I have been fat my entire life. I don’t know exactly all of my weights and measurements, but I know I was at a 36″ waist in 7th grade, and I know I was around 250 pounds in high school. When I graduated with my undergrad I was 280 pounds and 5’11”.
I started a desk job a few months after graduation and gained around 20 pounds, tipping the scale at close to 300 pounds by the time I married the love of my life, Meg.
During this time though I considered myself semi-active. I played football on the weekends and tried to play pick up sports whenever I had an opportunity. My weight never exceeded 300 pounds, but about 2 years after marriage I realized that the makeup of the weight was shifting. I was losing what little muscle mass I had, and gaining even more fat, even if the scale wasn’t changing. My pant size was up to a 48″ waist, and you can see from the pictures below that was getting snug. After seeing pictures of ourselves from Disney both Meg and I both decided that something had to change.
Meg was the one that really led the charge. She started following the Weight Watchers program, measuring portions, and exercising more. For more information on her weight loss, see Meg’s Journey. I basically started my weight loss by just eating what she was eating because she was cooking all the time. I started to lose weight without exercising any more than normal, but just because the dinners we shared were Weight Watcher friendly. I also started to learn portion control from her. In May 2011 I decided to join a gym and really make a concerted effort to lose weight. My goal was to lose 50 pounds by May 2012 when I was to be the best man in my friend’s wedding.
In addition to going to the gym anywhere from 1-3 times a week I was playing floor hockey once a week (as a goalie – not the best cardio, but still exercise). I was also playing in a flag football league once a week. I stopped eating entire large bags of candy at work in a single sitting, and tried to be better about my food overall. I hit my goal of losing 50 pounds 5 months early, weighing in at 250 by Christmas.
At this point I hit a bit of a plateau. I still weighed 250 pounds a few months later in February when Meg and I decided to use a Groupon we had bought for Flower City CrossFit. We started their Bootcamp classes and continued them until April when we went on a trip to Jamaica. In those two months I had lost an additional 20 pounds.
After Jamaica we finished our Bootcamp program and signed up for a regular membership at Flower City CrossFit. The box (term used for a CrossFit gym) was just starting an 8 week paleo challenge, and Meg and I were interested in trying it out, so we both signed up for it. (For information on paleo or primal diets, my favorite blog is Mark’s Daily Apple.) I was on this diet for two weeks by the time I was in my friend’s wedding. Just 12 months prior to this wedding was when I originally set my weight loss goal of 50 pounds. My total weight loss was up to 75 pounds lost! (Photo from Jeff Schaefer Photography – a great photographer in the Cincinnati area)
By the end of the 8 week paleo challenge I weighed 220, and I stayed between 210 and 220 all Summer. I was eating somewhat paleo – mostly paleo for my main meals, but “cheating” on desserts and drinks. I was also finding myself more active. When we planned a vacation with our friends in the Adirondacks a year prior to the Summer I don’t think I would have ever guessed that my favorite part would be hiking, but by the time August hit Meg and I couldn’t get enough hiking in!
Not only was I losing weight, but I was slowly becoming more and more athletic. Before CrossFit I had never been able to run an entire mile start to finish. That is not an exaggeration – in school during gym class every year they would do the mile run, and every single year I had to walk at some point during the “run.” So I literally had never run for a full mile. In May, after three months of a combination of Bootcamp and the regular programming at CrossFit, I decided to see how far I could run on a whim. I ran for 3 miles! At the end of May I ran in the Chase Corporate Challenge in Rochester which was 3.5 miles, and hit my goal of doing it in 10 minute miles. I only went on 3 runs all Summer that were more than a mile long, but thanks to the regular programming at CrossFit I felt confident to sign up to do a Marathon Relay in September. I ran it with 3 other members at the box, and my leg of the marathon was 6.5 miles. I was able to finish under my 10 minute mile goal. One week later I ran in my first 5K, and was able to finish in less than 9 minute miles!
I don’t particularly enjoy running, nor do I plan on participating in many races in the future, but I did them to show myself how far I had come.
In October 2012 I hit the 100 pound mark, and weighed under 200 pounds for the first time that I can ever remember.I have lost over a foot off my waist (I didn’t get exact measurements when I started, but I believe it to be 14-16″).
At this point in my journey the pounds lost are becoming less and less important. What is becoming more important to me is my overall fitness. My goals have shifted from primarily scale-oriented to more ability oriented. For example I want to be able to do pull ups unassisted, hand stand push ups, and climb a 15 foot rope. I want to be able to Rx all of the workouts at CrossFit, and I want to start finishing in the top half of the class for time. I want to get better at football, basketball, and floor hockey. Eventually I would love to be able to dunk a basketball! There are still a few inches around my waist that I could do without, and I would be lying if I said I don’t care about the scale at all, but it is no longer my primary motivation. Who knows what my goal will be 18 months from now, because 18 months ago I wouldn’t even recognize myself today!
I am so incredibly proud of you and Meg both! What an inspirational story! Thank you for sharing it with us all- and thank you for recommending our site to your readers. What a generous gift!
Thanks Carrie! I love the new campaign, and I hope it’s very successful. Not just for you and Erv, but for all of the couples that will be impacted by it!
Wow Bob! I love that this is all written down! Thanks for sharing your story!
Wow, your story is pretty inspirational and my god your avatar pic is literally nothing like you! Whats the lightest you achieved? Did you count calories much of the way? Do you use any applications such as myfitnesspal, if so let me know your username and i’ll add you :). Well done to Meg to, really both, amazing work!
Thanks! The lightest I weighed was 193.2 at the end of my last paleo challenge in November. I’m only 3 pounds heavier than that now, and I’m hoping that by the end of this 8 week challenge I’ll be lower. I’m not sure what my goal weight is yet, but I’m guessing it’s going to be in the 180-190 range. I just got a scale that shows body fat %, so I’m going to start trying to figure out where I should be.
Meg used to do Weight Watchers, so the first fifty pounds I lost was mainly eating what she was eating. So I wasn’t counting my own calories, or “points”, but I learned most of the general caloric values from her. The last fifty-sixty pounds have been primarily paleo.
My myfitnesspal username is bigandbob. I don’t really calorie count though, so it’s tough – I only use it during challenges when our group uses it to get ideas from each other. Feel free to add me though!
Wow, amazing story and amazing effort of both of you. Congratulations!
Thanks!
Bob, you are inspirational! I was at the same weight as you when I started my life change and have been on a healthy path since. Keep up the good work. If you have time, here;s my story: http://thebigrunner.wordpress.com/2013/04/25/i-am-a-runner/
Thanks – you have a great story! I look forward to reading your posts. I still hate running, but I’m hoping some day I might fall in love with it. . .
My mouth was literally dropping as I was reading this post, your story is great! You and your wife look fantastic and are both inspirations. Definitely needed this as a pick-me-up because I’m kind of at a stand still in my weight loss, so thanks! Keep up the good work dude.
Thanks!