findinglean.com

I went to a Halloween party over the weekend. It’s a party I used to go to every year but haven’t really been but once in the last 4 or 5 years I’d guess. This is as you may have guess entirely due to my weight and my inability to walk much. Sometimes when you’re in that mode you don’t realize just how much affect weight like that can have on your social life, never mind the obvious health issues. But I went and this year I went all out (or as much all out as I could) but doing two customs. I went as Dr. Evil dressed up as Heisenberg. I even made some Raspberry flavored rock candy (though I didn’t eat any) for the party to go along with my theme. I took several pictures of this Doctor themed party and put them over on my new site rexpixel.com if you’d like to see them.

I recently hit a bit of a plateau on the weight loss front but that seems to have passed as I’ve dropped several pounds since my last post and I put on a par of my old pants that I forgot to donate (so I’ll do that soon) because sometimes I still see myself as much larger than I actually am. Now I won’t say I’m small by any definition at 335 pounds, but that’s 220 pounds less than I was barely more than a year ago I have to remind myself that as one number goes up and the other number goes down I am smaller…a lot smaller. In fact the pair of pants I put on were too small for me a year ago by a long shot. The pant’s waist size was 64” and by my account, my actual waist size last October was around 82” or more than a FOOT bigger than the pants. Needless to say sweats and lounge pants were my clothing option of choice back then. Well today I’m wearing 54” pants that are too big and if it were not for the extra skin I’d likely be well under the 50” mark. In fact I put on a pair of 46” Shorts and was able to button them, though wearing them at this point would be nearly impossible because I could not breathe. But this means I’m down to roughly a 48” waist or nearly HALF the man I used to be so to speak. So back to those 64” Levi’s I put on…look at this image, as I think it says a whole lot more than I could ever say at this point. Oh and I’m drilling another hole in my belt today.

So all in all I must say I’m feeling a bit surreal after looking at myself in those ridiculously large pants and more to the point remembering those pants were too small for my big fat ass not all that long ago. Now while I know I’ve got a long road ahead still I’m less than 60 pounds of weight loss from literally being HALF the man I used to be, and trust me when I say a party will be had when my weight hits 277 pounds because not only has it been more than a decade since I weighed that amount but I dropping half of my total body weight will be (no matter how much else I lose) the single biggest accomplishment in this already incredible journey I’ve been on thus far. And to be honest that list of accomplishments is growing more and more every single day. So I’d like to end this post with my weight loss list. They say you should make goals, and they don’t need to be lofty either, just things in life you want to do as you lose weight. I’ve taken that to heart and I’d like to share with you my list and it’s progress thus far. And while I have no end goal weight in mind the picture above is me at around 230 pounds if I remember correctly, so I think I’d be more than happy to see that number again, but honestly at this point I’m already so far ahead of the game I’m already happy with where I’m at and every single pound lost moving forward is just icing on the cake I can’t eat any more. ; )

LIFE GOALS:

Stop taking so many medications	I no longer take 3 of them
Stop emotional eating.	I’ve Stopped
Stop board eating.	I’ve Stopped

BIG GOALS:

Go to a tech conference again	I’m going to TechEd 2014
Buy a motorcycle & ride	I plan to do this in 2015
Take a trip to Ireland or Germany	I plan to do this in 2015

EVERYDAY GOALS:

Take a shower without pain.	Every single day!
Be active with niece and nephew	Done and will do again.
No longer need to plan my steps	I walk 3 or more miles a day!
Fit and drive my car comfortably	Or in my case even a smaller one!
Mow my own yard	As soon as spring hits I’ll do it.
Clean my own house	Done
Be more social with friends	I go out 3 or more times a week
Take day trips (Nashville, etc.)	I do this as often as I can now

Oh and Happy Halloween everyone. I’m going trick-or-treating with my friends Stacy & Richard and their daughter Emma. While it won’t be my normal walking night it’s still exercise and more importantly it’s me getting out and being social, which is never a bad thing.

~rev (335 Pounds)

On September 22nd I was in a rather nasty accident. A woman blew through her red light and hit me full speed on the passenger side of my truck. The damage was sever enough to total my 2006 Dodge Durango and while I’m fine I do have some stiffness still around my from being tossed about.  The only physical issue this brought on was my need to take some pain killers again for the first time in several weeks, which is a bit of a bummer, but on the bright side no one was seriously injured (beyond the vehicles). Also hopefully tomorrow I’ll be picking up my new ride and get out of this awful rental car and into my new (to me) 2011 Audi Q5S.

Durango Accident VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Luckily I was recovered enough from the accident to enter in the 3K walk at this year’s Apple Festival in Erwin, TN. And much to my surprise I came in 3rd place in my age group (30-39 yr.) and even have a tiny little trophy to prove it. This was my first official event and I have to say I enjoyed it thoroughly and plan to do more of these in the future as well as my 5K goal in March of next year.

finally this update doesn’t include any real weight loss (I’ve dropped a pound since last week), in fact I put on a few ounces this morning in the form of a full set of metal braces (uppers and lowers). That’s right I’m 35 years old and I got braces for the first time in my life…and it’s okay to laugh…I did. But it was something I had to do as my cross bite and over bite are starting to cause more trouble as I get older so I figured it was time to get that fixed.

~rev (347 pounds)

One year ago today (approximately) I started my journey to finding my lean…now while I will be the first one to tell you I’ve not found it yet, not completely anyway, the journey thus far has been nothing short of amazing. This time last year I couldn’t walk 100 feet and in just 4 days I’ll be walking in my first official event. I will be at the 3K Walk at the Unicoi County Apple Festival and while I’m not even concerned where I finish in the numbers I’m just super excited to be able to do it at all.

30 inches ago my waist size was around an 82..yes I said 82 which means I was bigger around than I was tall, in fact stretched out I was bigger around than many NBA basketball players are tall. now I’m down to about a 52” waist which is still big mind you but it means that in all likelihood if I can keep up the weight loss I’ll be in the 40s by the end of the year and that’s simply fantastic.

18 is the number of holes currently in the belt I’m wearing right now as I write this having just drilled out the newest hole only moments ago. I couldn’t even wear this belt a year ago as I was too big for it…and most of my clothes for that matter. This belt will be with me to the end. The picture to the right was taken less than a year ago…I had already lost 30-40 pounds but that was still more than 160 pounds ago. (Oh and yes I was at a Tea Party with my best friend’s daughter…don’t judge)

And finally 207 pounds…that’s the total amount of weight I’ve lost in the last 12 months. That number is astonishing, and yet I still have more to lose, how much more I honestly can’t tell you. I only know that I’m going the right direction and I feel better right now than I have in years and I will know what my end game weight will be when I get there.

So one year down, and hopefully many more years to go, but I must admit I’m excited and nervous about year two. I bought a recumbent bike for the winter and a treadmill and a set of those elastic weight bands to exercise with, and I can’t believe I’m even saying this out loud, but I’ve also started to look into yoga classes…though I’ve not gone to any yet. So here’s to another year of weight loss, exercise and healthy living!

~rev (348 pounds)

So you will see below my picture isn’t the normal one…it’s a hint at what I’m doing for Halloween, though I may very likely need to get some help with my makeup. Pictures will come in October I promise but no hints before hand.

Oh and in other news I’ve officially lost more than 200 pounds! And the timing is perfect since my 6 month follow-up in Nashville as this Thursday. Now I’ve not lost 200 pounds in 6 months I’ve lost that in just under one year though. Since my surgery in April I’ve lost just shy of 130 pounds which is completely amazing. I know I have a long road of weigh loss ahead…especially as the loss slows down but I’m am confident in my diligence to keep it up.

So while this isn’t a big update in terms of the volume of news at hand it most certainly is a big update BIG update in terms of weight gone!

~rev (354 pounds)

Well Two things really….you get my weight loss since I last wrote an update. (Sorry about that) and more importantly you get the amount of weight I need to lose to bring my total weight loss to a staggering 200 pounds! (Also yes…I’m aware the song is 16 tons..but the title fit so work with me people.)

Some people say I’m a man made outta fat
A slim man’s made better then that
Muscle and tone and no body fat
But mind that’s a-weak with a body all that

You lose 15 pounds, what do you get
Another day older but closer to fit
Saint Peter don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go
I owe my life to my weight loss goal

I’ve been fairly busy with work so I just haven’t had the time to push an update and  really wanted to correct that. I should start by saying I’m feeling great and a week or so ago now I spent a long weekend with my sister and bro-in-law which was awesome as I got to spend time with my most favorite niece and nephew in the whole world. Okay my only niece and nephew but still it was awesome. The best part was all the actual activities I was able to do without thought or loss of breathe or back pain or problems getting around. We rode our bikes a little and Gavin is pretty much done with training wheels. We went to this really nice National Park with a small wild-life reserve and walked around looking at everything from groundhogs (whistle pigs I  recently learned) to deer to wild turkey to Mr. Owl (who we asked how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop) and even a bald eagle. Speaking of which if you’ve never seen a bald eagle in person…it’s a rather majestic animal.

All in all I’m more and more active every day and trying new foods..which brings me to my next, albeit not so fun part of my journey thus far. On the day I returned home from my trip I got sick, and lets just say that for about 30 hours I became close with the porcelain god and suffice it to say scrambled eggs and I are threw and in the words of Taylor Swift “Oooh, this time I’m telling you, We are never ever ever getting back together. Like….Ever.”

So tonight I’m going out again to hit the local pub (not to drink) to hang out friends both old and new and make fun of people singing karaoke, and I must say it’s nice to just get out. So nearly 200 pounds down now and who knows maybe I could see the my weight drop below the 300 mark by the end of the year…that would be a really nice Christmas present for myself.

And one a final note. I know I’ve been saying I’ll post another video soon and that’s starting to feel like a broken promise, but I swear I will…no really.

~rev (370 Pounds)

It’s been a bit since my last post and I am working on putting a new video up soon as well, but sometimes life gets in the way and you end up busier than you expected. And in my case you add to that busy by working on a new project but more about that later in the post.

First off I’d like to talk about something I started doing recently that I’d honestly never thought I’d do. I joined a tanning place and have started tanning once a week (have been twice now) as a result of a conversation with (of all people) my dermatologist. I have psoriasis and sunlight is the best thing for me but a tanning bed is a good alternative and while my goal is over all skin health and not a good tan I’ve noticed color in just two visits and I’ve noticed my plaques are fading away. Now part of the reason for the psoriasis change for the better is I’ve also started taking Enbrel which is an injectable medication that has also been helping with my psoriatic arthritis as well as my visible psoriasis. So all in all I’m looking better and feeling better…and as it turns out on my way to a pretty good tan of all things.

Moving on but keeping with general health I am happy to say that my tendon issue with my left ankle (Achilles) is pretty much better now and I’ve started walking again and additionally I’ve started a once a month massage regiment (tomorrow is my next one) and that has really helped out with my lower back pain. In fact speaking for someone who was on 90 mg of Morphine a day less than a year ago even…I’m down to 30mg and thinking that pretty soon I may be able to drop to a lower end (less narcotic) pain killer all together as I both build strength in my back muscles and continue to lose the weight.

I’ve started cooking again as I mentioned in one of my last updates and while also working around the house digging through boxes I found this cookbook that a friend and former employer gave me several years ago. Needless to say I’m going to enjoy trying some of these recipes again. So far I’ve been fairly lucky with what I’ve been able to eat.

I just had moment of pause and remembered by it’s a bad idea to take so long to write a new post…I’m still not done talking about health and fitness.

Now to my sleeping issues. As I’ve mentioned previously I have, as most if not all obese people do, sleep apnea (obstructive) and in my case mine was so bad when I was tested 2 years ago that not only am I using a BiPAP (assisted inhale and exhale) to sleep with but I also am on 4 liters of Oxygen when sleeping. Recently I had my pressure reduced somewhat and last night I slept with a logging pulse oximeter to check my O2 levels while sleeping without the added 4 liters of 02 and while I’m not the doctor I did look at the machine this morning and I’m thinking I may be off my nightly O2 all together based on what I saw. I’ll know for sure later this week and will update for sure.

One last note. I’m taking a short vacation to go see my sister (brother-in-law) and their kids next week and on my way I’ll be stopping in Nashville to attend a support group meeting on Wednesday. If you are thinking of having or have already had bariatric surgery don’t just go to the one mandated support group meeting….go as often as you can. I can say for me they have helped quite a bit.

Enjoy the week and hopefully I’ll see you sooner next time…oh I almost forgot. That “other project” I’ve been working on. I’m starting a new podcast over @ thatstupidpodcast.com and while I can’t tell you what it’s about it starts in 2 weeks if all goes according to plan. Are you ready?

~rev (384 Pounds)

Okay now that I have both your attention and your confusion let me explain. Firstly I wanted to talk about some of the struggles I’ve been having with eating as I find myself still dealing with issues of food volume…in other words I’m still grabbing too much food from the kitchen and I’m still eating too much though by normal standards I’m not eating that much. But I wanted to share this issue because I’ve talked to other people one or even two or more years post-op that still from time to time with eating too fast or too much or both in some cases and it was nice to know that this is normal.

But I am still losing and that is a good thing. I’m down another 6 pounds since my last entry so al in all even with the struggles I’m doing well. I’ve also found I need to buy more beef jerky. While it may not be the best food around it is high in protein and when days like yesterday happen it allows me to work through lunch. The brand that seems to be the best for me so far has been Jack Link (you know the one with the stupid bigfoot commercials). They are also very low in fat (usually 1g) so you can eat a whole (small) bag sometimes…which is around 3 ounces…though you may find like I do it’s often too much so you can save the rest for later.

So I guess all in all I’m still on a good path, but I ‘am getting busier and busier at work, and now with adding physical therapy to the mix twice weekly and all the home exercise (which as far as I can tell is yoga ) I’ve not been able to find time to blog much. But I’ll try and do a little better than once a week. Look for vlog number 2 later this week.

That leaves us with one final bit to cover….well rather a request of sorts. I’d like to know what you all want to see on this blog. Let me know on facebook.com/stephenrea or in the comments below. I’ve been toying with a few different ideas of adding semi-regular editions to the site but don’t want to alter your thoughts so I won’t share them just yet. I’d like to hear from you, not just those who have had or are having the surgery, but anyone really.

~rev (412 Pounds)