8 months later

When I started this blog, my first post included a "topless" photo of myself. It was the 335+ pound version of me. The photo would be the initial motivation to start my weight loss journey. This morning I took another picture of myself after being on hiatus for a couple of months.

8 months and 100 pounds later:

The guy on the left wore XXXL shirts. The guy on the right has been wearing a few XL shirts lately.

The guy on the left was wearing size 46 in the waist. The guy on the right is wearing size 40.

The guy on the left was out of breath after climbing a flight of stairs. The guy on the right has another 5k race on June 4th.

The guy on the left was sick and tired of being sick and tired. The guy on the right is the result of that.

The guy on the left wanted to be around for a long time for his family. The guy on the right is going to be around for a long time for his family.

So I've lost more than 100 pounds

And here's the proof:

I was totally taken aback when I saw that number show up on the scale Friday morning. I thought I'd be close to 236, maybe 235.5 if I was lucky but definitely not less than 235. It feels really, really good. I never thought I'd lose 50 pounds. I've lost over 100 freaking pounds.

Now the next stage in my journey begins and that's maintaining my weight. I know I never want to go back to where I was. There's a whole lot that the thinner me is looking forward to doing. That includes spending as much time at the swimming pool as I can with Luke this summer. It also includes looking good in a tux for my brother's wedding. I'm not going to be the fat brother anymore.

Just take a look at the picture below (from December 2009):

There are too many of those and it's time for new ones.

Another perk is that I'm no longer obese according to my BMI. Now I'm just overweight. :)

Yet another before and after photo

I was going through my closet the other day and now have a dozen fewer shirts to wear as they are way too big, all of them XXXL or XXXLT. Also in my closet was a suit that I've worn maybe 4 or 5 times over the last 6 years or so. I hated wearing it because it was too tight and I would have to wear a white shirt and I looked huge in white.

I can remember trying to suck my gut in when it came time for formal pictures wearing that. It was tough buttoning the jacket comfortably.

I put it on and now it just hangs on me. The pants are loose and so is the jacket around my midsection. The first picture is from my sister-in-law's wedding in 2007 and the other picture is from last week. Enjoy!

I'm less than 2 pounds away from losing 100 pounds since starting this website. I haven't taken a picture lately like I did every month but I will once I hit the century mark.

What a difference a year can make...again

This past weekend I attended the Kansas Sampler Festival. It's an amazing yearly event. I attended last year as well.

Here's what I looked like then and what I looked like this year:

XXXL on the left. XL on the right.

I was embarrassed looking at the pictures of the XXXL version of me. The huge shirt just wasn't helping one bit and I looked terrible. Now I'm wearing an XL and I think I look good wearing it. I'm gaining more confidence in what I wear. It's an awesome feeling.

Another before and after photo

I have another before and after photo to share.

The left side is September 18th, 2010 and the right side is April 30th, 2011.

The old me couldn't run the entire 5k. The new me has run two 5k races in 2 weeks.

The old me was testing the limits of XXL shirts. The new me is swimming in them now.

The old me had a goatee to "hide" my fat face. The new me has one because it looks good (I'm told).

The old me had a lot to be happy about. The new me couldn't be happier.

Yesterday's 5k

Lots of highs and a few lows from yesterday's 5k in Topeka. My hope was that I would improve my time but I was 1 second slower than my last 5k. My time was 28:52 yesterday. The race started at 3 pm so that was a little bit of an adjustment but I don't think it had any effect on how I ran. I strained my right calf in the first half of the race and it's still sore today. It's a little bit better right now. Also, my gut started aching around the same time and I wasn't sure if I was going to throw up or what. It lasted the rest of the race and about 10 or 15 minutes after.
I had a decent breakfast, my usual oatmeal with flaxseed meal and also some strawberry greek yogurt. Lunch was lighter with just some vegetables. Looking back, I didn't drink near enough water both in the days before the race as well as yesterday morning and leading up to the race. Maybe a sports drink would have helped some too.
After the race, I went to a sports bar and "celebrated" by ordering whatever I wanted. I overdid it on what I ate and my wife told me she saw the old me. I felt that way too. I inhaled my food and had a lot of it. I had a cheeseburger, onion rings and a beer. I can't forget the spinach and artichoke stuffed mushrooms before my meal either. I also helped my wife finish her french fries. I was definitely the old Shawn for one meal. None of what I ate gave me the pleasure or satisfaction that losing 95 pounds or being a healthier person has. It was good to get that out of my system to remind me that I'm not missing anything.
On the bright side of things, I FINISHED ANOTHER 5K. I didn't stop running once as much as I felt like it and I still finished strong and with a decent time. I've come a long, long way from eating like a pig to where I am today.
If I'm going to keep this up, I really need to run and exercise on a more regular basis. I am looking forward to my next 5k on June 4th.

Here's a picture of me near the finish line from yesterday's race taken by SeeKCRun.com

Running another 5k race this weekend

So I'm registered for another 5k race this weekend in Topeka. It's the Law Day 5k. If you watch WIBW you've seen it advertised on there as they are a sponsor. Race time is 3 pm on Saturday.

I'm getting closer and closer to losing 100 pounds since starting this journey. Hopefully that will happen in the next week or two.

Also, I've been working on a playlist when I run. Here's the playlist from my last race.

Barbastella - Batman Begins soundtrack (I use this as a warmup before the race, walk around, lineup before the start)
The Birth and Death of the Day - Explosions in the Sky
A-Punk - Vampire Weekend
Shake It - Metro Station
Kids - MGMT
Hey Little World - The Hives
Born This Way - Lady Gaga (skipped this song as it was getting close to the end of the race and I really wanted to hear the next one)
List of Demands - Saul Williams
Sunshine (Adagio in D Minor) - Sunshine soundtrack

I'm always open to suggestions. If you have anything similar to what I have above or think I might like, please let me know. With rare exception, I don't know anything really current but that doesn't mean I'm against it.

Correction - My 5k time was even better

So the official results came out yesterday and my 5k time was 28:51 and not 29:12 like I thought. I'm pretty stoked by that. Also, I was about 30 seconds from placing 3rd. So close!

I signed up for another 5k on April 30th in Topeka. My goal for that race is to see if I can beat 28:51. The course is near Washburn University and the neighborhood to the west so my guess is that the course will be a little similar to the one I just ran as far as the inclines and declines. We shall see.

Today's 5k - 90 pounds lighter - 11 minutes faster

Ran my 2nd 5k this morning and my 4th race overall since starting my journey. I was worried that I wouldn't do very well because I haven't been running much since last month's 2-mile race. My 2 major goals for this race were running the entire race and finishing with a better time than my first 5k back in September of last year. I knew that if I ran the whole race then there was no doubt my time would be faster.

Well I definitely accomplished both goals. I finished this morning in a time of 29:12. That's over 11 minutes faster than my previous 5k. I even ran a faster pace than my 2-mile race last month.

A quick comparison:
9/18/10 - 335+ pounds - 40:33
4/16/11 - 245 pounds - 29:12

I feel like I pushed myself but I was also hurting a bit from not running very much over the past month. I didn't finish in the top 3 of my age group or win any door prizes but it wasn't why I ran. It was for a great cause and for my own health. I ran well and ran the whole race. I'm ecstatic with my time and I'm looking forward to my next race.

Look at me now

My wife gave me a new shirt and pair of shorts for my birthday. Check it out.

Compare that to August of last year in the picture below. Yikes!

What a difference a year can make

This morning I had my health screening for Get Fit Wamego. I took my readings from last year with me to compare and see how much they've changed. Some are really dramatic. According to their scale I am now under 250 pounds.

Everything has gone down. The only negative is that my HDL, the good cholesterol, has gone down also. There are foods I can eat to get that number up while continuing to keep the bad cholesterol down. In addition to the weight loss, the most dramatic change are the triglyceride levels. Keeping that number down keeps the blood flowing through you without your arteries narrowing or hardening, i.e. really important.

3 big reasons why I'm on this journey

Pretty easy to see why I've made the change I have. I plan on being around for a while.

Luke Gregory Lane born 7/24/08
Lauren Grace Lane born 3/24/11
And of course my beautiful wife, Jessica.

My first St. Patrick's Day Road Race

Today I ran in the 33rd Annual St. Patrick's Day 2-Mile and 10K Road Race in Manhattan. This year was my first as a participant as I had attended several in the past. My brothers ran a few times when we were younger. It's a really well known event in the area.

I ran the 2-mile race and kicked some butt. I really didn't know what to expect going into it. I knew that I ran 21:35 in my last 2-mile race back in October of last year in Wamego and since I hadn't been running as much, I figured that I would be lucky to beat that. Not only did I beat that but I finished in just under 20 minutes. My time was 19:59.7 officially. Being 75 pounds lighter certainly helps.

I felt really good during the race and I really picked up the pace in the last tenth of a mile. Had I been more familiar with the course and where I was for the last quarter mile, I really think my time could have been even better because I had enough energy left in me. I can't wait to run it again next year.

I'm also really looking forward to my next race on April 16th.

Under 260 pounds

I officially weigh less than 260 pounds. I'm under 260 by almost 2 full pounds. I'm that much closer to my high school weight. I never ever thought I would lose that much.

The scale read 258.1 this morning. That's 77 pounds lost since September 23rd of last year.

My wife bought me a new bathroom scale as an early birthday gift that's more precise rather than whole and half pounds like the old one. Normally, I'd be offended but I thought it was a great gift. My how things have changed.

I'm still planning on running in the St. Patrick's Day Race next Saturday in Manhattan unless something major occurs like the birth of our 2nd child.

It's a great feeling knowing that I've prolonged my life by losing all this weight so I can play an active part in the lives of my children and family. I've written about a few of the reasons why I'm making this change and after doing it for myself, my family is at the top of that list.

I'm really looking forward to going to the swimming pool this summer. Years past, I was embarrassed to be seen there because I felt so fat but now I can't wait to go and be with Luke in the water. I'll still won't look that great with no shirt on but it'll be a heck of a lot better than before.

Shaved the goatee

I shaved my goatee this morning. What do you think?



Compare that picture on the right from this morning to when I last shaved it back in July of last year.



The goatee will be coming back soon as my biggest fan prefers that.

Side by side comparison

9/23/2010 vs 2/23/2011

335+ pounds vs 265.5 pounds

42 BMI vs 33.2 BMI

Photo evidence after the jump.

5 months

I started this journey 5 months ago today. In that time I've lost 70 pounds. The scale read 265.5 this morning. Not in my wildest imagination did I ever think I would lose that much weight in that amount of time. It was always wishful thinking but it was never anything I thought I could actually do. Do is the keyword. I'm doing life and people are witnessing it along with me.
I've never been this open with so many people about something but all of you are reasons for my success. Thank you to everyone for all of your words of encouragement whether it's in person, second-hand through someone else, comments on Facebook, etc. And a huge thanks to my family. I see you everyday and you get to see my journey on a daily basis.

New clothes

I've been gradually getting new clothes and also wearing clothes that have resided in the bottom of dresser drawers and back of the closet. Last night I wore a pair of cargo shorts that are size 46 in the waist. Now they fall off. That's never happened before. You can see said pants in the picture on the right. I got pants that big because I needed to make sure there was room for the extra junk I had going in the trunk.

I wore a new pair tonight that are size 40. I thought they were going to be too small but they fit great. Totally surprised at that.

Before I lost over 65 pounds, I would try to wear the loosest clothing I could find without it looking like I'm wearing a hockey jersey. Now, I don't mind if a shirt is a little more fitting. It can't be too tight yet as I still have a spare tire.

I'm much more willing to try new clothes now. Before, I hated trying on clothes because I looked like crap and clothes looked even worse.

BMI Then & Now

9/23/2010
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 335+ pounds
BMI: 42

2/18/2011
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 268 pounds
BMI: 33.5

According to BMI ranges, I'm still considered obese and would need to get just under 240 to fall in the overweight category. I've never really given much credence to BMI because it hasn't adapted or changed over time as we've adapted or changed. BMI has been around for well over a 100 years but roughly 30 in its current form.

I'm not sure how much more I want to lose. I'd like to get around 250, my high school weight, and I bet I could get under that because I was overweight at that time too.

It has been nice to not see my stomach hanging over my pants. It hasn't gone completely away. I have a compact car spare tire now instead of a SUV spare tire.

Get Fit Wamego

I signed up for Get Fit Wamego today. If you need a lifestyle change, lose weight, learn to eat better, whatever it might be and need the support of others, this a great way to do it. I signed up last year and didn't do a darn thing. I let an awesome opportunity go to waste because I was lazy and not ready to change. It was only after the program was over that I decided to do something. It's $35 to participate and you get a lot for that. Check out the site. I can't wait!