My Story and The Plan

Hi, my name is J Brian (group responds HI J BRIAN). I am FAT. I have been for most of my adult life.

I will be A Fat Boy No More.

Three years ago I started a journey to become A Fat Boy No More. And since September 2007 I have been publishing my success and failures. This Blog follows me from the day I first started my weight loss journey and it focuses on the everyday struggles that people with weight problems have.

Prepare yourself for a very real and very challenging event in my life. I commit to being as honest and as clear as I can be in the webpage to chronicle my ongoing battle with my weight. The pictures can be explicit.

After 12 years of being bigger than I should be... ok lets just be honest. I was not big I was fat. I have been over weight and muscular for most of my adult life. But the muscular part has been over shadowed by a large layer of fat on my body. I've eaten too much and I lived a sedentary life. In December 2006 I weighed 320 pounds. The morning I weighed myself and saw that I was over 300 pounds I essentially went into a deep depression that day and I am sure that I ate another 5 pounds worth of food. But that night I decided that enough was enough. My weight problem had become more than just an appearance problem it became a health problem, a self esteem problem and it was starting to affect my business and income. I had to do something. And I had to be held accountable. Technology is a good thing. I decided I had to put it out there. I started texting everyone in cell phone saying "Officially a fat ass now I weigh 300". I had been lying forever and telling people that I was 250. And no one questioned it.

The first step I took was to hit the gym and cut my calories. I looked on webmd and found out how many calories there where in a pound (3500) and decided to create this formula to determine how many calories and how much extra exercise I had to do to lose 60 pounds by May 27th. My annual trip to Key West Florida. By February I had lost 25 pounds. On a plan that was essentially the same thing that Weight Watchers teaches you. Then life hit me. After being so good I just got tired of it. I had no real support structure. And so I just relapsed because I was on a diet. Not a life change. But between March and August I essentially maintained my weight loss. In April I got a part time job working in a restaurant as a bartender. Everyone thinks I was crazy to do that but the truth is I just needed something to make me active. I needed to get off my lazy fat ass and be active. I gave up sweet tea and I stopped eating beef for the most part. I chose bison. Which taste so similar and has a familiar texture but had half the calories. Nothing else really changed.

But I did not lose the weight I wanted. When I was in Key West I looked like a beached whale and I felt horrible. I have a picture from that trip that show the folds of fat on my back. I was so depressed after that trip. So I essentially just maintained until late July when my best friend Michelle told me that a guy we both worked with a few years back had lost a lot of weight thru some medical weight loss plan.

I kinda brushed it off. I was looking into Lap Band or some other surgery. Then another friend of mine saw Brad as well and said Brad has lost a lot of weight. So I called Brad and he told me about the plan thru Emory Hospital. I went to an info session on the plan and decided to enroll.

Before you consider any type of surgery please look into medically managed weight loss. IT WORKS. Your doctor or the Bariatrics department of your local university hospital can direct you. Too many of my friends had surgery and lost a lot of weight and regained it. Even with a smaller stomach you can eat ice cream all the time and gain it back. I have a friend that just did that.

So this is what I did initially. Follow my blog posts from the beginning and see the transformation.

Remember

Don't give up today because you fucked up yesterday.

27 December 2007

Day 98 Phase One complete

Final weight after phase one is 233.8 pounds.  As of last week I adjusted my weight in clothing.  Traditionally I weighed in in shorts but due to the weather I will now do this in jeans.  This added about 3 pounds to my weight.  I have lost 54.6 pounds with this adjustment.

My next phase adds food back slowly over 7 weeks.  The first week adds 2 oz or protein one cup of veggies and one cup of fruit to the mix and I give up one shake per day.


14 December 2007

Day 84 Weigh In

This week I lost 2.5 pounds for a total weight loss of 56.4 pounds since September 21 2007.

I first started my weight loss journey on December 9 2006 after I figured out that I was bigger than 309 pounds.

Total loss since December 2006  79 Pounds.  

I have two weeks left in my 1st phase of the plan.  

10 December 2007

December 9 2007

One Year ago today I sent out a text message to a number of my friends announcing that I was officially fat. Well I had been fat for a while but at that point I weighed in at more than 300 pounds. I weighed in at 309 actually. That was the beginning of my drive to get smaller.

I am Excited to announce that after a year I have lost more than 75 pounds. My most recent weigh in clocks me in at 233.5 pounds. This is a loss of 76.5 pounds in a year.

Otherwise 2007 has been a fairly difficult year. The mortgage industry which I have been a member of for more than 8 years has faced some huge problems and the industry has changed to the point that it's just not as enjoyable as it once was.

06 December 2007

December 6

Another week closer to my goal.  I have lost another 2.3 pounds this week for a total of 53.9 pounds.  I will be updating my picts this week.

30 November 2007

November 29 Post Turkey Day Weigh In

Well I expected to lose nothing this week do to my decision to enjoy the holiday festivities and one of my best friends birthday.  I still lost .2 pounds.  Not bad for the amount of food I consumed.  I am loving my workouts still.  I have 4 weeks left on the most strict form of this diet.  

21 November 2007

November 21

As you can see I posted some new picts Thursday.  We had our weigh in for this week on Tuesday versus Thursday do to the holiday. I lost an additional 1.5 pounds in the shortened week.  I will be having Thanksgiving dinner with friends as I planned if i had lost 50 pounds our more.  I have lost a total of 51.4 pounds.  

It has been a great journey so far.  I have reshaped my body thru exercise and this incredible diet.  I have 5 more weeks til I am back in a normal eating environment.

Happy Thanks Giving

15 November 2007

day 56

I lost 4.5 pounds this week for a total of 49.9 pounds.  I am very exited.  I have 6 weeks left in the liquid only stage.  Food I am heading back to you baby.

14 November 2007

Day 55

This week seems to be better than last week with the actual weight loss. It is still slower than it has been but I expect my loss to be between 3 and 5 pounds. This will put me past my goal of losing 50 pounds by Thanksgiving.

Last week I also had little opportunity to workout and this week I have made up for it.

Expect updated pictures Thursday or Friday.

I am doing 400-500 crunches a day. Walking at least 100 calories off a day on the treadmill.

08 November 2007

Week 7 Results

This week as I predicted.  I had a slight weight loss.  I lost one pound.  For a total weight loss in 49 days to 45.4 pounds.  according to my doctor this is normal and she would be concerned if I continued to lose at the rate I have been.

06 November 2007

Day 47

Weight loss has slowed down. As expected. Still having really good workouts.

More to come.

02 November 2007

Day 43 A HUGE MILESTONE

I did not realize this until after my post yesterday.  I have tried to minimize what I call transitional clothing.  Or clothes that I wear as I am losing weight.   I started off wearing polo style shirts in size XXL, now its XL.  I had to buy new underwear as I went from an XL to an L.  But something really odd happened this week.  I bought a pair of Calvin Klein in size 40 that were too big. And designer clothes NEVER are sized big for men. 

I had no shorts that fit me so I bought a pair of camo long shorts in size 40 last week. When  I started in september I was size 44 and they were tight.  Yesterday my size 40's were lose.  So back to Ross and Target I went.  Well folks I bought two pair of size 38 shorts and a pair of size 38 jeans regular fit. I have lost more than 6 inches in my waist. In September I wore size 44 loose (essentially a 45) jeans.  

I am now in a size 38!!!

I remember when I was 20 and I went into my size 40s my step dad told me that was too big.  He was not nice about it either.  14 years later-  38's I have returned!!!

01 November 2007

Day 42 Week Six Results are in.

This week I lost 6 pounds.  My total loss to date is 44.4 pounds.  This is in 42 days.  My Blood Pressure was 100/61.

Good workout and cardio today.

31 October 2007

Happy Halloween 2007

Ok I have to thank everyone I know for not putting any candy on my desk today or sending me food. A Reeses Peanut butter cup sounds appropriate right now for the holiday. But I will have a chocolate shake and think there is the flavor of Peanuts in it.

Tomorrow is my weigh in. I feel that I have lost between 3 and 4 pounds this week. I have been at the gym a lot this week and staying very active. The hunger issues i had over the weekend are essentially gone again. I attribute this to the gym workouts.

Today I did legs presses and calve presses for my legs. I did biceps curls and tricep pushdowns. I also did my 400 crunches. ABS OF STEEL BABY!!! LOL I walked a mile on the treadmill today. Walked a mile- 100 Calories. I need to walk another mile tonight.

30 October 2007

Day 40

This week I only expect to lose a few pounds. My loss last week was really big and I find that this is not a realistic thing. I have 3 Weeks til my Thanks giving check in. Based on my current weight estimate I have about 10 pounds lose in three weeks.

I am really enjoying my workouts more and more everyday.
Today I did my Chest and shoulders. I did three exercises for my chest one for my shoulders and I did some tricep pushdowns. I also did 2 miles on the treadmill. That was about 200 calories. MY big difference now is that I am doing 400 yes read it correctly four hundred crunches a day. I do them in 100 rep increments. But all within about an hour. I have had some concerns about lose skin and I find that the weight sculpting is helping alot. Nothing is really lose. I will post some picts of my Halloween costume in a few days.

I have also been asked to update my picts again. I will do this Thursday or Friday. I wanted to wait til thanksgiving but I will go ahead and do it this week.

Thanks for your support. Comments are welcome.

28 October 2007

Sunday October 28th 60 days left.

I have added back my exercise to my pre Optifast level. I am having some of the best gym sessions ever. I have really enjoyed my Ipod Nano that I bought after the first week. It keeps me very focused on my workouts. I can see these workouts as big part of my future.

I have decided to add some details of my diet to the sidebar because I get a lot of questions about the diet itself.

I dressed up yesterday to go out for Halloween. I went as a Roman Citizen. My Mom and I made the Toga. It looked great. I was very exposed. And I had many compliments about my weight loss. I was happy with that.

I have started to have a lot of food desires. Nothing overly long lasting I have started to get bored with eating nothing but chocolate shakes. I will be eating more of the soups than I have in the last few weeks. I have also started to eat Dill pickles (no calories). They give me the crunch and chewing that I miss.

As of today I have lost over 40 pounds.

25 October 2007

Day 35 week 5 complete

My official results are in.  After 35 days I have lost a total of 38.4 pounds  I lost 7 pounds this week.

I have another 63 days in this part of the plan. 

20 October 2007

Day 30

Last week I wrote that I would be adding back exercise to my life.  I laid out a plan.  Well I did not do well last week with the exercise plans and I was a bit disappointed with myself for this failure to follow-thru with my plans.  Yesterday I went back to the gym and had a great chest and ab workout.  I also had a great lower body and arm workout today with about 20 minutes on the treadmill.  

I am committed to have more physical activity as long as it does not interfere with my weight loss.

My energy level on both days has been stable. 

18 October 2007

Day 28- 70 days Left

Results are in! In 4 weeks I have lost a total of 31.4 Pounds.  This week I lost 4.5 Pounds
My blood pressure is now in a normal range.  When I began my BP was 127 / 97  Today it was 107/73
My blood Glucose level is now at 85 versus 107 when I began.
I am very pleased with the results so far.

17 October 2007

October 17th

I have my official weigh in tomorrow and I do not expect to have the huge weight loss from last week to this week.  From the experiences of others in the plan this is the week when the loss either plateaus some or when it normalizes.  I would say right now that I will have lost between 4 and 5 pounds by my weigh in is around 5:30 tomorrow afternoon. 
This is still a great amount of loss per week and  this is what I can expect ongoing.  

I have not done as well with my activity (exercise) in the last two weeks as I would like.  Last week I had the Kidney stones which was a good reason,  This week I have been challenged to find the time.  

I have 33 days til my Thanksgiving weigh in.  I need to lose about 17 pounds to qualify for that award.  This is attainable but it is not a sure thing.  If I stall out I will not make it.  I essentiall have 4.5 weeks.  So I need to increase my activity level to assure that I will meet this goal.

15 October 2007

October 15 Day 25

This weekend was a great weekend.  I feel much better after passing my kidney stones and my energy level is thru the roof.  I am anxious to continue with my weight loss journey.

I have started to establish some planning for the holiday season  It is going to be difficult to miss celebrations for Thanksgiving, My Birthday, Christmas,  about half of my friends have birthdays in the next two months so I will have to work around celebrations and dinners during that time. Halloween will be fine as I have never been a big sweets eater in the first place.

But I am going to publish these goals/rewards attached to the holidays.  I have lost a little over 30 pounds as of today (unofficial, but accurate).  I plan to spend Thanksgiving with friends/family and I will have actual food on Thanksgiving day for one meal, but only if i have met a specific weight goal.  If my weight is below 237.4 pounds I will give up one shake on Thanksgiving and I will have Turkey, a small amount of dressing and "clean" vegetables"  That means nothing in a casserol.  I will not have bread (outside of the dressing).  Nor will I have desert.  My official weigh in date for that meal will be Tuesday November 20th.  That gives me 35 days to reach that goal.  If I have not met this goal by that date.  I will be doing something else versus food for Thanksgiving.

11 October 2007

Day 21 Third Week Weigh In

And the results are in.

This week I lost 7 Pounds.  My total weight loss to date is 26.9 Pounds.

That is an average loss of 1.2 pounds per day.  This level will slow in the coming weeks.  

10 October 2007

Day 20 getting thru a setback

For the last few posts I have complained about being fatigued.  Well I have figured out what was happening.  

In any quick weight loss situation there is a possibility of complications related to gallstones or formations of stones like kidney stones but in the gallbladder.  If the problem persists there is generally one solution to gall stones.  The removal of the gallbladder itself.  Yesterday after 5 days of fatigue and the beginning of stomach pains I went to the hospital.  I was highly concerned about gallstones.  

The feeling that I experienced was similar to kidney stones but much less intense.

So I went to the emergency department at Emory and sat for a lovely 4 hours after they took blood to find out that my blood work looked normal and that I likely had no gallstones or kidney stones.  the Doctor then ordered a CT (cat) scan and another 2 hours passed before I found out that I had a number of small kidney stones and the gallbladder was fine.  I AM SO relieved.  

Some drugs, some rest, and lots of water (and green tea -yum) and I should be OK in a day or so.

I am very proud of myself in all of this.  I stayed on the diet and on schedule.  I have not been able to exercise which has bothered me but I will make an extra effort of that in the coming days.

So there was not truly a set back just a concerned.
  


08 October 2007

Day 18 80 days Left

Unofficially I have lost about 25 pounds.  As always I will post my official weight after day 21.

I have had a significant drop in energy.  I think I an catching a cold or this is the beginning of my annual fight with my sinuses.   I am going to try to get some vitamins to help out.  

I bought some new clothes this weekend.  My belly is all but gone.

This makes me happy.

05 October 2007

Friday October 5 Day 15

I have decided to set a few limited physical activity goals for this week. My week begins on Friday in this program.

Daily Goal

12000 Steps per day (6 miles)


Weekly Resistance training Goal.
Sunday Tuesday and Thursday
45 mins in the gym.
Sunday Upper Body Light workout. (specifics to come)
Tuesday Lower Body
Thursday Upper Body

I wanted to thank everyone for your support.

Please feel free to leave comments.

  

04 October 2007

Day 14 Check In number 2

Tonight I had my weigh in and my class for the evening. Our topic was goal setting.
Up until this session I was disappointed in the lack of Goal Setting for the program. We do not set goals when you first go in. I had no idea what was reasonable. I think the class we had is a good one and I really enjoy "fat class" that's my name for it. But it is essentially giving me a set of emotional and diet related tools that will allow me to better deal with my weight management in the future.

But we had a really good discussion on the topic of setting goals and accountability. So I will be setting specific goals based on weekly activity. At this point food is a non negotiable so I do not need to tract that.

We also had a discussion on clothes. And how clothes seem to have an affect on how we see our success. I certainly do.

Saturday, my friend Tim and I are going shopping for "transition wear" clothes that are my halfway clothes between fat and trim.



Results.
Beginning Weight 287.4


Current Weight 267.5


Total Loss so far 19.9 Pounds.


I need some new clothes.

02 October 2007

Day 12

I continue to see real changes in my body. My face is thinning and my belly is basically going away. now for the love handles. Is there a chant I can do to get rid of them.

I worked at my second job last night. I bar tend at a Restaurant in Decatur three nights a week. This is probably my only temptation because the bar and the grill are on the same line. I stand about 6 feet from where they cook the steaks and burgers. I have not had any food in 12 days.
I had three really big successes. I put on a pair of 42 Regular Levi's yesterday for the first time in 3.5 years. I cannot wear them to the restaurant. They are too light in color.
The second success came from my "Ted's jeans". In April I bought three pair of Levi's loose fit 44's. They are so lose that if I did not wear a belt they would fall off of me. Not just down but off. There is at least 4 inches of extra material. I have discovered a brand new loop in my belt as well.
Three years ago I had Thom James and Company tailor 5 pair of black slacks for for office. I love them and they are without a doubt the best clothing investment I have ever made.
These pants are not off the rack so they do not have sizes. In December all but one pair were snug. Today they all need to be replaced or retailored.

01 October 2007

Ten Days down

Well the second weekend is down. I spent most of the weekend with friends. Keeping busy and generally just being active. I continue to lose a little everyday.

Mixing the chocolate shakes with coffee has now become a great enjoyment for me. I went to the gym saturday and did resistance training. That made me very happy. No loss of muscle.
I had to go shoping today. My Polo underwear that fit snuglly now look like granny panties... lol.
So I went and bought some Fruit of the Loom til my weight stabilizes . I wore XL... now L.

27 September 2007

ONE WEEK DOWN

Seven days,  one week, 168 hours.  

I have lost 11.4 Pounds in one week

My current weight is 276.00

My class this evening dealt with motivations for weight loss and what makes us eat and how we see food.

The Doctor said I was doing great.


Day 6 is complete

I have continued to lose weight.  Mentally I am sharper then normal.  My attitude is great.

Tonight at 5 (or this afternoon rather) is my one week check in.

Check back for results...

26 September 2007

Day 5 of 98

Woke up this morning down another pound.  I will post the week results after my official weigh in Thursday night.  I am really looking forward to my group session this week.

Each week there is a "re training session" where the serious learn how to maintain the weight loss over the long run.  I fully acknowledge the fact that a fasting liquid diet is not a good long term plan.  It is not intended to be either.  The fast is supposed to allow you to lose a significant part of your weight... they call it a "break from food" and re train yourself to be more active and eat better once you go into the next phase- a transition back to food and the final phase which is true life.

I cut out all resistance training this week.  This coming Friday I will start to add it back slowly.  I actually have more energy than I expected.  Its still lower than normal but its not as bad as I expected.  I even went out and bought a new Ipod Nano Product Red with an FM tuner.  The freaking reception is awesome.  I live in a loft with a metal roof and I had no problems with it.

I am seeing body changes... flatter belly and face already.  Also walking up stairs is easier.  All in all a great week thus far.

25 September 2007

Day 4

Yesterday I completed day 4. My energy level has increased and the weight loss continues a little bit every day.

I am lighter than I have been in three years. My official weigh in is Thursday night so I will publish those results Thursday night.

My clothes are starting to get a little loose. Oh I am loving that!!! About three and a half years ago I had 5 pair of slacks Tailored by Thom James and Company. At the time they fit perfectly then and now they are fairly loose. I am sure I will have huge bill at the tailors when this is done.
I will start to publish body measurements and a progress scale with this weigh in Thursday.
The Program thru Emory suggests that you not over do activity levels. I have cut my resistance training out completely for the first week. I intend to reintroduce it this weekend. I will likely do small workouts. 3-4 exercises with a few sets a piece- higher reps and lower weights (This was suggested) I also will do about 20-30 mins of walking on the treadmill each day.
Generally I work out 4 to 5 times a week with a lot of resistance training. Fat Boy has lots of muscle but my my layer of chub covered it.

23 September 2007

Day three- 95 to go

Well the first weekend is over.  I have started to become accustom to the food.  

I spent the day at Six Flags with My friend Michelle and her Daughter.  We had a good time.  I was exhausted when we left.  but I am sure I walked more than the 5 miles per day (10,000 steps) That I am supposed to walk.  Yesterday I walked 12,000 steps.  

I also went out last night.  Pretty proud of myself for drinking Diet Coke all evening.  A Guinness would have been great.  But Diet Coke had to do.  I really wish that Coke Zero would replace Diet Coke everywhere or at least be added.  I HATE Diet Coke.  

I have been on the Scale and I have loss weight and I am very happy with the results thus far.  I will only post them once a week after my weigh in on thursday.

22 September 2007

Day 2

September 22
My first 24 hours is complete.
I had all 5 of my feedings yesterday and never felt hungry the entire day.  I had a little headache (seemed to go away with some headache medicine and water).  

I worked at the bar last night and had very few cravings for food.  

Energy is an issue.  I woke up did a few things this morning.  Rode my Valkyrie and in about an hour and a half I was tired.  

Went to the rugby match with my friend Greg today to watch the Chattanooga Team Play the Gay Atlanta Bucks.  

I completed two days on the diet.  Boredom with the lack of eating is a problem.  I realized today that I eat out of boredom a lot it seems.  I need to find things to do to keep from being bored or no eating. 

I have had all of my food for the day today.  HUNGER has not been an issue 


21 September 2007

Journey Begins



Today My weight loss journey begins.

After a month of prep and psyching myself out to finally do something more extreme about my weight I have finally started a medically monitored weight loss plan thru The Emory Clinic. The Clinic is part of Emory Hospital, which is Part of Emory University in Atlanta (for those not familiar with Emory)


The program involves a three phased system. The first phase is based on a limited calorie diet with a super controlled diet that involves shakes and soups provided in the program. The "food" part of the program is Optifast. Phase one lasts 14 weeks.

Phase two will reintroduce food in a very controlled environment.
Phase Three will be a maintenance program.


More on the details of the program as the program develops.


This blog will have essentially two types of messages. First my daily (optional) diary related to the issues of the diet. The second set will be a weekly update that will include my measurements and an updated picture. This will be published either Thursday evening or Friday morning. There will be a picture based on the same exact shirt and shorts that I started out with and then there will be a shirtless picture as well.


In addition to these updates there will be a synopsis of what my weekly lesson was about. ( I will explain the program more fully later.


Meals- 5 meals a day once every three hours. Liquid shakes (chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry) and two options for soups Garden Tomato and Chicken.


Feeding times will be 9, Noon, 3, 6, 9


Beginning weight 287.6


September 21. I have had two meals so far. 9 am and 12 Nooon.

Chocolate Shake for Breakfast - Nice


Garden Tomato Soup for Second Meal- That is actually not bad at all. I had it in a tall coffee mug.