Beginning Journey Photos November 2011


As much as it pains me  to admit; these are pictures of me at the beginning of my weight  loss journey. The object I am holding is a ruler to give some prospective. I posted these pictures to show everybody I am not a fake. I am not some skinny person trying to hoodwink people. I am not proud of how obese I let myself get. I am not making excuses, but I am attempting to understand it. I will post pictures every month to show my progress or lack of it. I did not just wake up fat. I was athletic in high school then spent 4 years in the army. I weighed 230 pounds In 1993 when I started driving a truck. That was overweight, but I was still pretty active and just had a beer-belly. I started gaining weight slowly at first but over the last 10 years have really ballooned. The more I gained the harder it was to lose, so I quit trying. I have been on many fad diets over the years and would lose 10-30 pounds but just as quickly gained it back with extra pounds as a reward.

I was let go by a chemical tank trucking company (out of Tennessee) because I was too fat to wear a chemical protective suit (even an 7X size). I understand why they made that decision and  am glad (because I could have been badly injured in a chemical accident). I then attempted to get an inter-modal truck driving job here in Atlanta, Georgia, but failed the physical due to being so obese. Since then I have been trying to find a job but have been unable to; so I am still looking. At first I was seriously depressed and SURPRISE I gained  about 10-20 pounds to about 548 pounds. I say about because the last time I was able to weight myself (on a cargo scale) I was at 536 pounds. I know I gained a bunch of weight, so I am currently between 548-560 pounds. I was on the verge of giving up and trying to claim Social Security disability, but my last few ounces of self pride would not let me. My pride kept me looking for a job. I then started watching the television show "The Biggest Loser" and it motivated me to start believing I could do something about my weight. I started looking into weight loss and felt overwhelmed. There are so many different topics to understand and different opinions. Instead of despairing I decided to keep at it and am learning a tremendous amount. I want to share all I learn with you and possibly it will help.

My goal with this blog is to help myself and hopefully help others. I welcome all of you to let me know what you think and we will learn together. I am at the point where it has become a health issue. I MUST LOSE WEIGHT OR I AM GONNA DIE. I know that but also know I must do it in a healthy and sustainable way. It is going to be a lifestyle change not a crash fad diet.

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