Reminiscing with Fat Pictures from 2005
I was cleaning up the computer in my garage when I came across some pictures I took back in January of 2005. I remember this day vividly. It was a few days after my birthday and I had decided to end the self hatred and fattening of my life and body. I told myself that I would get into shape and had my wife take the pictures in our cramped up apartment in NYC. At the time I was about 260 lbs and was working out off and on, more off than on. I was out of control with my eating habits and felt crappy most of the time, depressed even. You can tell from the look on my face that I wasn’t happy with myself. I dreaded taking these photos.
Shortly after taking the photos I was 100% disgusted with my body. I felt like a complete failure for letting my self go so badly. I figured I would try my best to get back into shape and lose the fat, but as we can all tell by now, I failed. That was two years ago and I managed to get even worse. I ballooned up to 350 lbs. That’s 90 lbs gained! Ouch. Back then I had no stretch marks and was only 40 lbs away from a decent body. To date I have lost 40 lbs, but am still an eternity away from getting anything close to a decent body.
Now that I look at the pictures, I didn’t look that bad (that’s comparing myself to what I look like now). I was fat and out of shape but it wasn’t so out of reach like it feels now. What I would give to look like that again. But anyway, I plan on continuing my weight loss journey and maybe in a few months I can post some pictures that look like the above “before” shots at 260 lbs or so.
I’ve got pics like this as well (somewhere). I kept trying a new diet, a new way of eating or exercising and I just kept on gaining. It was so frustrating. You commit to yourself that you’re not going to get any bigger and the next thing you know you’re bigger than ever.
I had a food journal and I wrote down everything I ate plus all my weekly measurements. After burying it somewhere in the basement my wife found it while cleaning. (this was last year) I read it and my jaw dropped, I was 15 lbs heavier and in the worst shape of my life.
That moment kinda changed it all for me. I had spent the last 5 years trying to lose weight and had accomplished nothing. I sat down and looked at my approaches to weight loss, dieting and exercise and found that what I was doing just wasn’t working.
The food deprivation, over exercising and doing activities I didn’t enjoy had just made me fatter and lazier than ever.
I changed my outlook on food, it’s to be enjoyed and not feared.
I changed my outlook on exercise, it has to be fun and offer something competitive.
Most importantly I changed how I looked at myself. Not as a fat lazy slob anymore, but just a man at the peak of his weight gain with nowhere to go but down.
Sorry for the long comment but I know how you feel. I’ve been there and managed to reach my weight loss goal. As bad as it feels to look back and see how much farther you’ve let yourself slide, it feels 10 times as good when you get to look back and see how incredibly far you’ve come.
Keep grinding away Israel and you’ll get there too.
Hey Steve, I cant wait to get to that point. I am glad I am not the only one that feels like this (or has felt like this). It is very discouraging. Thanks for letting me into your experiences.
Hey I was in UK for a holiday and we walked everyday for the entire month for like 8-9 hours a day – the result, a much healthier and fitter body, not to mention I lost loaaaaddddss of weight on that month 🙂
Walking can do wonders. A friend of mine has been walking all over new york city for a month and has noticed a significant change in his health. Glad to here you are better.
Israel, what are you currently doing in the way of exercise? Weightlifting, cardio, and how many times a week. Are you taking any supplements? As you have probably figured out, and as Steve mentioned above, you can seem to be doing all the right things and still gain. Its very discouraging. There are solutions though…
I lift weights every 3 days for total body. I run or bike for cardio about 5 to 6 times a week. I take protein, glutamin, amino acids and creatine. I have been doing all the right things and they are working, just not as fast as I want them to.
When R U doing your cardio? Morning, afternoon? What are you doing (treadmill, bike) and at what heart rate? When you lift, how long are you waiting between sets?
I do it when I can, usually after noon or night on the treadmill and bike, not sure what heart rate, but usually on the treadmill I do HIIT, on the bike I do more long distance. My lifting is fast, 30 minutes max, so about 30 seconds between sets.
I used to be like you as well but I work on my cardio for a straight 3 months and it was a blast. Try taking Hydroxycut, it’s cool stuf that will give you all the energy you need to exercise as well as helping you burn those extra calories/fats. I dropped from 250lbs to 202lbs in 3 months. The hydroxycut were awesome.
I have some of those, and some others. I plan on taking them in a couple of months.
Dont give up, I’m now fat too. After I be a full time blogger, my weight increase to 15 pounds. omg!
Wow, you gained 15 lb, how long of a time was that in?
Just 1 months, now I going to play basketball first, hope can make some changes in my life. Again, don’t give up.
Cool, bball helps a lot, plus its fun. good luck.
You must have been a full time blogger for a long long time. 15lbs is a lot. Have you been doing anything to slim down???
I wonder what sort of diet have you done to tone down your weight problems. I know that taking diet and work out will help a lot but I wonder why you lost a lot. I mean it wasnt easy to do such type of things right?. I have done some oatmeal diet before.
I have posted all of that through out the site. Its mostly eating in control.
Eating in control will surely help in losing weight.Overweight people have an increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and other illnesses. Losing weight reduces the risk. To successfully lose weight, you must carry out a plan to balance your caloric intake with exercise.
I agree with you.
Are you really that fat before? I think that depression sometimes will also trigger a person to become fat. And controlling your eating habits can help you indeed in losing weight.
Depression can lead to different things, overeating is one of many.