I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Mike. I am a Registered Nurse. I have been married for 23 1/2 years to a wonderful girl named Jacque. We have 3 children: Heather (23), Michael Jr (21), and Evon (19).
I have fought with my weight for a very long time. A lot of it is genetics (my dad is a big guy) and a lot more of it is lifestyle. In my late 20's and early 30's, I dealt with my weight by body building. I was a lean and muscular 150 lbs, but I did not feel well at all. Unfortunately, the things that you do to your body to get it that way are not good for you and often illegal (I think that you know what I mean). Family and work requirements finally took over as priorities in my life and the weight started to pile on. I grew from a lean and mean 150 lbs to an impossible 290 lbs.
I half-heartedly dieted for about 3 years. I would lose 5 lbs only to gain 10 lbs back. It was very discouraging. It began to be impossible for me to bend over to tie my shoes or cut my toe nails, my Insulin demands tripled (I have been Type 1 since my early 20's) and I began sleeping with a CPAP machine. This went on for way longer than it should have. Part of my job as an RN in Intensive Care is to teach diet restrictions to new diabetics and heart attack patients. I'm sure that having a fat guy tell you how to diet looked real good (Ha!).
About 2 months ago, I had a real eye opener. Jacque and I were shopping for some new clothes and I discovered that the XXL shirts no longer fit and I freaked out. Jacque is a lean 115 lbs and here I was, a blimp with feet. I started to diet in ernest. It took me about 6 weeks to go from 290 to 278. Not bad, but not fast enough. I started thinking about other options like Gastric Bypass surgery. I have seen a lot of patients do well, but the ones who do poorly and get admitted to ICU where I work made me decide against it. I was out of ideas and went to see my doctor. He prescribed Phentermine for me, and 11 days later, I have lost an incredible 11 lbs more. That's 23 lbs gone!!! I am so excited!!!
I believe that this is truely a journey that will help me find the guy I used to be. More to come.......................
Posted By: BigMikeRN
Comments to this post:
03/31/2007 10:57
Good job
Wait... no... GREAT job!! Since you are an RN you must get in lots of walking!! Keep up the great work, you will be at goal soon!!
Let me be one of the first to not only welcome you to EP but to congratulate you on taking back your life and putting the power of you in control.
I want to let you know that I have a fitness buddy also on EP...his name is k9masterfl and since he is another guy finding his way back to himself you both might have a lot in common. He is also married and with 2 beautiful girls...so check him out and see how much support we can all give each other through this journey we have taken on.
WELCOME and I look forward to reading all about your journey!
I am not quiet sure that name fits you since I weigh more than you do ! I want to say welcome to this site & trust me you are not alone ! It sounds like you got four good reasons to motivate you to do a good job Your Wife & three children ! I have noone but my mom & some good friends alot of them I met on here ! You know what else you probably have a lot of co workers that would love to see you get healthy Ok I have a tendacy to run my mouth sometimes to much but welcome & if I could give any help or advice let me know how !
what a start you show... you can do it...if I can support you in anyway I sure will be here to cheer you on... you family sounds like mine.....married 3 kids working full time
Thanks everyone for the welcome and supportive comments. It has been a struggle, but I am very motivated this time.
How do you get past the hunger? I am taking Phentermine, which means that I am probably not really hungry. My body is trying to trick me into eating again.
Welcome! You've come to a great place for support and encouragement to get the lbs off. I am fairly new here and I gotten tons (no pun intended) of advice and kudos. I think coming here is a big step toward conquering our battle with our weight. I will add you as a Friend and check in every so often to see how you are. Feel free to add me as a friend.
First off: Welcome and well-done on your weight-loss jump start! You've come to a great site for support and advice. There are some great folks out here who've lost some crazy amounts of weight. They're a great resource and provide good accountability, too.
I'm a [male] nurse, as well! How 'bout that. ;-) I work on an orthopedic and neurological floor. They call us Team Bones & Brains. Goofy, but it works.
So, the hunger. I know it well. Here's what I've done and it's worked remarkably well: Find a healthy alternative that'll fill you up and never let you down... Wait that's a beer ad. I developed a strong love affair with pickles early on. Very low cal, and zippo for fat. When the snackies hit, I'd hit the fridge... and grab a pickle or three. That usually satisfied the need to snack and filled me up pretty quick, and best of all, it was guilt-free! Veggies work great for filling up that empty space in your gut, but it also helps to balance in some healthy protiens, too. (They keep you from feeling hungry longer than carbs.) A couple of examples: Small amounts of natural nuts (ie: almonds w/o sugar/salt coating) or fat-free cottage cheese. Take a tablespoon of either one of those options and I usually kiss the munchies goodbye.
Hey, Mike! I found a link to your blog on another site and thought I'd stop by to offer support. I used to be into body building, too (as a female, yes, I was, don't laugh!). I didn't do the steroid thing, but I was more than aware of the Docs that worked out with me who wrote "prescriptions" for those of us who did. It is a myth that body builders are healthy, I actually injured myself training for my 1st competition and that was the end of the dream, and, like you, add life and work commitments (12 hour shifts don't leave much time or energy at the end of the day), and the pounds packed on. Funny how our activity levels change but our appetites don't. I'm an ER nurse and teach CPR and "heart healthy" living on the side. Sometimes I have to laugh b/c I felt like a hypocrite telling people that maybe they could cut down on their trips to the hospital if they'd cut down on their trips to Popeye's first (as I put in my order for take-out! lol). The good thing is that you're making a positive change now and you've lost an impressive amount to start off with already! You have not only the education and tools as part of your training to get the job done, but now you have the support here to succeed as well. And it sounds like you have a wonderful family to support you as well! Stay away from the break room snacks and the drug reps w/food, though! OMG They'll kill you! lol I've taken to drinking TONS of H2O while at work and carrying high-protein, high fiber snack bars with me in my scrub pocket to keep me in check when the munchies hit. And ALWAYS eat a good, high protein packed breakfast for 2 reasons, it helps you get the day started off right, and, as you know, it may be the only meal that you may get for the rest of the day!
Keep it up and Good Luck! If you don't mind, I'll add you to my friends list so I can keep up with you and so others can get linked to you for support, too!
