Dec 20 2010
The Beginning
Here is a little bit of background on the situation.
In high school I used to play basketball, ride my bike, and generally I was very active. University hit, marriage then kids, and I let things slide. Over the course of a decade I had went from a size 34 waist at 195lb to a size 48 waist at 315lb. My job as a software developer didn’t help the matter as well as my addiction to MMORPGs, namely Everquest, DAoC, and most recently Everquest 2.
In 2004 I discovered I really enjoyed to ride with some friends on the local MTB trails. Between 2004 and 2009 I would drop to 260lb and then gain it all back during the winter months. I was basically a yo-yo during those years which in retrospect was not very responsible nor healthy considering I have a large family, seven children.
Early this year I stopped wasting my time playing MMORPGs, and read a great book called the Hurshburg Diet by Dr. Melissa Hershburg. I started to see results and I was dropping pounds.
By July I weighed in at roughly 288lb. This is when I really started to get into it. A friend of mine helped me create a custom lifestyle which was sustainable based on very high protein and whole foods. By the end of August 2010 I had dropped to 230lb and fit in a size 34. It had been over a decade since I was able to fit into that size.
This summer I was killing the trails here in Sudbury, as well as in Barrie and Milton. At the start of the summer I was always the last guy in the pack. By the end, I was the leader. I felt great and things were rocking! Then I went to play some basketball. 
The last time I played full court basketball was sometime in 98 or 99, I forget. It had been well over a decade. My VO2Max was high, and I was in great shape. Before playing we warmed up, stretched, and made sure we were limber and ready to run. I ran that court up and down like nobody’s business. In retrospect I should of stretched my ATs and calves more. You know what they say about hindsight.
At any rate, here I am. I’m currently undergoing the new UWO non-op protocol with Dr. Saidi, who was part of the Willit study. I’m in week three, wearing an aircast and allowed to PWB. I’m still a bit unsure about this new treatment protocol. I read the study, did some research and it seems that it’s comparable to going under the knife.
Here is to hoping.
Cheers all,
Jamie.
4 responses so far
Hi,
I am at week 9 post op now and I, like you, lost a great deal of weight last year and was finally living my life and doing all the things that I had always wanted do. However I was not strong and felt very sorry for myself following the surgery and I ate and ate and ate until I am where I am now, one and half stone heavier then I was before my ATR. So my only advise whould be to keep up your healthy eating, dont turn in to me …..
There is no way I can go back to my old weight. I threw out all of my big clothes and spent over a thousand dollars getting some new fitting clothes. My wife would hurt me worse then my ATR…
Welcome to the club, not really one anyone of us wants to belong too but here we are so make the most of it. I think not putting weight on is a constant battle, for me it wasn’t at the beggining as the extra effort in using crutches burned off loads of calories. However as I became weight bearing and not capable of doing tons of exercise that’s when a few pounds crept on. Not worrying about it at the moment but after Christmas I’m back to work and a much healthier life style. Good Luck with your healing.
So far I’m still hitting the gym and doing upper body only. I’m allowed to put a load on the affected leg but with the protection of my crutches, although I do cheat a bit at home when I need to travel short distances.
So far so good though, I haven’t lost too much ROM. One thing though, my right leg is killing me and I definitely feel some tightness in my right AT, probably due to overuse.
I’ll have to take it easy for a bit I guess.