IamA guy who lost over 400lbs AMA!

What happened that resulted in you weighing almost 500 lbs? And what was the progression (e.g 200 lbs at age X, 250 lbs at age y, etc.)? Congratulations on losing all the weight, and hopefully you inspire others.

You know, I started gaining weight my sophomore year in High School. But I never really monitored it until it was too late. I remember going to the ER because I broke my ankle trying to do something stupid on a skateboard in 2007, and then I was 350 lbs. But I just kept eating more and more every day. At my largest, I ate in a day what I eat in a week now. It is actually really disgusting to think about now.

Were you athletic /flexible for your size?

I was told I was very active for my size. I had a four year old that I had to keep up with and had to traverse a college campus every day. It certainly wasn't easy and I always felt tired. But, I never got to 'riding in the scooter at Walmart' level, either.

First, congratulations! Your son has a phenomenal role model and I'm sure he and the rest of your loved ones are incredibly proud of you! Cheers mate!

My question(s) for you: Were you at any point discouraged from achieving your goal because you felt you wouldn't/couldn't achieve it? If so, how did you power through it? What kind of support network did you have to help you, beyond your son? How abruptly did you modify your diet?

Thanks, and again, many congratulations!

Thank you for the wonderful compliments! I struggle every day with trying to be the best role model I can possibly be for my son. I was once told that a good parent always feels like they are failing. So, I guess I'm doing something right, haha!

Answers for your questions:

Yes, constant discouragement. I had to ditch the scale for a long time (~ 10 months) because if I stepped on it and I didn't have a loss, I was weakened. Also, when I hit three hundred, I plateaued for a couple of months. I felt better, and I almost succumbed to being complacent with being three hundred pounds.

To get through the discouragement I got my mind off of things. Going out with friends. Going camping. Volunteering. Doing anything and everything I could to make it so I didn't have time to think and dwell on the situation.

My friends and family were tremendous support during my weight loss. I made a pact with all of my friends that no matter how bitter I got, I needed them to keep me on the path. So we'd go out to eat, and if I ordered stupid, they would call me out right there in front of the server. It was totally embarassing, but at the same time, it made me rethink and make the right choice.

As for how quickly I modified my diet, it was a very gradual change. I'd make a cut every couple of weeks. And I never "cheated" per se. If I wanted pizza, or wings, or a beer, I had them. There's no point in driving yourself nuts over it. But I made sure that when I made a pizza, I made sure to have only one piece, instead of eating the whole thing until it was gone. Aside from that I never had any real shock of the body because I just took baby steps in fixing myself. I didn't want to diet. I wanted to change the way I lived.

Did you ever find it? Badum tss! Just wanted to say well done! Good for you pal!

Har har har! I hope I never find it again! Thank you. :)

congratulations, that is a massive (no fat joke intended) achievement. how did you start off? i know it's really difficult to exercise when you weigh a lot, because movement is restricted and there are all sorts of uncomfortable effects from it like severe sweating and cramping and all that. what did you do to start off?

Well, you are correct. I guess I didn't "exercise" to start. I was too big. I would have a massive coronary if I went to the gym and hit it hard. Hell, I was a risk for heart attack just sitting in a chair.

I spent a few weeks observing myself. It was hard. I wrote everything down. I took a picture of everything that I ate and drank on my phone. Even just a nibble here or there, took a picture. That way I couldn't lie to myself and deny that I was over eating.

I looked at what I had done in those weeks and prioritized the bad behaviors that needed to go. First was soda/juice/alcohol. The only liquid I consumed was water for the first two years of this.

Next went eating out. If I didn't cook / prepare it, I didn't eat it. This meant that eating was now a chore, and lets be honest, if someone gets to near 600 pounds, they exhibit some lazy tendencies. So since it was a chore, I stopped doing it so much.

Then I got rid of anything that was microwaved. It sounds silly, but almost anything that you can pop in the microwave and have it be a meal is not going to be that great for you.

It was kind of a wash, rinse, repeat cycle for the first year. Make adjustments, see what I still needed to improve, then improve.

After about 12 months, and down about 175 pounds, I started to exercise. I had a bunch of loose skin, so I lifted weights. That brought some mass back to my body, especially my back, shoulders and chest, which tightened up a lot of the skin.

So that's the first year of it for you. :)

did you eat because you were upset, or irritated? How did you overcome this?

I ate because of every emotion. Sad, eat. Happy, eat. Celebrating, eat. Commiserating, eat. Bored, eat.

To overcome this, I found an activity for each emotion to replace eating. Angry? Hit the weights. Happy? Go on a walk and enjoy the beautiful world. Stressed? Go on a walk with earbuds to have some time to decompress. That kind of thing.

Do you have a lot of excess skin?

I think the answer to this question is obvious.

Surgery could always fix it, but this kind of loss would create excess skin.

Yes but underemployed, doesn't have his own place and has a kid. I highly doubt he had the money for surgery.

That was my situation when I started! I am now employed with a fantastic job, engaged and we are looking to purchase our first home pretty soon!

I do. At my last check up the doctor estimated probably close to twenty five pounds of it. However, he said that if I keep lifting and exercising, I may not need surgery because I still have elasticity. My stomach and bottom of biceps are the worst. My son calls my arm flaps my wings haha!

What is your opinion on fat-acceptance or things like #healthateverysize?

I think it's okay to be okay with how you look if you're overweight. But to say that obsesity doesn't have many compounding health issues is naïve at best and dangerous to those who buy into it. My weight caused the following issues:

Type 2 Diabetes - Gone after WL. Sleep Apnea - Gone after WL. Joint Pain - Gone after WL. High BP - Gone after WL. Ulcers - Gone after WL.

That stuff didn't magically disappear. It was caused by being overweight, and losing weight took care of it.

Where is the fucking post? pics pls

http://imgur.com/ZpeCeK1

What would you say was the biggest unexpected bonus of losing weight that surprised you the most?

Not being instantly judged by strangers. People don't look at me disgusted anymore. Also, when I graduated college, I had an interview. Phone interview went great! They said they were preparing an offer and to come meet the manager face to face. When I got to the interview, the attitude of the company changed. They asked me point blank, "With being the size you are, how will you get respect around the office?" I politely declined to continue the interview and noped right out of it.

I don't think people do it on purpose, but I feel a lot of folks, myself included, see a really large person and assume they are lazy and don't want to do anything about it. And sometimes, that just isn't the case.

So, the best unexpected bonus is that I got an increased sense of 'don't judge a book by its cover' and have a lot more patience and compassion for strangers.

How did your peers react to the change? Were they shocked?

Great job man!

People who haven't seen me in years don't recognize me. People who were with me along the way seem pleased with where I have brought myself!

Do you have fake nipples?

Nope. 100% home grown nipples here.

As a person who can look down and see my penis, what is it like to not be able to see your penis without the aid of a mirror?

Well. It was awful. It really was.

Are you also the guy who gained over 400 pounds!?

I am! I am willing to talk about that just as much. What's dangerous is that I didn't notice gaining the weight until poof it was there.

why do you think anyone cares?

Im a 23 year old male that put on 35 pounds of muscle and have always eaten healthy and taken care of my body. Where is my ama

Honestly, if nobody cared, I would be okay with that. But there are a lot of people who struggle with weight issues. The average weight in the US is overweight. Being a healthy weight, you are below average in the US. So if I can share where I was and where I've come, and even one person sees it and thinks, "If this guy can do it surely I can too," well then that's a win in my book.