Mike,
What's the latest? Have you made 5 laps yet? Keep it up, you will reach your goals. Ready for another video...

I pinched a nerve in my back on Sunday (the day after the ride). I could barely walk the rest of the weekend and it's been making everything hard all week. I don't think that 5 is going to be doable without some miracle to keep my hands and feet from cramping.

If I can just take off another 30-40lbs I know that will go away.

Sorry to hear about your pinched nerve, Mike. We're looking forward to your next ride report.

It's official. My waist size has decreased 10" since December of last year.

When I started cycling my pant size was 72". Then after 2 months I got some 70" jeans last month. Now this morning I decided to try wearing some 62" jeans I hadn't been able to wear in 2 years. The waist line is tight but they fit. It's a friggin miracle!!!!!!!!

I posted some pics on my blog if you want to check em out.

Here is one of me standing beside my bike in my 62" jeans. Tight around the waist but loose in the legs.

http://www.pbase.com/kodack/image/45374129.original.jpg

Looking good bro!

Keep it up, good steady progress.

Way to go Mike!

This is inspiring stuff.

Always good to hear about your progress, Mike! I check out your blog regularly, too. Keep up the good work!

The best part of all of this, is that things will only get easier as the weight comes off. You're getting through the toughest part dude, don't give up.

Rest up a bit. Let that piched nerve settle down, then take it easy the first time back on the bike, since you'll have been off it for a while. Then, slowly work back into your routine. Keep a good journal, and keep all these records for referance later.
If you have any writing skills, this story will make a great book to read for anyone who has lost hope, and thinks it can't be done. Or, for anyone needing inspiration. If nothing else, it will be a great story to read to your grandkids someday, and pass on as legacy.

The irony here is that once I start getting fit I'll be trying to find pain and exhaustion instead of avoid it. Hehe. If it's a hard ride it means I got a good work out. Right now it doesn't take much. Later on you have to fight to get a good work out. Hehe.

Ten inches off your waist! That makes the 2-3 inches I want to drop sound like a weekend's chore! Congratulations on your progress, and it's great to hear that you are feeling good about what you are accomplishing.

I can't think about that.... Many a fat man has sat and pondered. Is it better to be a large man with normal skin, or a slim man with bulldog skin around his midsection...... I can't even start to think about that or I will get afraid and stop what I'm doing.

You have to put it in perspective. I've never been a 'shirt off' kind of guy. Nothing will change in that respect but I don't have to be miserable with a shirt on. I can be happy with my shirt on.

And I'm not 100% how much my waist has shrunk. I tried on some other clothes and was surprised.

Two pants, same size, different brands and styles have a 4" difference in the waist line diameter..... It's possible those 62's are larger than normal and the 70's that are too big for me are larger than normal as well. Because I tried a different style 70's I haven't worn in awhile and they fit me perfect. That's a 6" difference from 64 (can squeeze into a 62 uncomfortably so I'm guessing 64 is right). So it could be as little as 4" I've lost and as much as 10".

I have a body diameter device but it only goes to 60". Also it's difficult to get an accurate measurement because fat isn't the firmest substance and you find that the diameter needed to keep your pants from falling down is usually much less than a measuring tape will show you at. IE measuring tape might show 70" waist but 70" pants are much too large.

My bicep size can be accurately measured and it shows 26" which is the same as when I weighed in the 540's.

Here are a couple of old log entries in my book from March of 2004 that show the begining of the worst 6 months of my life. A 20lb weight gain in 2 months on my way to 600 in 12/2004

"5:51 PM 3/21/2004 Biceps and everything are the same. Weight is hovering at 548-550

8:18 PM 5/7/2004 560-570 uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhggg"

Oh, and in case no one mentioned it before in the thread: Happy Birthday! (even though it's now a day afterwards).

Way to go, everybody thats lost weight knows how hard it can be and everyone is supporting you in this endeavor....Go Mike!!!!

Hey dood, good job.

I had a childhood friend who became overweight after few years of depression and unhealthy eating habbits. By the time he was 22 years old he weighed in at about 520lbs and 5'11". Me and my friends felt enough was enough and got his lazy ass off his couch and into the biking scene. after few weeks he realy loved biking however he had problems sitting on the saddle. So he turned to lypho suction and we encouraged him. He had 3 sessions of lypho suction, and looked slim compared to how he looked before. He also had a lot of excess skin hanging because his skin no longer had the elasticity to go back to the way it was when he was 14. He had his excess skin surgicaly removed. Now he works out every other day and rides with us on his road bike on the days he doesn't workout and this guy is fit. All im saying is, if your in that much pain while riding your bike it might be worth cheating. Every option is worth exploring. Please dont flame me for suggesting this if you find this to be inappropriate post.

Good luck and I hope to god you'll be doing 100+km rides one day. :beer:

Hey Mike,
Nice blog. Congratulations on your progress so far. Keep up the good work. I'm glad you found a good shop to help you mod your bike.

Doug

Nah I won't flame you. :) But I respect myself too much to have a sharpened lance dragged beneath my skin to suck the fat out.

I may have plastic surgery to tighten the skin up once the weight is off. Or I might wear my saggy belly skin like a badge of courage and make people laugh by contorting the skin into characatures of famous people. At this point I'm 50/50 either way. :) If this whole thing has taught me anything it's not to take myself so seriously.

It's not the bike seat that is holding me back. If I had to give a medal to technology achievment of the year, it would be to the Royal Gel Bee company for making a bike seat so comfortable a 560lb rider can sit on it without feeling violated.

My problems are center of balance is too far forward hurting my hands and my feet and making them cramp. I can handle pain but I have to be able to grip the handlebars to stear and a charlie horse makes that impossible.

From the description of your discomfort, I suspect you might benefit from a bike fit. If you are carrying too much weight on your hands, there are a few adjustments that can reduce that problem. A shorter or taller stem may be all that you need. A fore-aft adjustment of the saddle may help, too.

A good bike shop ought to be able to help you out.

I've done all that but thanks for the advice. The fact is that no matter how well the bike is set up I'm still a 558lb man on a bike. That in itself is a miracle. I just need to concentrate on weightloss. The rest will go away with training and fitness.

My engineers mind has also thought about using a counterweight in a backpack but I don't like the idea of adding more weight when I'm already so heavy. It's a miracle I haven't had even a bent spoke yet.

You should point Kona to your blog. You certainly prove the worth of their bikes, maybe you could be a spokesmodel, and they'll start buying you things :D

LOL! I love your attitude. I have no doubt that you'll achieve everything you want to. Keep it up! :)

Mike,
You have to look at this thing like going into a new job. At first you're all apprehensive and stuff but after a year it is second nature to you. Your program will be the same way. Stay diligent buddy!!!

Great Googly Moogly, I just read this entire thread in one sitting! Mike, what you're doing is nothing short of amazing. I've been working on the same thing, but I started at 400 and I'm at about 315 at the moment. I know I've thanked my lucky stars I didn't wait until I hit 500 (and I KNOW I'd have gotten there if I'd continued sucking down the sugar and sitting around--I'm one of those guys who ate Oatmeal Cream Pies in secret when no one else was around!) and here you are on your way down from 600! You're the man!

I'll tell you something else--I want a Kona Hoss now. Obviously everything these guys say about its strength is absolutely right. My old Huffy POS is shedding parts like a dog shaking off mud.

Plus you live in Texas, which does not suck, and I live in Illinois, which sucks. That must be worth points right there.


I'm off to bed now. The morning comes early and I want to ride before it gets hot. It's good to know there are so many other people going through this same thing.


(By the way, I just got a computer a couple of days ago. I had to pedal like hell to get to 20.5 mph on a level stretch of road. My average seems to be right around 15 mph, but I go a lot further than you do and on long, straight township roads. If I were doing laps around a building, I don't think I'd get to 20.)