Prometheus Unbound

[DeathDealer]

To be honest, I have no idea where to start so this might get a bit long.

 

I was an athlete when I was younger.  I played football, wrestled, and did the hammer throw.  It all came quite easily to me.  I wouldn't find out until later what a mesomorph was, or that I was blessed to be one.  I went to a military boarding school so I was constantly excercising whether it be morning PT, practice, push-ups as punishment, long-distance marches, or a friendly game of whatever we could play.  My diet was whatever the mess hall decided to serve, which was pretty heavily slanted towards cheap foods like pasta and bread.  I never had a problem with my weight (bodyfat drifted between 10-15%) during that time.

 

After graduating, I immediately enlisted in the Army as a 19K (M1 crewman).  The physical aspects of basic training were a breeze and even managed to help a few others hit their numbers.  Quite frankly, I love the structure and discipline of the military.  It's where I wanted to spend the rest of my life, but sometimes we don't get what we want.

 

In 2003 my unit was deployed to participate in the invasion of Iraq.  It was during my time there that my life as I knew it ended, literally.  We were providing armor support for infantry units patrolling the area we were in.  Our radio had been acting up, but we couldn't do anything about it until we were back to camp.  During the patrol one of the pins in our tracks sheered and we were forced to dismount and repair it.  We tried to signal the others, but the radio flaked and before we knew it we were alone.  Myself and the gunner were conducting the repairs while the commander and driver kept an eye out.

 

We didn't know anything was wrong until we heard the shot that killed the commander.  By the time we turned around, our driver was dead and a handful of insurgents opened fire.  Our gunner took a shot to his leg and another to his stomach.  By the time I could draw my pistol they were already swarming us.  I took a rifle butt to the face and fell.  My arms were grabbed and I felt a rope wrap around my neck as the men watching laughed.  Our gunner was trying to plead with them and explain we would surrender, they shot him.  I tried to struggle but couldn't break free.  Everything went black.

 

When I woke up, I was being tended by medics.  The rest of the patrol had realized we were missing and circled around to find us.  They had killed all but one of our attackers before finding me and performing CPR.  It wasn't until we were back to the base camp infirmary that they informed me I had been dead for a little over 3.5 minutes before they brought me back.  I revived just as they were about to give up and let me go.  They also ran tests and determined I had severe damage to my thyroid gland from the strangulation and that it had completely shut down.

 

Shortly thereafter I was cycled home and given a medical discharge.  However, that's when I began to realize my previous life was over.  Nothing the doctors did seemed to work in the beginning.  Over the years I gained a LOT of weight, regardless of how vigilant I was about diet or how much I worked out.  I watched my muscles waste away and my belly grow.  It wasn't until they realized that my thyroid shutting down had also disrupted the rest of my endocrine system, including my testosterone production.  I had the testosterone of a 95 year old man and the estrogen levels of a 20 year old woman.  Basically the perfect storm for losing muscle and gaining fat.

 

It took several years, but by some miracle my thyroid healed and began to show signs of life.  After a long and careful approach, my thyroid eventually returned to full function.  Unfortunately, my testosterone production never recovered.  I am now on life-long hormone replacement so I can have a somewhat normal life.  I was finally able to lose a lot of the weight I had gained and begin gaining back my strength.  

 

Unfortunately, the people I called friends were in short supply during all of this, and still prove elusive.  Due to my current size, I don't feel comfortable going to a gym despite the social advantages, so I bought a power rack, bench and full olympic set for the garage and got to work.  I have what most have called "inhuman willpower" and do great training by myself, but it's nice to have others you can share your successes and failures with. I found this site pretty randomly while surfing for some information.  I got hooked reading some of the stories, but the sense of family and comradery is amazing.  So, I'm here hoping you'll welcome me into this family and share my joys and pains.

 

 

 

TLDR version starts here:

 

Sorry about that, but I don't know how else to explain how I ended up here.

 

Where am I at currently?

 

I started at 440+ pounds.  I say 440+ because the scale only went to 440 and it took me about a month to be able to see my weight  (my best guess is I was about 460).  Using a low-carb diet and body resistance excercises I was able to to drop down to about 420.  That's when I was finally strong enough to get under the bar again.  I kept it bare bar because I wanted my connective tissue and joints a chance to get stronger before I added more strain to them. 

 

I'm currently 395lbs with ~44% BF (accuracy is always in question with home monitors).  I'm two weeks into stronglifts and my diet for awhile now has been  basically animal protein and vegetables.  I eat berries now and then when I need some quick carbs, but otherwise I seem to be one of those people that doesn't need a lot of them.  I drink nothing but water and green tea, and avoid processed foods as much as possible.  Basically, if I gave up the .5oz of shredded cheese on my eggs and completely eliminated processed foods I would be paleo based on what I've been reading here.

 

Thanks for muddling through my short novel of a post and I'll see you in the forums.

[Jakob Kopfeld]

Hello DeathDealer

That's a horrible thing you went thorugh. Which makes it a good deal better that you decided to get healthy again. I hope you can achieve all your goals and go back to the shape you once were in! So your thyroid is operational again, but you still have to take hormone supplements because of testosteron? That sucks. 

 

Welcome to the Rebellion! You'll find that everyone here's really kind and supportive of each other. Best of luck

[RocketsMcGuire]

Respect to you, soldier. Welcome to the Rebellion.

 

From what I've seen lurking about here people are genuinely supportive and know what they're talking about. It's a good thing to be a part of.

[wildross]

Welcome aboard!  All respect to you.  As you may have figured out, weightlifters tend to congregate in the Warriors forum (appropriate for you, certainly).  We have several folks there now who started in the 400's and are lifting their way downward.

[DeathDealer]

Thank you for the warm welcomes.  It's appreciated.

 

 

@wildross

 

I've been lurking in the warrior section for a few days, and I'll be posting in there later because it's absolutely in-line with my goals and means of training.

 

 

 

 

 

Hello DeathDealer

That's a horrible thing you went thorugh. Which makes it a good deal better that you decided to get healthy again. I hope you can achieve all your goals and go back to the shape you once were in! So your thyroid is operational again, but you still have to take hormone supplements because of testosteron? That sucks. 

 

Welcome to the Rebellion! You'll find that everyone here's really kind and supportive of each other. Best of luck

 

Yes, my thyroid has returned to full function.  Unfortunately testosterone production is handled by the testes.  The thyroid, testes, and pituitary operate as a team to keep the male endocrine system running.  When my thyroid stopped working it messed with my pituitary and and the resulting hormonal imbalances told my testes to stop producing testosterone.  Most men have a testosterone level somewhere between ~350-900ng/dL that will fluctuate during the day and in response to outside factors like stress and lifestyle.  The level naturally declines over time with teens being at the high end of the range and ~50-70 year old men rounding out the bottom.  My testosterone production without hormone replacement drifted between ~20-50ng/dL, which as you can see is incredibly low and what is expected for a male that survives to be about 95-100 years old.  With my hormone replacement, which is a fancy way of saying testosterone injection once a week, my levels remain fairly steady in the ~500-600ng/dL range (which is pretty average).  Some people make the mistake of thinking that because I'm injecting testosterone cypionate that I receive all the benefits that make people want to abuse steroids, I don't.  My dosage makes my levels normal, whereas those that use them as performance enhancers use doses to far exceed the normal range, and that's where they get the massive anabolic advantages, and the side-effects.  It would take about 4x my current dose to get any of the effects people strive for by using steroids.  I'm just not willing to make that gamble when I'm more than capable of getting where I want to be through hard work.

[Jakob Kopfeld]

Yes, my thyroid has returned to full function.  Unfortunately testosterone production is handled by the testes.  The thyroid, testes, and pituitary operate as a team to keep the male endocrine system running.  When my thyroid stopped working it messed with my pituitary and and the resulting hormonal imbalances told my testes to stop producing testosterone.  Most men have a testosterone level somewhere between ~350-900ng/dL that will fluctuate during the day and in response to outside factors like stress and lifestyle.  The level naturally declines over time with teens being at the high end of the range and ~50-70 year old men rounding out the bottom.  My testosterone production without hormone replacement drifted between ~20-50ng/dL, which as you can see is incredibly low and what is expected for a male that survives to be about 95-100 years old.  With my hormone replacement, which is a fancy way of saying testosterone injection once a week, my levels remain fairly steady in the ~500-600ng/dL range (which is pretty average).  Some people make the mistake of thinking that because I'm injecting testosterone cypionate that I receive all the benefits that make people want to abuse steroids, I don't.  My dosage makes my levels normal, whereas those that use them as performance enhancers use doses to far exceed the normal range, and that's where they get the massive anabolic advantages, and the side-effects.  It would take about 4x my current dose to get any of the effects people strive for by using steroids.  I'm just not willing to make that gamble when I'm more than capable of getting where I want to be through hard work.

Well steroids are for cheaters who refuse to put in the actual effort required and deserve the horrible side effects. 

Thanks for taking the time and actually explaining your condition so detailed. You have my deepest sympathies and respect for the things you sacrificed for your country! I hope you manage to get back into your desired shape

 

If you should find yourself need of some good ol'motivating, please feel free to drop me a PM, I'd be happy to write up something for you!