About

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My name is Stephen but you can call me “rev” as most of my friends do and this web site is simply one man’s journey to fit in that little coat. But what does that mean? It means I used to wear (and still own) this little black leather jacket. It’s worn, beaten and rough around the edge. In other words…it’s a great little jacket and its been 15 years since I could zip the thing up.  All joking aside it means that in my case its about loosing a few (hundred) pounds and get healthy, relatively speaking. For me it’s the realization that I’m in my mid thirties and if I don’t do something drastic with my life I’m going to die…and at this point it’s not about just not getting exercise. Its about not being able to walk for more than 2 minutes, or stand nearly at all.

“You have borderline Hypo-Thyroid and your cholesterol is high…oh and your resting heart rate looks like the final score of an average NBA Basketball Team.”

~My Doctor 2011.

So what is this web site really for? Well on April Fools Day (2013) I had Gastric Roux-en-Y Bypass Surgery after losing about 60 pounds to kick start my surgery. At my heaviest I weighed in at around 555lb. I used the Atkins diet to drop my 60 pounds so I was thin enough for surgery and as a result I was able to stop taking Metformin and pulled in my Diabetes which since surgery has already gotten better. My fasting blood sugar went from 115 (good for a diabetic) to 85 which is great for a non-diabetic, and I can say it was the surgery because those numbers were two weeks apart.

Ultimately I’m hoping this blog servers as both my personal catharsis and motivator to continue to lose weight. In the past I tried Atkins (Lost and gained 80 pounds, twice), weight loss pills, exercised, actually at one point I was walking 2 miles or more a day (when I was on the Atkins Diet the first time) but life changes caused me to lose my weight-loss support system and it turns out I was too weak to do it alone.

So here we are…post gastric surgery and another 30 pounds down and hopefully moving forward in a positive direction, because this time I’m finding lean and I’m keeping it. There are no ads (except for the small text ads at the bottom of the pages which I hope can offset some of the hosting cost, no more/no less). There is no donation link because I don’t want your money, but I would appreciate your comments. I do want your support, I do want your encouragement.

Which brings me to my health issues as of April 1, 2013

  • Obesity (Starting Weight: 470LBS)
  • Diabetes (High A1-C Hemoglobin Level)
  • Hypothyroidism
  • High-Uric Acid Levels (Gout)
  • High Cholesterol

So in other words I’m fat and I have mobility issues. I may at times be graphic (not vulgar) about my health and the issues I’ll face over the next year and beyond on my journey to drop the pounds. I guess the real question is how many of these can I resolve by losing weight and stop taking medication for? Only time will tell, so join me on this journey and while my issues are serious I’ll do my best to keep things as light hearted as possible moving forward…..wish me luck.

Thanks,

rev (@stephenrea)

step...@findinglean.com