purplekelly Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 Good afternoon, NF!I'm Kelly. I'm 31 and I live just outside of Baltimore. Just over two years ago (on 1/19/10) I had RNY gastric bypass surgery. I'd hit a high weight of 407lbs and was pretty much disabled by my weight - I even had to quit my job as a high school teacher (I taught 9th grade U.S. Government) because I couldn't be on my feet all day anymore. I got that heavy mainly as a result of eating too much and moving too little, but I also had/have some other issues. I've got severe asthma (allergy induced, not exercise) and when I was a teenager I was on a steroid drug called Prednisone more often than not. Prednisone use, especially long-term and at high doses, kind of blows your metabolism. It also makes your bones brittle, and I broke both my my legs in the span of a year (fibula, down low near the ankle). That ended up making me even more sedentary. I went to college and ate a lot of crap, still didn't move much (aside from a few half-hearted attempts at getting in shape at the university gym). At 20 I went to the doctor to ask for weight loss drugs. I found out that I weighed 320lbs and had high blood pressure. I left with a script for blood pressure meds, not weight loss drugs (which are dangerous with high blood pressure - well, dangerous in general, but especially with high bp). Then I graduated and kept eating crap. Then I met and married a guy who also had food issues, and we overate together (we're no longer together). And then one day I woke up and realized that I wasn't even 30 yet, and I was over 400 lbs.At that point, I'd tried every diet known to man, and never managed to lose more than maybe 20lbs at most, which I then would put back on with reinforcements. I was very all-or-nothing; either I was dieting strictly, or I was binging. I was unhappy, uncomfortable, and unhealthy. My ankles, which have a mild congenital deformity where they turn inward at about a 10 degree angle (plus I have *completely* flat feet) were screaming at me from the smallest amount of walking, such as going to the grocery store (where I used a handicapped parking tag). I took so much ibuprofen for the pain that I managed to give myself an ulcer. I hit a point where I just felt like I couldn't get ahead, and I felt completely hopeless. I did some research and made two life-changing decisions: to have gastric bypass, and to find a therapist who could help me with my food issues.It took about a year from my initial visit to the day of the actual surgery, and I saw the therapist during that whole time and began the process of fighting my food demons. I lost some weight in that time - enough to make the surgery safer and to make it possible to do it laproscopically, but not enough to make it unnecessary. I still see the therapist, and he's helped me immensely. He specializes in WLS patients and people with binging issues, so he's been perfect for me.Today, two years after surgery, I'm considered a success by medical standards. I weigh 245lbs today, which means I've lost about 40% of my total body weight. The medical community considers 35-45% to be a success. I feel a million times better, and my life is completely different today, but I'm not happy at 245lbs. I don't think I'll ever get down to the 150 or so that the weight charts say I should weigh (and those charts are a load of crap anyway), but I'd like to maybe get down to a fit 180lbs (I'm 5'6"). At this point, the surgery isn't doing the work anymore - I have to do it myself. I can eat a fairly "normal" amount of food now, and I don't have any intolerances like a lot of WLS patients do.A few months ago, I met an awesome guy who's in very good shape and is a regular lifter. He's gotten me back into lifting - I'd played around with it a bit awhile back, but never stuck with it. I've gotten a bench, a barbell with 100 lbs of weight (which I expect is going to be too light for stuff like deadlifts pretty quickly, darn it) and two 25lb adjustable dumbbells. Then a few days ago, I came across this site, and I've learned a lot of new things about lifting by reading here. I've decided to revamp my lifting routine to include more compound moves and fewer isolation moves. Staci's story was especially inspiring to me in making that decision.So, hi! Here I am, "successful," but far, far from being finished. I do have a quick question for anyone who'd care to answer: I'd like to come up with a good way to track my lifting. I could make a spreadsheet, but are there any good sites or apps (Droid or Nook color) that would work? I'd like to be able to keep track of my progress with graphs and such.Oh, and here's a couple of pics. The left one here is from a couple years ago (Thanksgiving 2009 maybe?) and the one on the right is from last March.[ATTACH=CONFIG]1579[/ATTACH]And this one is from the middle of December.[ATTACH=CONFIG]1580[/ATTACH] Quote Link to comment
MatthewD Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 Wow! you have done something that is amazing and I am glad you are continuing to keep on going Quote Link to comment
Loren Wade Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 Wow. Seriously. What an inspiring story. Incredible.Welcome to the best forum on the planet.Welcome to the rebellion! Quote lobro's a druid? twitter | fb Link to comment
Atalan Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 What you've done is more than amazing. Welcome to the Rebellion. Quote Link to comment
Cookie Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 Welcome Your story made me a little teary. Gastric band or no, you have overcome so many problems, well done Quote Link to comment
wildross Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 Excellent job! Glad to have you on the board... Quote Warriors don't count reps and sets. They count tons. My psychologist weighs 45 pounds, has an iron soul and sits on the end of a bar Tally Sheet for 2019 Encouragement for older members: Chronologically Blessed Group; Encouragement for newbie lifters: When we were weaker Link to comment
oystergirl Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 Hi Kelly kelly! What you have done is totally awesome! What I love most about it is that you are not only tackling your weight issue but the emotional issues behind eating! When you understand why you do something it is easier to make changes than doing so blindly.I have a good friend who just had the lap band done after years of struggling in the same fashion as you. I am going to send her your story to inspire her! Keep up the great work and YES, this place is simply amazing! Rock on! Alex Quote The real world is bizarre enough for me....Blue Oyster Cult! Oystergirl: Bad Assed Lightcaster (aka wizard!) STR: 2 | DEX: 3 | CON: 3 | STA: 2 | WIS: 4 | CHA: 5 Oystergirl's Bad Ass Lightcaster Wicked Rocking Adventure Challenge! Come visit my wicked rocking Nerd Fitness blog! Link to comment
ebm1224 Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 welcome to the community! your story is incredibly inspiring. i've heard so much negative press surrounding weight loss surgery over the last couple years but it sounds like you are the perfect example of someone who chose it for the right reasons and did not use it as the answer to all your problems. congrats on all your successes both past and into the future! btw, is that your natural hair color? if so, i am ridiculously jealous! Quote Link to comment
ETFnerd Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 I hope you reach your goals... congratulations on your successes to date... Quote i don't care what u think of me. unless u think i'm awesome. in which case u're right. Intro - Workout Log - ABS Log - Fitness Philosophy - Accountability - NERDEE - Weight Maintenance Link to comment
purplekelly Posted January 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 btw, is that your natural hair color? if so, i am ridiculously jealous!Oh, don't I wish! It's Garnier Nutrisse in hot tamale, if you wanna borrow it. Quote Link to comment
Gainsdalf the Whey Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Congrats! For the phone app, there's a few people here use. My Fitness Pal and Flex Workout Log jump to mind. I use the stronglifts app, but it's specific to that program and not very editable, so it wouldn't work for anyone not doing stronglifts. Quote Massrandir, Barkûn, Swolórin, The Whey Pilgrim 500 / 330 / 625 Challenges: 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 31 32 34 35 36 39 41 42 45 46 47 48 49 Current Challenge "No citizen has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. What a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable. " ~ Socrates "Friends don't let friends squat high." ~ Chad Wesley Smith "It's a dangerous business, Brodo, squatting to the floor. You step into the rack, and if you don't keep your form, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." ~ Gainsdalf Link to comment
Sco Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Go Kelly! Your story is really inspiring, and best of luck with continuing your success! Glad you're here! Quote "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." - Aristotle If you have the inspiration, you have the talent. Strive to be happy. Link to comment
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