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It's been a while since I've posted to the board, but after someone commented to me about my transformation yesterday, I decided to share a recent story.
I went on Atkins back in February, started at 264 (I'm 6'3"), and initially had a goal of losing 40 lbs. Because things were going well, the goal of 40 became a goal of 50, and upon some inspiration from my father-in-law (who's always been lanky, but whose Doc had been encouraging him to lose some additional weight. I figured if my FIL could get down in the 210 range at 60+, I could lose a little more) I decided that my goal should be an even 60lbs.
It took me 5 months and 1 week, and in July I hit my goal of 204lbs. My ongoing goal has been to keep my weight below 210 for a year, and I haven't come near it. I've been within a few pounds either above or below 204 (and this morning I was at exactly 204), and haven't gotten above 208 (after a week-long business trip where it was really hard to be "good").
So, the anecdote:
The last few winters I've been carping about replacing this winter coat I got my senior year of high school (January or February of 1989). It was a great coat, an expensive one from Brooks Brothers, really stylish and without a doubt one of the warmest things I owned. Certainly the warmest thing I've owned that I could wear with a business suit.
Of course, balooning from 180 (what I weighed as a too-skinny guy in high school) to 264 made wearing that coat impossible. And I really needed a winter coat that I could wear for work, not just relying on a trenchcoat with a warm liner (more on this in a moment).
Problem is, Brooks doesn't make that coat anymore. Nothing they have these days is anywhere near the weight of the wool that my coat had. I looked on ebay, but didn't have the name of the kind of coat, and in any case just had problems finding my size. And nobody else sold a coat of that weight, either.
And so after looking at coat after coat last winter, I decided to put the search on hold for another year. I just wasn't willing to spend the $700-$900 on a winter coat that I wasn't completely satisfied with. I figured I'd content myself with the trenchcoat I'd gotten the year before for my birthday - which is a Brooks Brothers coat, really nice, waterproof, looks really good on me, but is just tremendously large.
After shelving that decision, I revisited it this fall - and happened to be carping about resuming the quest for a new coat. And then it hit me - I ought to see if I could fit into the Brooks Brothers boat again! Heck, I wasn't even sure if I still had it, or if I had gotten rid of it when going through old clothes for Goodwill before a move. I immediately ran around the house, looking for it!
And there it was, in an upstairs guest room closet! And yes, it fit perfectly!
It needed a little work (15 years puts a lot of wear and tear on a coat): new liner, new buttons, even some work restitching the button holes! But for about $150, I got an $800 coat. What's more, I got the perfect coat, the exact one that I was looking for!
It's one of those things that made the diet worth it, once again. Kind of like an added present, a gift that keeps on giving.
Anyhow, I haven't posted any before and after pics, so I'll put some in now. The first is from last Christmas, and the second is from a black-tie event a few weeks ago.
Thanks again, and let me know if you have any questions!
- Andrew
I went on Atkins back in February, started at 264 (I'm 6'3"), and initially had a goal of losing 40 lbs. Because things were going well, the goal of 40 became a goal of 50, and upon some inspiration from my father-in-law (who's always been lanky, but whose Doc had been encouraging him to lose some additional weight. I figured if my FIL could get down in the 210 range at 60+, I could lose a little more) I decided that my goal should be an even 60lbs.
It took me 5 months and 1 week, and in July I hit my goal of 204lbs. My ongoing goal has been to keep my weight below 210 for a year, and I haven't come near it. I've been within a few pounds either above or below 204 (and this morning I was at exactly 204), and haven't gotten above 208 (after a week-long business trip where it was really hard to be "good").
So, the anecdote:
The last few winters I've been carping about replacing this winter coat I got my senior year of high school (January or February of 1989). It was a great coat, an expensive one from Brooks Brothers, really stylish and without a doubt one of the warmest things I owned. Certainly the warmest thing I've owned that I could wear with a business suit.
Of course, balooning from 180 (what I weighed as a too-skinny guy in high school) to 264 made wearing that coat impossible. And I really needed a winter coat that I could wear for work, not just relying on a trenchcoat with a warm liner (more on this in a moment).
Problem is, Brooks doesn't make that coat anymore. Nothing they have these days is anywhere near the weight of the wool that my coat had. I looked on ebay, but didn't have the name of the kind of coat, and in any case just had problems finding my size. And nobody else sold a coat of that weight, either.
And so after looking at coat after coat last winter, I decided to put the search on hold for another year. I just wasn't willing to spend the $700-$900 on a winter coat that I wasn't completely satisfied with. I figured I'd content myself with the trenchcoat I'd gotten the year before for my birthday - which is a Brooks Brothers coat, really nice, waterproof, looks really good on me, but is just tremendously large.
After shelving that decision, I revisited it this fall - and happened to be carping about resuming the quest for a new coat. And then it hit me - I ought to see if I could fit into the Brooks Brothers boat again! Heck, I wasn't even sure if I still had it, or if I had gotten rid of it when going through old clothes for Goodwill before a move. I immediately ran around the house, looking for it!
And there it was, in an upstairs guest room closet! And yes, it fit perfectly!
It needed a little work (15 years puts a lot of wear and tear on a coat): new liner, new buttons, even some work restitching the button holes! But for about $150, I got an $800 coat. What's more, I got the perfect coat, the exact one that I was looking for!
It's one of those things that made the diet worth it, once again. Kind of like an added present, a gift that keeps on giving.
Anyhow, I haven't posted any before and after pics, so I'll put some in now. The first is from last Christmas, and the second is from a black-tie event a few weeks ago.
Thanks again, and let me know if you have any questions!
- Andrew
reached 11/07/04 
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