Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Because you asked


When I tell people I used to weigh 300 pounds they ask for a picture. Well. Here it is. I'm the guy on the right. That was 8.5 years ago. I think was about 300. I stopped weighing at 289.

When I turned 30 I changed my ways.

More on that here. And I've lost another 20 or so since I wrote that article.

Picture by Gnate

This is me a couple weeks ago. Not a rail, but not such a fat bastard either.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

I really like this post and the associated story you linked to. Thanks for sharing!

People also seem to assume I've always been as thin and active as I am. I need to dig up a photo myself.

As a side note, I'm hoping to get my own "Bike Idaho" project up and running here soon, with the objective of encouraging more people in my area to use bikes for transportation and recreation. I'll be sure to link to your article.

glen c. said...

John, let me get this straight...Tarter sauce is bad?

Pondero said...

Great story, John. I guess I found your blog after all that, and was unaware of where you came from. Thanks for the inspiration...I need a bit of a tune-up.

Pat S said...

That rules, John. Great post.

Anonymous said...

Well done John. As Pondero said, very inspiring! Please keep us up-to-date on how your eating and riding habits evolve. Being in a similar spot (40, desk job, young children, trying to lose that last 20 or so pounds) I appreciate any advice you can provide.

Apertome said...

Inspiring indeed. I was in a similar situation, not as big but still plenty big, and a smoker. Dropped a bunch of weight and quit smoking thanks to riding. I gained some of the weight back, but only some of it, and hopefully that'll come off again this year. It's amazing how many cyclists have a story like this.

mike said...

john -

thanks so much for posting. the more i read, the more i am impressed.

i too used to ride and ride and ride (and run and run...) then college, and grad school, and a job, and coffee and food and a desk and a computer... well - you've been there.

i tapped out just shy of where you were. its been a roller coaster ever since. i've never gotten up that high again - but some days are a challenge. childhood food choices stay embedded. comfort eating - taught and learned in my youth. crap food at school - the list goes on.

but - each pedal stroke is a joy, even when it hurts. even when i don't think i ever want to ride a bike again.

thanks for sharing. might have to dig out some 'big mike' pictures.

-mike

Dan O said...

That's impressive - awesome.

I know a few folk that have lost anywhere from 20 to 80 pounds by becoming bike nuts.

The cool part is, the cycling becomes a part of their life and they tend to keep it off.

I've been lucky in that regard - have been too skinny most of life and now that I'm getting older (48) and ride a fair amount - still fairly thin (160 pounds or so).

EvilElf said...

John, this is amazing. I didn't know anything about your weight loss.

Sarah and I were talking about an article that was in the "good paper" the other day, one that advocated stomach stapling and other medical interventions to lose weight. What a strange nation that we live in. We thought that whoever wants this surgery should first have to walk the distance to see the doctor every day for two weeks. I wonder what the results would be.

On another note, a friend of mine is off for 6 weeks after ruptering a disk, lifting a fat lady who was in cardiac arrest. Cheap food and cheap gasoline wind up costing ourselves and our system a lot of money, not to mention pain and sorrow.

Thanks for the picture. Amazing and wonderful.