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Thread: Any positive weight loss experiences?

  1. #21
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Maine
    Posts
    1,972

    Post bookmarks

    here are 2 of my bookmarks.

    A walk in the woods:
    http://www.geocaching.com/bookmarks/...c-319d1fda8792

    hikes with a view:
    http://www.geocaching.com/bookmarks/...3-acd872370add
    Why not live life like it is your last day....instead of pretending to be a member of the Peter Pan Club and believing you will be around forever.

  2. #22
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    gloucester, ma
    Posts
    83

    Default I was over 300 LBS (ouch!)

    I was active- canoed and hiked even at that weight....
    but one day in Oct 07...I had enough of being FAT!!!
    I walked into the YMCa and started going to a class every day....in Nov 07- I walked into Weight watchers...I have been going for almost 90 weeks and I never miss my meeting....I have lost over 120 LBS so far...and have a few more to go..
    As so many have said....its a lifestyle change....I had to change my eating habits and my activity habits. Its a hard road that you have to want to go down. Its hard to pass up on all sorts of goodies - but i do my best each day....
    It was the best thing I ever did for myself...I can't tell you how great I feel- how much easier it is to hike, bike canoe, camp and so much more.

    If anyone one thinks it can't be done, I am proof it can...

    My life has changed immensely....I also promise myself...to never go back...
    for anyone who wants to- you can do it!!! it takes a lot of time- its not an overnite thing....
    nowadays- I enjoy motivating others to try to reach for their goals

    keep on moving!!
    Carol

  3. #23
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Maine
    Posts
    1,972

    Default Ongoing effort......

    Quote Originally Posted by Team2hunt View Post
    I have added a few more caches to the list. New Hampshire and the Augusta area. If anyone has a favorite they would like to add let me know. I hope you all enjoy them as I have. Oops! I almost forgot. Ravenswood. Sorry Carol.
    Why not live life like it is your last day....instead of pretending to be a member of the Peter Pan Club and believing you will be around forever.

  4. #24
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Maine
    Posts
    1,972

    Lightbulb Hmmmm.....

    I started geocaching to see what was just beyond my backyard. Lately I have had to give up the daily finds, to come back and see what is IN my backyard. The good news is the work is progressing and the time spent working around the house is keeping me moving, and away from the snacks. This seems like a good idea, and I have lost another 5LBS.

    Whenever I cross off one of the jobs on my list, I can go out and log a cache. My numbers may be suffering, but my house loves it!
    Why not live life like it is your last day....instead of pretending to be a member of the Peter Pan Club and believing you will be around forever.

  5. #25
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Current: Waterboro, Maine
    Posts
    3

    Talking Geocaching saved my life...

    I was fat... really fat - 472 lbs. - and I'd been Geocaching for nearly four years. I found myself picking out 1/1 caches, and ones with minimal hiking. Sometimes I'd just sit in the car and monitor the radio while the rest of the team did the hunt and find. I'd get so frustrated, both with myself and with Eric (Steak N Eggs - official team Dad), because he'd give up hunting when I know I could have found it, had I only been willing to get out of the car. I can blame the job injury in 1991 that turned my vertebrae into Swiss cheese, and the forced in-activity that resulted from that, but watching the portions I ate told the tale.
    I'd been trying for years to find a surgeon to do gastric bypass surgery for me, and have my insurance pay for it, but it wasn't until I was diagnosed with a bleeding disorder, and my spleen had to be removed that anything was approved. In May of '05 I had the surgery. I've had people tell me I took the easy way out. Okay, if you want to consider an extremely high-risk six-hour surgery (I was the heaviest person my surgeon had ever performed it on, and he'd done over 1,200 of these before me), where I almost died twice due to blood loss, and the enormous forced life change that comes with it EASY, well, I won't argue with anyone about it. I lived it. Still am.
    It is now necessary for me to eat 100+ grams of protein per day, drink nearly 1.5 gallons of water, and take high doses of iron, calcium, Vitamins C, E, and all of the B's, and limit my carb intake to nearly nothing. I've lost (as of May '08 - third anniversary) 230 lbs.
    My endurance increased dramatically. I did have to have physical therapy for the first six months to learn how to move again... that much weight loss changes one's center of gravity and makes everyday tasks, well, weird. Geocaching allowed me to set goals for myself. Within six months I was walking five miles per day, and could do terrain rated at 3, though with difficulty. Before the surgery I couldn't walk the entirity of Wal-Mart without feeling like I would die. Now, my kids have a hard time keeping up with me when I shop. I couldn't work a regular job, even an office job because sitting all day was a challenge. Now, I work as a CNC machinist, and standing for a ten-hour shift is no problem. I couldn't do that three years ago. I'd do harder terrain caches and get emails from others who'd done it to congratulate me. It was great encouragement.
    Maybe I didn't do it all Geocaching, but Geocaching was an inspiration, a motivator and a goal for me.
    Now, if I could turn excess skin into fuel, I'd be driving all over Maine to get my find count up!
    Heck, just getting Steak and the kids to go caching with me without moaning is an issue. Anybody out there need a Geocaching partner to motivate them to hike? I'd love that...
    Bi-Coastal GeoGoddess
    California Native - soon to set down roots in Maine
    Going from the Left Coast to the Right Coast!
    www.geogadgets.com

  6. #26
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Current: Waterboro, Maine
    Posts
    3

    Default Oh yeah...

    and if you are interested in seeing pictures of me as I used to be, or reading about my GB journey... visit one of my websites - photos and everything! Haven't updated it in awhile, sorry for lack of current photos/data.

    http://www.beautywithattitude.com/lori_wls.html
    Bi-Coastal GeoGoddess
    California Native - soon to set down roots in Maine
    Going from the Left Coast to the Right Coast!
    www.geogadgets.com

  7. #27
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Litchfield, Maine
    Posts
    3,592

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by RedwoodRed View Post
    and if you are interested in seeing pictures of me as I used to be, or reading about my GB journey... visit one of my websites - photos and everything! Haven't updated it in awhile, sorry for lack of current photos/data.

    http://www.beautywithattitude.com/lori_wls.html
    Wow, very impressive.

    Where about in Maine are you moving to and when? We will look forward to seeing you at one of our events.
    Blazing Troll

  8. #28
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Unity, Maine
    Posts
    3,874

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by RedwoodRed View Post
    I was fat... really fat - 472 lbs. - and I'd been Geocaching for nearly four years. I found myself picking out 1/1 caches, and ones with minimal hiking. Sometimes I'd just sit in the car and monitor the radio while the rest of the team did the hunt and find. I'd get so frustrated, both with myself and with Eric (Steak N Eggs - official team Dad), because he'd give up hunting when I know I could have found it, had I only been willing to get out of the car. I can blame the job injury in 1991 that turned my vertebrae into Swiss cheese, and the forced in-activity that resulted from that, but watching the portions I ate told the tale.
    I'd been trying for years to find a surgeon to do gastric bypass surgery for me, and have my insurance pay for it, but it wasn't until I was diagnosed with a bleeding disorder, and my spleen had to be removed that anything was approved. In May of '05 I had the surgery. I've had people tell me I took the easy way out. Okay, if you want to consider an extremely high-risk six-hour surgery (I was the heaviest person my surgeon had ever performed it on, and he'd done over 1,200 of these before me), where I almost died twice due to blood loss, and the enormous forced life change that comes with it EASY, well, I won't argue with anyone about it. I lived it. Still am.
    It is now necessary for me to eat 100+ grams of protein per day, drink nearly 1.5 gallons of water, and take high doses of iron, calcium, Vitamins C, E, and all of the B's, and limit my carb intake to nearly nothing. I've lost (as of May '08 - third anniversary) 230 lbs.
    My endurance increased dramatically. I did have to have physical therapy for the first six months to learn how to move again... that much weight loss changes one's center of gravity and makes everyday tasks, well, weird. Geocaching allowed me to set goals for myself. Within six months I was walking five miles per day, and could do terrain rated at 3, though with difficulty. Before the surgery I couldn't walk the entirity of Wal-Mart without feeling like I would die. Now, my kids have a hard time keeping up with me when I shop. I couldn't work a regular job, even an office job because sitting all day was a challenge. Now, I work as a CNC machinist, and standing for a ten-hour shift is no problem. I couldn't do that three years ago. I'd do harder terrain caches and get emails from others who'd done it to congratulate me. It was great encouragement.
    Maybe I didn't do it all Geocaching, but Geocaching was an inspiration, a motivator and a goal for me.
    Now, if I could turn excess skin into fuel, I'd be driving all over Maine to get my find count up!
    Heck, just getting Steak and the kids to go caching with me without moaning is an issue. Anybody out there need a Geocaching partner to motivate them to hike? I'd love that...
    Wow . . . this was really inspiring. Thanks for sharing a very personal story . . . very motivating.
    "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the realization that there is something more important than fear."

    "Death is only one of many ways to die."

  9. #29
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    ME
    Posts
    3,529

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by attroll View Post
    Wow, very impressive.

    Where about in Maine are you moving to and when? We will look forward to seeing you at one of our events.
    Rick, I believe they have been in Maine a while in the Portland area. The site just wasn't updated. They have even put out some caches down Portland way!

    Way to go and thanks for sharing your story "Red"!

  10. #30
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    gloucester, ma
    Posts
    83

    Default

    way to go Red! your are an inspiration- thanks for sharing.

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