He Lost a Lot With Intensive Care
I guess I’ve been what you’d term a “big fella” all of my married life. I got married at 18, bought a house at 21 and got used to a fat mortgage payment and a fat dinner all at the same time. Then in May 1993, I had a medical incident (thyroid toxicosis) that landed me in the intensive care unit for a week. After about five months of denial, eating whatever and whenever I wanted, I ballooned up to 297 pounds.
I knew for the longest time that dieting alone wouldn’t help my overall health, so I made a commitment to a local gym and decided I had nothing to lose but pounds. I started early on the morning of Nov. 1, 1993.
I try to tell others in the same situation I was in not to get discouraged, especially in the first few weeks. I don’t think I saw any significant difference in my appearance for at least three weeks or so even though the weight scale said I was indeed gradually reducing. But lo and behold, from that point on the weight came off like melting butter.
I was so taken aback by the reducing numbers on the scale (probably five to 10 pounds a week) that it pushed me more and more to reduce. Of course this was in conjunction with a vastly reduced intake. I didn’t starve myself, but I did eat a lot lighter.
There were two very important rules I lived by for those five months in regard to food:
* As soon as the hunger was gone, I stopped eating. I learned that a happy stomach was one that was not hungry yet not necessarily full.
* No sweets, sugar, not too much red meat, sodas, beer or any other junk food for that matter. I’m not saying you can’t indulge once in a while--I do now and then--but definitely not during this time.
I may have gotten somewhat addicted to the weight loss, because by March 1994, I was being told by everyone to stop or I’d blow away with the wind. I was down to 172 on April 1. I stand about 6-feet-1.
Things started to change for me drastically from there, all for the better. My workouts at the gym were time-consuming and very consistent, but not overly extensive. I used the stationary bike for the first hour, then went to various weight machines. I also supplemented it with as many sit-ups as I could do in a given amount of time, usually between 100 and 500 every morning.
Not everyone can do this type of workout on a daily basis, but like I said, once I saw the results, it was almost like I kept losing weight without even trying.
I’m currently at about 185 to 190 pounds--per physician’s orders--and have been for about four years steady now. I work out about three times a week.
The capper to the whole story is after the weight loss and 11 years of marriage, my wife and I were blessed with two wonderful young sons. Now I have the energy to keep up with my boys and can lead by example for them on staying in proper health.
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Vital Statistics
Name: Cesar E. Mogollon
Age: 34
Occupation: Color technician
Height: 6 feet, 1 inch
Old Weight: 297
New Weight: 191
Time to Get There: Five months
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