major hernia surgery. The doctor said it was one of the biggest hernias he'd seen in his life. Lovely. Throughout the next few months, I spent a lot of time in pain, and not moving around much. Then the bombshell: while doing an ultrasound to see why I was still in pain from the hernia surgery, they diagnosed me with testicular cancer.  July 2007, I went back under the knife and had that taken care of. Then I spent the next couple months undergoing chemotherapy, and becoming more and more sedentary.  I almost let the cancer and treatment beat me. It pushed me down, farther than I've ever been, and it's been really hard coming back from that. 

 

I've spent most of the time since then spiraling down into depression, with a diagnosis of Bi-polar disorder being added to my growing list of problems. After the chemo, I started developing daily migraines, and have been diagnosed with Transformed Migraines, which is basically a daily headache that never goes away, and that will randomly spike into a full blown migraine. The depression got worse, and i started thinking that maybe I could drink my issues away. Nope, just gained more weight. 

 

I've tried multiple diets, I've failed at going to the gym before, etc, and I had almost just given up. Then came the silver lining to my cloud:  I found Nerdfitness and the paleo diet, both of which resonate well with me. I've spent the last week or so going over all the info I could find, and decided I would give it a shot. I started yesterday, and I think I'm darn near 90% paleo, maybe a bit more. 

 

As of this introduction, I'm back up to 366lbs, and a size 46 waist. I'm setting small goals for now. Work out every day. Get down to size 44 pants. (I'm still better than before my Gastric Bypass, back then I was wearing 52's!)  Plus I'm going to be blogging on this, hoping that keeping up communication out will keep me motivated to keep going.  My blog is  http://psikic.wordpress.com/

 

I'm going to the gym every day, walking about 20 minutes on the treadmill. I'm also trying to do some weights with the machines. I need to get a trainer, but that's something I can't really afford right now. 

 

So that's me, in a nutshell. I am still alive, and continuing the fight. I finally succeeded on my save vs. damage against that damned cancer, and so far I've succed in my dodge checks vs death ray. Now I just need to beat this Boss battle, and I'm all good. 

 

(Edited to add my current Waist size, goal, and blog info.) 

[sumdawgtwigg]

Sounds like you've overcame a lot of stuff. If you can make it through all this then you have the strength to keep on going. Good luck with everything and I look forward to seeing updates on your progress

[Laureleye]

You have conquered cancer, and lost 100 lbs.  That's pretty major.  I think you've got a great plan so far; starting by changing you eating habits and walking on the treadmill.  For the most part, you won't find a lot of weight machine users here-abouts (Steve wrote an article on it recently).  You could do a toned-down version of the beginner's body weight workout with essentially no equipment and no $$$ on a trainer.  You'll find that and more information if you click the NERD FITNESS tab, and select the free resources.  I also recommend that you drop in on this thread; it's got some terrific rebels contributing to it.  If you've got a question, I'll be happy to answer a message.  There is also a forum for fitness-newbie questions.  Welcome to the rebellion.