Weight loss and perseverance

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I had to order new clothes again today. I’ve shrunk out of the pants I bought at the end of Summer and they just hang on me now. I needed a new belt too since there are no more holes in the old one to cinch it up even after I added additional holes 2 months ago.

At first I couldn't find any pants or belts in my new size (40” waist) and then it occurred to be that I wasn’t going to find them in the “Big and Tall” section that I am used to shopping in.

I have shrunk out of that size range, so it was a new experience shopping in the regular size clothes section. Made me happy!

This also means I have now lost 16” off my waist since I started this journey.
 
Well, it’s been a week and I am now at 246.2 lbs. I’m now down 69 lbs since I started.

I first posted this thread almost exactly a year ago, and I am now down 31 lbs since then.

Now let’s see if I can hit my goal of losing another lb by the end of this month...:)
 
Oh yeah, and my hair is still regrowing like mad.

Here’s what it looked like when I first noticed new growth...

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2 weeks later...

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1 month later...

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And it’s still growing in! LOL!
 
red67gts said:
Is hair growth result of weight lose?
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My Docs explanation is that since losing all this weight, the systemic inflammation in my body has been significantly reduced and also having much less of a subcutaneous fat layer under my scalp has increased blood flow to the hair roots...both have combined to stimulate hair growth in the long suppressed hair follicles.

IDK, I’m just happy it’s happening. It’s an unexpected bonus.
 
Doctors didn't think the hair growth was due to restored hormone levels? I woulda figured that was more of a cause than a fat layer under the scalp. Either way, it's too bad you can't bottle it for sale.
 
mopowers said:
Doctors didn't think the hair growth was due to restored hormone levels? I woulda figured that was more of a cause than a fat layer under the scalp. Either way, it's too bad you can't bottle it for sale.
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Actually, restored testosterone levels would impede hair growth and increase hair loss. That was the first thing my docs said. Hair loss from weight loss in men from increased testosterone is well documented.

This was their only explanation as to why I am having an opposite experience.

And they felt it was more systemic inflammation driven than anything.
 
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This study shows a link between Metabolic Syndrome (MS) and hair loss. It appears that regaining your hair means that you are becoming metabolically healthier.
Androgenetic alopecia, metabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance: Is there any association? A case–control study

In the present study, mean value of fasting serum insulin was significantly higher in AGA (androgenetic alopecia) cases than in the control group. ... Insulin is found in hair follicles and may play a role in the regulation of androgen metabolism and the hair growth cycle, which are relevant to the loss of scalp hair in male-pattern baldness. ... IR (Insulin Resistance) plays a pathogenetic role in the miniaturization of hair follicles. Vasoactive substances associated with endothelial dysfunction in IR lead to microcirculatory disturbance, perifollicular vasoconstriction, and proliferation of smooth muscle cells in the vascular wall. ... Our results showed that MS-positive cases tended to have an early-onset AGA, an observation previously reported. This finding may support the hypothesis that early AGA could be a clinical marker of IR. ... In the present study, waist circumference was the most significant risk factor for developing MS.

In summary, MS is significantly associated with AGA particularly, early-onset alopecia. IR is mostly the underlying pathologic mechanism.​
 
Hair loss is genetic. Increased t / DHT levels can exacerbate it IF the gene is there. It is one of the MANY testosterone myths in circulation.

My father got put on TRT / HRT in his 50's. He was bald before that ever happened and had dangerously low T levels.
 
Not trying to turn this into a hair loss thread, it is just an interesting occurrence along my path.

I am more focused on the fact that I have lost 69 lbs and reaching for 70 lbs by the end of the month.

I will let my team of physicians debate why my hair is growing back as I continiue on the path to reach my goals.
 
I got on the scale this morning and saw the number 245 lbs for the first time. It was only 245.8 lbs...but it gives me good hope to get to 245.0 by the end of the month!

10 days left until my first official weigh-in for February and if I stay on track of 300 calories less per day, I should be able to get there.

I really want to be able to claim 70 lbs lost for the start of February.

Long term goals aside, I find it helpful to set near-term and intermediate goals to help keep me stay focused. 245 by Feb start, 235 by June start and full schedule physical workouts beginning in June.

Next intermediate goal is to be at 220 by the 3 year anniversary of the start of this path by my birthday in late September.

My stretch goal is that I really want to hit the 100 lbs lost goal by the start of 2021. It may be a far reach, but the workouts should help.

As a friend told me today, you will never get to the stars unless you reach for them!
 
There will come a point here where you need to decide 3 things.

What is a maintainable/sustainable weight?

WHat weight do I look the best at?

What weight do I feel the best at?


For me that is about 2,500k/cal with one cheat day a week and 250ish pounds. At that weight I'm pretty mobile, feel decent and have a 6 pack.
 
roccodart440 said:
There will come a point here where you need to decide 3 things.

What is a maintainable/sustainable weight?

WHat weight do I look the best at?

What weight do I feel the best at?


For me that is about 2,500k/cal with one cheat day a week and 250ish pounds. At that weight I'm pretty mobile, feel decent and have a 6 pack.
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I already know those things.

My target weight is 185 lbs and my current caloric intake level is 2300-2500 calories per day. It is exactly at the level it needs to be to stay at energy balance when I reach that weight. I am quite comfortable at this intake level and don’t feel food deprived at all.

It also means that since I have been comfortable at this intake level for more than a year now, it is completely sustainable into the future.
 
Here is a graph of my weight history. It took me 35 years to gain the extra 130 lbs. it happened slowly at about 3-5 lbs per year which is only an extra 30-50 calories per day.

The green part of the line is how far I have come since starting this weight loss plan and the red line is what is left to go. You can see it was a pretty straight line gaining the weight, and it is a straight line losing it...just faster.

I chose this 300 calorie reduction approach exactly because it is comfortable and sustainable. I didn’t gain the weight fast, so I can’t expect to lose it too fast without screwing up my metabolism and undermining my long term success.

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Yay! My new pants and belt arrived this evening!

Pants still need to be laundered, but I’m wearing the new belt now. It is like a new set of opportunities to shrink out of it with every hole I cinch up. I’m on the second hole now and 5 more to go at 1” spacing. My belt is now 16” smaller than where I began...and I hope to shrink out of this one by the end of September. :)
 
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I hope I trim down some. I have walked on the treadmill every day so far this week. It's quite a workout for me but it's getting better. I see my heart rate is lower throughout the workout now. (Thanks to my Metroprol) 1500 calories burned is almost a day's worth of eating. Lol

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toolmanmike said:
I hope I trim down some. I have walked on the treadmill every day so far this week. It's quite a workout for me but it's getting better. I see my heart rate is lower throughout the workout now. (Thanks to my Metroprol) 1500 calories burned is almost a day's worth of eating. Lol

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Good for you Mike!

You will trim down over time...as long as you don’t eat as much more than you now burn!

:thumbsup:
 
Sometimes it’s the small victories that keep me the most inspired on this path!

Today I found the wedding ring I wore when we got married back in 1986.

Just about 20 years ago, it was strangling my finger due to weight gain and I had to replace it with a much larger size. It had gotten so tight that I even had to oil my finger and work hard to get it off.

I put the original ring away and forgot about it.

Well, today it slipped on my finger just like the day we got married. And fits exactly like it did back then!

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I will now look at it every day and be reminded of the path, the accomplishments and the goals ahead. It will serve me as a continual inspiration to reach my goals.
 
This one made me laugh! I also found a pair of nearly new dress shoes in the box that had my old wedding ring. They were the shoes I wore for my job interview at DuPont in 1988. I probably only wore them a couple of times and then stashed them away since we wore steel toes shoes for the job.

Well, I looked at the size and they are a 9D. Hmmm... I have been wearing a size 10EE for the past 20 years.

So, I decided to put them on and they fit! Then it dawned on me...they don’t just fit, they fit properly. So I put my current shoes back on and realized that they are flopping on my feet and are way too loose.

It seems my feet expanded in width and length from all the extra weigh I had carried for decades and have now shrunk back to the size they were. It also explains the weird foot pain I had been having over the past year as my arches felt out of alignment and cracked regularly. It all stopped about 4 months ago. Now I know why.

I guess I need to buy some more new shoes now!
 
It’s the first day of the new month and my weight is now 245 lbs. I have now lost 70 lbs.

It is also the 1 year anniversary of when I started this thread and I have lost 32 lbs since then.

I also got a new shirt yesterday. It is the first time in 25 years that a plain XL shirt fits me properly.

AD7BCC08-3915-4EC1-BD1A-BA3BB9F7EC24.jpeg


This is what I have lost since I started...

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I almost forgot, I promised to track my daily weight for the month and share it. The blue line is the daily measurements and the red dots are my normal weekly weigh-in points.

As I said, too much noise in the daily numbers to really tell progress, but the weekly points make the trend clear.

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