Less of me

Until age 15, I was average height for my class.  Summer of 1992, I left school at 5'8" or so, pretty typical for people in my grade.  Coming back after summer, I was 5'11" - I grew 3 inches in 3 months.  I also hadn't put on any weight at the time, and really didn't for years (at age 17 I was 6'1" and 117 lbs).  I eventually capped out at my current 6'2" and settled around 135 lbs for a few years.  That probably sounds really thin, but I have a very small build and it looks a little light but otherwise healthy.

Then, like most men, I hit the stress of work and late-20's body changes.  I didn't really pay much attention, but in 2007 (I was 29 at the time) I noticed - really noticed, because I saw a photograph of myself - that I was chunky.  Not fat, but definitely overweight.  Buying a scale it turned out I was 196 lbs.  That freaked me out a substantial bit - the idea of being over 200 lbs was anathema.  Plus, it just looked bad.  I mean horrible.  I no longer physically looked how I felt in my head, and I decided to do something about it.

The first thing I did was go from multiple cans of pepsi a day to none (and eventually to a single diet pepsi a day if I wanted).  That was March 2007; by April, I noticed I'd started to lose a little weight, was feeling healthier and sleeping better, so I decided to actually change my habits and lose weight.

It worked pretty well - too well, perhaps.  By August, I was down to 160 lbs and had a few people asking if I was "sick" because I'd lost the weight so thoroughly.  In late August, I noticed an odd bit of tissue in my goin, at the top of my scrotum, and figured out pretty quickly that it was an inguinal hernia; my best friend had had one a few months earlier and described it, so I knew what I was looking at and what to expect.  An appointment with the doctor, then a specialist, confirmed it, and a corrective outpatient operation was scheduled for early October.

I was still losing weight in September, and by the time the surger rolled around, I was down to about 150 lbs.  However, I hadn't been working out at all, and while I'd obviously lost a lot of fat, I'd lost a fair bit of lean mass as well (and I didn't have that much to start with).  My doctor was somewhat concerned, but said we'd talk about it after the surgery.  The day I went in, I was 151 lbs and about 15% body fat.

The operation was on a Tuesday.  By Friday, between the drugs, discomfort, trauma, and lack of eating, I was down to about 143.  When I went in for a checkup on the status, my doctor obviously freaked.  So, I was told in no uncertain terms to 1) stop the "diet" 2) start eating more and 3) get to a weight around 170 and stay there for a while.

So I did.  By February 2008, I was back up to 172ish and stayed in the 170s until last November, when I was finally told I could start again - but carefully this time, and with a workout routine to maintain lean mass (if not build it).

So, I started an easy workout routine along with limted calorie restriction and eating at different times, with the goal of losing about a pound  week but maintaining 135 lbs or more of lean mass.  Today, about 7 months later, I'm 151 lbs and 10% body fat, so I'm keeping my target.  I've also got more muscle definition and more stamina, especially with upper-body exertion (my chest and arms have always been crappy).  I'm up to 29 pushups every morning, which is better than the 10 I used to barely be able to pull off.

I'm still not where I want to be - even with only 10% body fat, most of it's around my lower abdomen and looks pretty bad.  So, I'm still continuing, slowly and carefully.  But I'll get there eventually, even if it isn't by my trip to Maui.

The good thing is, there isn't anything I'm doing that I can't keep up for the rest of my life.  And that's the goal - life changes, not diet.