Originally Posted by Santaria
Well, this being my first post here, I'll start by saying hello and that I've recently found this forum and am very excited to have a community to discuss fitness, bicycling, commuting and everything in between with a group of folks that has similar interests.
Now, for my odd 'weight loss' story.
I'm 6', 218 lbs. currently. I give this as a marker for where I'm at when I've not ridden for about 6 months, at all.
Some background:
I'm 31, have been married for 7 years and have eaten like a total pig. I smoke a pack a day and regularly drink 6-8 mountain dew 12oz. cans a day. I tend to get wrapped up in computer gaming, which is why I've had the hiatus from riding recently, and reflected back on something that took place about a year ago.
On my 31st birthday (June 7) of last year, I was at 289 lbs. (quite literally the biggest I've ever been). I work in an office where stress+sitting in front of a computer is bad enough, but a friend introduced me to a video game, Everquest. After 3 years of doing nothing but sitting at work for 8 hours, then coming home and playing that video game for another 8, then squeezing in 2-3 hours of sleep, its no wonder I was in terrible physical shape. The combination of pizza, fast food burgers and Taco Bell had taken its toll on me.
Needless to say, when my birthday hit, my wife asked me what I wanted for a present. For 3 years prior it was either a)a gaming card b) an expansion to EQ or c) new computer parts; well this time, I did something different. I asked for the one thing I missed most - a bike. We went down to the local LBS and I picked out a Haro V3 (2003) model. I think she and the guy in the bikeshop had the same mentality, that this would become nothing but a 3-month thing and then I'd be back to sitting in front of the computer.
So, from June-Oct. I started doing some strange things:
1. I actually pawned my computer to get it out of my house.
2. I stopped drinking soda.
3. I went on a diet consisting of chicken, fish, fruits and vegetables. I only drank water and the occassional sobe.
4. I still couldn't quit smoking, but I was able to cut back.
I never really noticed it, I always had issues waking up since I was a kid. But, I started deciding to commute the 13 miles (one way) to work. It was impulsive and stupid (to most of those people I knew, including my wife, her family - it was sorta a big joke) but I got it in my head that I was going to do this, period. Needless to say, on a mountain bike it wasn't easy. But I went from taking around 1:15 to get to work down to 46 minutes. I didn't pay much attention to my weight, but in Oct. my in-laws started talking about their weight loss on the Atkin's diet. They purchased a scale and were very proud of their 15 lb. weight loss. They kinda chided me to get on the scale (they said I looked like I had lost a lot of weight).
This is were I lost it. I had gone from 289 in June (sedetary) down to 187 lbs. in Oct.
So, we went out clothes shopping (I was very frugal and refused to buy clothing during this period) because it was becoming pretty obvious that my size 42 pants were literally deathstrapped to me via my belt. I was back into a size 34.
And that's where things went wrong. Due to finances that plummeted faster than the DOW recently, I had to put the bike up for sale (it literally came down to selling it or not being able to feed my wife and son). We were living week-to-week and expenses seem to jump out of nowhere when my wife lost her job. Needless to say, I sold the V3 (I believe we spent $345) for $50 to a LBS.
Fast foward to now:
My wife got another job, I've been promoted and moved up to a better position in my company and can afford another bike. This time, I've vowed I will not let the bike go at any cost. I'm back up to 218 lbs., but know that once I get another bike I can start losing weight fast.
Anyhow, I thought it was an interesting success story for how biking+reasonable diet can = massive weight loss. I anticipate getting my new bike in June (we're holding off so I can buy a decent road bike and hopefully can consider doing a few charity rides next year).