SHOW ME SOMETHING GOOD!!!! Before, during and after pics here please.

[NCgrl]

Originally Posted by vli1127

If the diabetes should go away, you better continue because that is why it went away LOL.

LOL, I know that's true!

[Tanner]

Originally Posted by NCgrl

February 09-410 ~ August 09-320

Wow Amy - Nice job!

[dragonballz]

WOW! All of you look wonderful. This is such an inspiration for me. My avi is my before pic. I can hadly wait til it's my turn to post my after. Keep up the good work ya'll!

[jbiggars63]

Well folks! What an exciting weekend! I was asked to speak at the annual TOPS walk where I shared my success story. I then proceeded to finish first in the 5k walk! I have been asked to speak at several chapters AND it sounds like I will be on the local news either today or tomorrow! I also weighed in this morning at 295 or just 2 pounds from 200 lost! Holy Cow! AND to top it off, I am wearing a pair of size 46 jeans this morning!
__________________
Watch Me Lose 300 Pounds

[vli1127]

Originally Posted by jbiggars63

Well folks! What an exciting weekend! I was asked to speak at the annual TOPS walk where I shared my success story. I then proceeded to finish first in the 5k walk! I have been asked to speak at several chapters AND it sounds like I will be on the local news either today or tomorrow! I also weighed in this morning at 295 or just 2 pounds from 200 lost! Holy Cow! AND to top it off, I am wearing a pair of size 46 jeans this morning!
__________________
Watch Me Lose 300 Pounds

Why aren't you on the TOPS thread???? We can use you

[RomanceWriter]

Congratulations everyone! You are such an inspiration to me!

[jbiggars63]

Originally Posted by vli1127

Why aren't you on the TOPS thread???? We can use you

Well, I didn't even see it! OK, Here I come!

Does it look like I have lost 201 pounds? WOOHOO!

[donia]

Yes, jb, it really DOES look like you've lost that much weight! I wish you would talk to my ex-husband. He refuses to do anything about his weight. I think he's close to 600 now.

[lippi]

Originally Posted by jbiggars63

Well, I didn't even see it! OK, Here I come!

Does it look like I have lost 201 pounds? WOOHOO!

WOW!!!

[jbiggars63]

Holy Cow! 204 pounds lost! 189 of that THIS YEAR! AND even more unreal to me, last Christmas I was looking at trying to lose 243 pounds and I am now only looking at losing another 39 pounds! My group threw me a surprise party last night after this weeks weigh-in put me over 200 pounds lost. They are a wonderful bunch of folks! They got me a shirt that has BIG LOSER on the front and on the back it has The only person who can stop me is me, and I can take him! 200 pounds lost! I was asked to put together a formal success story so thought I would post it here (Most of it can be found in my note introducing myself earlier in this post)



Watch Me Lose 300 Pounds


In 1987 I was a fit 220 pound single guy that ran 6 miles a day, weight lifted and taught aerobics 3 times a week. I met and fell in love with my wife who wasn’t a fitness fanatic like me, and I started to decrease my activities and eat unhealthy foods. By the time we got married (7/2/1988) I had started to gain and was at 275 pounds. When our first son was born (9/19/1989) the scale was reading 350 pounds. 20 years later at Christmas 2008 I weighed 493 pounds at the doctor’s office, while my high TOPS weight was 489 pounds. I was worn out all the time! When I went to Wal-Mart to do the shopping, I needed to lean on the cart as soon as I got one and had to lean on it the entire trip. By the time I made it to the check-out counter, I was dripping in sweat! I was tired of being pointed at by little kids who said "Look mommy, there's a really fat man!" At least some kids didn’t know how rude they were…..adults did. I was at a company golf tournament once when a bike rider rode by and yelled "Oh my god! Get out of that cart and walk!" There is no describing how humiliating that was. While it would be easy to blame this on my wife, it wasn’t her fault. I had fought this battle before and knew I was the one responsible and as I edged closer to 500 pounds the time had come to do something! I had witnessed a friend of mine, Bonnie Voegeli lose 65 pounds in 3 months on the Medi-Weightloss program. She is also the leader of our TOPS chapter in Valley Center, KS #414. I followed up with her to learn about the diet she was following and began the marathon on December 23rd, 2008. That is how I view this journey, a long slow marathon! In just two short weeks at our January 6th, 2009 meeting, I was already down to 478. I then called Medi-Weightloss and set up my first appointment with Dr. Jeannine Cobb for January 23rd, 2009. I was eating 1000 calories and keeping my carb count under 25g a day. Medi-Weightloss is a doctor supervised low carb diet. I initially went in weekly, but now go in monthly to have vitals checked and also have blood work done every 3 months. As a part of this diet, I fill out a food journal and drink at least 120 ounces of water daily.
I knew I couldn’t keep making excuses for my weight, so at that first meeting of the year on January 6th, I presented an idea of including NMX on the front of our TOPS shirts. This stands for NO MORE EXCUSES! Shortly thereafter Bonnie and Vicki (our co-leader) came up with a cheer that we say every time someone has a gain. Instead of saying "See you lighter next week" this is what we do:

While still sitting down we say "No More Excuses"
We stand up and say "Let's get off our tushes"
We twist our upper body to the left and say "Lose Weight"
We twist our upper body to the right and say "Feel great"
We bend down and touch the floor and say "A better life"
We stand back up and reach our hands over our head and say "We will create"

The next week, I started to exercise. It wasn’t much, just 15 minutes 3 times a week on an exercise bike. Fast forward to the present and I take 3 spin classes a week, lift weights 3 times a week (Genesis Health Club), and walk 3 miles in 45 minutes 4-5 times a week. The trainers and staff of Genesis have been another wonderful resource for support during this weight loss marathon! I have gone from size 66 pants to a 46, but know once all the excess skin is removed I’ll be back to a size 38. This journey has had lots of milestones, but one of my favorites occurred in early August when I took 4 large trash bags of all my 3x and larger clothes to the DAV because I am never going to need them again! My last TOPS weigh was 289 pounds which equates to a loss of 204 pounds according to the doctor’s scales and 200 pounds per TOPS. That’s 189 pounds lost this year! I hope to be a KOPS by the end of the year! My goal weight is 250 pounds, which is the weight my doctor specified as a goal for my tummy tuck. She thinks the surgery will take another 20-25 lbs off! I am proud to say I have not had a gain week or even stayed the same all year! That’s right, I’ve had a loss every single week and needless to say, the Wal-Mart trips are a breeze now and yes, my wife is even exercising and eating healthy with me!

I have come to believe there are four very important parts of a successful weight loss program. In order of importance they are:

1) Determination: You have to decide you are important enough to change your way of life to a healthy one. NO MORE EXCUSES!

2) Support: For me it is family, friends, and of course TOPS! What can I say? It is the best support anyone could ever want or need.

3) Diet: For me it was the Medi-Weightloss low carb diet and drinking 120 ounces of water per day.

4) Exercise: At least three 30 minute aerobic sessions and three 30 minute weight or strength building sessions per week, but always allow for at least one day of rest.

[nessabessa1]

Originally Posted by CartBabe

Oh my GOODNESS, Jeff and HappyMe, you BOTH look so wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!! What an inspiration!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much for sharing these pics! It is astounding what making this WOE a WAY OF LIFE has done for BOTH OF YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

253 pounds


Around 230 pounds


118.5 (Dec 05)


At 118.5 (Dec 05 with my mom and oldest son)

That is awesome. You look fantastic!

[nessabessa1]

Originally Posted by jbiggars63

Holy Cow! 204 pounds lost! 189 of that THIS YEAR! AND even more unreal to me, last Christmas I was looking at trying to lose 243 pounds and I am now only looking at losing another 39 pounds! My group threw me a surprise party last night after this weeks weigh-in put me over 200 pounds lost. They are a wonderful bunch of folks! They got me a shirt that has BIG LOSER on the front and on the back it has The only person who can stop me is me, and I can take him! 200 pounds lost! I was asked to put together a formal success story so thought I would post it here (Most of it can be found in my note introducing myself earlier in this post)



Watch Me Lose 300 Pounds


In 1987 I was a fit 220 pound single guy that ran 6 miles a day, weight lifted and taught aerobics 3 times a week. I met and fell in love with my wife who wasn’t a fitness fanatic like me, and I started to decrease my activities and eat unhealthy foods. By the time we got married (7/2/1988) I had started to gain and was at 275 pounds. When our first son was born (9/19/1989) the scale was reading 350 pounds. 20 years later at Christmas 2008 I weighed 493 pounds at the doctor’s office, while my high TOPS weight was 489 pounds. I was worn out all the time! When I went to Wal-Mart to do the shopping, I needed to lean on the cart as soon as I got one and had to lean on it the entire trip. By the time I made it to the check-out counter, I was dripping in sweat! I was tired of being pointed at by little kids who said "Look mommy, there's a really fat man!" At least some kids didn’t know how rude they were…..adults did. I was at a company golf tournament once when a bike rider rode by and yelled "Oh my god! Get out of that cart and walk!" There is no describing how humiliating that was. While it would be easy to blame this on my wife, it wasn’t her fault. I had fought this battle before and knew I was the one responsible and as I edged closer to 500 pounds the time had come to do something! I had witnessed a friend of mine, Bonnie Voegeli lose 65 pounds in 3 months on the Medi-Weightloss program. She is also the leader of our TOPS chapter in Valley Center, KS #414. I followed up with her to learn about the diet she was following and began the marathon on December 23rd, 2008. That is how I view this journey, a long slow marathon! In just two short weeks at our January 6th, 2009 meeting, I was already down to 478. I then called Medi-Weightloss and set up my first appointment with Dr. Jeannine Cobb for January 23rd, 2009. I was eating 1000 calories and keeping my carb count under 25g a day. Medi-Weightloss is a doctor supervised low carb diet. I initially went in weekly, but now go in monthly to have vitals checked and also have blood work done every 3 months. As a part of this diet, I fill out a food journal and drink at least 120 ounces of water daily.
I knew I couldn’t keep making excuses for my weight, so at that first meeting of the year on January 6th, I presented an idea of including NMX on the front of our TOPS shirts. This stands for NO MORE EXCUSES! Shortly thereafter Bonnie and Vicki (our co-leader) came up with a cheer that we say every time someone has a gain. Instead of saying "See you lighter next week" this is what we do:

While still sitting down we say "No More Excuses"
We stand up and say "Let's get off our tushes"
We twist our upper body to the left and say "Lose Weight"
We twist our upper body to the right and say "Feel great"
We bend down and touch the floor and say "A better life"
We stand back up and reach our hands over our head and say "We will create"

The next week, I started to exercise. It wasn’t much, just 15 minutes 3 times a week on an exercise bike. Fast forward to the present and I take 3 spin classes a week, lift weights 3 times a week (Genesis Health Club), and walk 3 miles in 45 minutes 4-5 times a week. The trainers and staff of Genesis have been another wonderful resource for support during this weight loss marathon! I have gone from size 66 pants to a 46, but know once all the excess skin is removed I’ll be back to a size 38. This journey has had lots of milestones, but one of my favorites occurred in early August when I took 4 large trash bags of all my 3x and larger clothes to the DAV because I am never going to need them again! My last TOPS weigh was 289 pounds which equates to a loss of 204 pounds according to the doctor’s scales and 200 pounds per TOPS. That’s 189 pounds lost this year! I hope to be a KOPS by the end of the year! My goal weight is 250 pounds, which is the weight my doctor specified as a goal for my tummy tuck. She thinks the surgery will take another 20-25 lbs off! I am proud to say I have not had a gain week or even stayed the same all year! That’s right, I’ve had a loss every single week and needless to say, the Wal-Mart trips are a breeze now and yes, my wife is even exercising and eating healthy with me!

I have come to believe there are four very important parts of a successful weight loss program. In order of importance they are:

1) Determination: You have to decide you are important enough to change your way of life to a healthy one. NO MORE EXCUSES!

2) Support: For me it is family, friends, and of course TOPS! What can I say? It is the best support anyone could ever want or need.

3) Diet: For me it was the Medi-Weightloss low carb diet and drinking 120 ounces of water per day.

4) Exercise: At least three 30 minute aerobic sessions and three 30 minute weight or strength building sessions per week, but always allow for at least one day of rest.

Seriously, you made me cry. I really hope that I can stick through this like you have. I have heard of your program and know two people who have been really successful with it. I'm just doing whole foods cooking, but this inspires me to keep going. This week has been hard and all the people I normally see at the gym have really pulled me through, but they are where they need to be. So, I guess the most important thing I want to say is, thank you for sharing this significant part of your life with me.

[nessabessa1]

Originally Posted by lippi

Finally got up the nerve to do a full-body shot. Mind you, this is a DURING photo, I'm not at goal yet. About 60 pounds lost.

Whatev! During shot or not, you look fab! I hope you know that.

[nessabessa1]

Originally Posted by LowCarbF69

Me back in February....








and me earlier this month(I think, or late June LOL)





So low carb (and exercise, and helpful helpful supplements and a fantastic board full of people)work!!!!!

You look totally fierce!

[nessabessa1]

Originally Posted by NCgrl

February 09-410 ~ August 09-320

Mmm. You are looking great. Awesome job, keep it up!

[jbiggars63]

That was a wild ride! Just finished a live interview! Can't wait for my tummy tuck though!

Local - KSN TV

[Mona]

Great interview Jerome! Congratulations on your fantastic weight loss.

[vet'swife]

Originally Posted by CARLINI

Gee, no one came lookin' for the famous thickalicious. I guess 84lbs lost is not inspirational

My pic software is not working so I can't resize. Can someone volunteer to edit my photos so they can be posted?

Carlini, You are wrong when you say that 84 pounds lost is not inspirational. I need to lose about 92 and I'm inspired by your posting of your 84 pound weight loss. It makes me believe that I can lose the weight. Thank you.

[jbiggars63]

493/265/250

updated picture

[Ilpirata]

Originally Posted by jbiggars63

493/265/250

updated picture

OMG!!! WOW!!!!

[chelsea6]

You are doing awesome!!

[jbiggars63]

I DID IT!!!! I reached goal! Now what!? Well, My tummy tuck guy said I have 15-25 pounds of skin to remove! This would put me at my lowest weight since the early 80's! That was when I ran 10k's, helped teach aerobics, weight lifted, etc and I weighed in at 220 (I was in my early 20's). Now at 46, I have lost 243 pounds since mid December of last year! There are 4 things I prescribe too! 1) Determination! After living in the 400's for the last 18 years and opening my eyes to see myself leaning on a shopping cart throughout a store and dripping in sweat by the time I reached checkout and trying to deal with the ugly looks of distain and hearing the harsh words spoken behind my back, I just became determined to save my life! Nothing was going to stop me, not even myself! NO MORE EXCUSES! 2) Diet: I chose to join Medi-Weightloss! It is basically a doctor supervised low carb diet (yes, I eat regular food from the grocery store!) 3) Exercise! You have got to move to lose! I started slow by riding an exercise bike for 15 minutes 3X a week. I, now, take 4-5 spin classes, jog 2 miles every other day (actually training for a 10k race next May and a 1/2 marathon next September), and weightlift 3X a week! 4) Support! I go to TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) a non-profit weight loss support group that can be found practically anywhere! I also get support from the Medi staff, gym staff, friends, family and even from co-workers! All of those ingrediants have spelled success for me!

What do I do now that I have reached goal? Well call me crazy! I am training for a 10k race next May AND using that as a stepping stone for a half marathon in October! Then, I will do a mini-triathalon in April 2011 followed by a marathon in October 2011. Yeah..we will see! But, I guess if I can lose 243 pounds in a year, well maybe this stuff is doable too!

I also took 45 minutes to speak to a national PR guy for Medi-Weightloss and it looks like I could be doing some interviews in LA and New York with shows like Rachel Ray or The View! Is that awesome or what!

[vli1127]

Now is the hard part start maintaining. Although, for me, it hasn't been too hard to maintain. I fluxuate within about a 7-10 lb range. Stretching your physical ability through marathons and such sounds great.